So my birthday is less that a month away and I have learned an interesting fact.
When you are pregnant and your birthday falls during your pregnancy, people tend to want to purchase you maternity clothes or things for the baby. Family, friends, spouses all flip to baby mode.
Now don't get me wrong, while I appreciate the gesture as baby items and preggo clothes are both things that I'll need, it's not exactly what I had in mind as a birthday present. Buying clothes with giant stretchy waistbands doesn't exactly make a gal (one who's turning 30, mind you) feel like she's having birthday fun if you know what I mean. And buying the baby things doesn't count as a birthday gift either. That's like me showing up at your birthday party with a gift for your husband, but I let you unwrap it. Enjoy that circular saw, Susan.
This little nugget will get more than it needs and then some I'm sure, thanks to it's wonderful grandparents (both sets enjoy shopping for their grandchildren like the world is ending tomorrow) and shopaholic mom (guilty!). And I will brave the strap on foam pregnant belly in the fitting rooms at Motherhood after I get brave enough to throw my scale out the bathroom window. I've learned that just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean my self consciousness about my body just flew out the window.
So, for those of you about to shop for a pregnant lady's birthday - remember the rest of the woman's life will revolve around the kid she's carrying so try to keep her birthday just that. Hers. :)
Also, on a totally unrelated note, I logged on to the Toys r' Us website thinking I was going to attempt to slowly start a registry - really more as a checklist for what we need to get, and 20 minutes later shut the laptop freaked out and overwhelmed. I thought "Oh I'll just put diapers, cream, pacifier, baby wipes a few small things on there and then tackle feeding supplies, bath stuff etc. each on a different day so I'm not overwhelmed." Wrong!
It's like a wedding registry on steroids! Except with a wedding registry you may have 200 brands and styles of dinner plates to choose from but you simply choose the prettiest one. Easy enough. On the website I started with what I figured was the easiest, diapers.
Bad idea.
Disposable or cloth? Different brands, different sizes, different age groups different weight ranges. How do I know which one is the best? What if I get 1 million newborn diapers and I have a 12 pound baby? (Which sadly is somewhat possible since my hubby was a 10 pounder - Lord, have mercy on me!) See with baby stuff you throw how it looks out the window and question #1 becomes how safe is it/ which is the best one? The answer to that, my friends, is I have no friggin' clue! So I shut the computer after blankly staring at the 500+ different kinds of diapers and turned on the food network. :)
So far my kid will be naked. :)
My birthday fell when I was about 3 weeks from our little one's due date. I wanted to get a massage and/or pedicure and took my birthday money to do so. If not for your birthday, convince everyone for Christmas to get you gift certificates and/or cash so you can treat yourself to something like that. It'll feel great when your feet are swollen. :-)
ReplyDeleteHappy soon Bday. OK. as far as stuff goes for the kiddo. I forgot to tell you to sighn up and register on sites for FREE baby stuff. Babies R Us, Parenting Magazine, Baby brand websites like 7th generation, pampers, gerber etc... They will send you like a month or more of free newborn stuff. I especially liked the diapers cause you are right - the diapers are like shoes for a baby - each one is a different size and fits different. You will love the free diaper samples - but once you find one that fits right, they are grown out and you have to start all over finding the right brand and fit again. :-( Ugh. The one constant predictable thing about having a kid... There is nothing predicatable or constant when you have a kid ;-)
ReplyDeleteI can hardly wait!