20 weeks, 3 days.
So I’m doing something I never thought I’d do – creating a baby registry. Two, in fact, which is even more sickening.
We never had a wedding registry (we had a low-key wedding, which was a very good thing), and I’ve never really thought about a baby registry. I rarely even keep wish lists on places like Amazon, because I can’t get over that nagging feeling that I’m somehow begging or something. Funny thing is, I don’t look at other people’s registries and wish lists that way, just mine.
Am I neurotic, or what? (Hint: The answer is yes, but never say so to my face 
)
Anyhow. So I just, rather self-consciously, made these lists of stuff for the baby at Target and Babies”R”Us. Not that I have particular feelings about either store, they just have online registries and I’m random like that. It’s not all of the stuff we need, and some of it is probably stuff we don’t, but as I said, it’s just some lists made up on the fly. Most of it is simply “notes to self” to remind pregnant-brained Krista that there’s this stuff we have to get eventually for the kid, not lists of things for people to buy. (I mean, I really am not trying to get friends to, for example, buy me a breast pump. That idea sort of creeps me out…)
But since a wonderful friend of mine from college here in town offered to throw me a shower, I figured having a registry list wouldn’t hurt, even if we’re the only ones who ever end up using it. I did manage to avoid registering for things like the industrial-sized drum of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste, no matter how much the idea amuses me. And I didn’t register for stuff like diapers because we’re still trying to decide how we’re going to work stuff like that out. Plus there are lots of things that we’ve talked about getting that one can’t exactly register for, and anyway, there are all of these little things that we’ll probably pick up at the drug store or garage sales or outlet stores. And… and… and…
If there’s one message I keep getting from other parents, it’s that you end up making things up as you go along anyhow, so these lists are just lists of stuff.
See how defensive I am about creating a freaking registry?? What is wrong with me? (Hint: Don’t answer. )
Professional computer geek and linguist living in Germany, doing infosec stuff and being the freakiest mother ever.
Hey, people are going to buy you stuff anyway, so you might as well get stuff you like/want/need. Otherwise, it’s just one gift after another you open up and say “What the F*** is this????” (Don’t worry, you’ll still get those gifts as well).
Laugh! Oh, I do hope there are “What the F*** is this???” gifts. Those are my faaavorites *grin*
(250 tubes of hemorrhoid cream and an autographed picture of Bozo the Clown? Just want we wanted!)
I feel the same way about registries. I avoided one for our wedding, but succumbed to peer aka in-law pressure and made one. We did not make one for Sacha, and I ended up with tons of stuff we needed anyway. People are pretty good with baby stuff.
And BTW, you may need the hemorrhoid cream. Not to freak you out or anything.
When is the shower so that those of us who are not living in the wonderful hot Colorado air can get you all of that stuff you really never even knew exisited until you walked into the Target with the price gun and said “they make that” “cool I gotta get me one of those
“?
Sarah: Yeah, I’d sort of heard about the hemorrhoid cream, but it sounded so funny (to me) when I wrote it that I just decided to pretend ignorance
Then again, all sorts of ridiculous things are funny (or sad, or awesome) to me lately.
I’m sure the hemorrhoid cream is just the beginning… I have also been warned about needing pads the size of a two-by-four, but I’m sure there are all sorts of other pre-and-post-birth pleasantries awaiting me… yippee!
Karen:
I’ll make you a deal – as soon as I know the date, I’ll tell you if you promise not to send me that Bozo the Clown picture. Or pictures of those famous Milwaukee guys from “Bowling for Dollars”. Or, um, Twizzlers.
Know whatcha mean about the registry. My friend who is helping to organize the baby shower nudged me to get registry going. Just did a Buy Buy Baby one so far, since there’s one near my house anyway and can always exchange sizes if necessary. Never had a registry before either, and seems a bit weird. But understand the point of it too, and people sometimes do like to know they are getting you something you don’t already have. But procrastinated it for a long time and it’s still kind of a mimimalistic registry. Friend added stuff, I barely did much. But you’re right, people are wonderful about baby stuff. And no harm in hand me downs if they are in good shape and given with love. It all balances out…