The insanity of new parents

I know someone from high school who will be giving birth to twins shortly. She had a baby shower invite on Facebook which, unfortunately, I had to decline due to geographical differences. But, fortunately, she's registered at Target.

Oy.

Now, I remember being crazy as a new parent. "What will I need? What if the baby doesn't like this kind of pacifier? Should I get all 6 different kinds?" etc. And everyone has the right to dream about their perfect nursery. I'm just starting to get more of an idea of why people say that babies cost so much money.

A few things they have listed:
- Guitar Hero World Tour Band for X-Box
- Sweet Peace Soothing Center
- SAFE SENTRY FIRE SAFE COMBO
- A mini fridge
- Three Different Strollers, all of which hold twins
- A telescopic ladder
- A jogging stroller that holds one kid
- $100 sound system
- $100 trash can
- $100 framed art
- About 10 different kinds of excersaucer, jump toy, or various other things you can put your baby in to give your arms a rest (which is awesome, but 10 different kinds?)
- Boxes of diapers up to size 6 (and I'll be the first to say that whenever I have a friend either giving birth to twins or she's run out of baby showers, I'll usually get the biggest box of diapers in their favorite brand and a big box of wipes. ) They've registered for 6 boxes of each size, and in two different brands.
- I think they put every kind of lotion and soap they could find on the shelf. Travel packs, every brand I've ever heard of, and in every size.
- Several kinds of pacifiers, pre-mixed formula, and formula accessories. All kinds of accessories.

I'm not judging them. I'm just shaking my head and chuckling because I remember being that bat-guano insane. The list goes on for 6 pages and includes dozens of cd's, towels, and I seriously think they scanned every last thing they could find in the baby section at Target and then some.

What did we end up using, realistically:

- A crib that my kind sister in law gave us. Goodness knows Princess would have been sleeping in a laundry basket otherwise.
- A moses basket bassinet another kind sister in law gave us. It made such a difference for the first month or two.
- Pacifiers. If my kids take them, I let them have them. It's easier to take away than a thumb.
- Blankets. Grandma H used to make these wonderful flannel blankets that we've used for every one of our kids. Frieda cuddles with hers all the time.
- Clothes. And there are often floating bags of baby clothes in family wards and thrift stores are stuffed with baby clothes in great condition.
- Burp cloths. We went through huge stacks of these things.
- Car seat. We got ours from a consignment shop for $20.

And that's about it. Princess didn't even have more than a couple of toys until she was about a year old. A friend gave us a walker that she found on clearance for very cheap and we used that for three kids. The only piece of equipment I wish I had right off the bat was a good electric pump. It can make such a difference especially if you have a tendency to mastitis.

Oh, and tens of thousands of diapers. Literally.

What's the weirdest thing you've seen on a baby shower registry?