Adventures at Babies R Us
"For my birthday a friend sent me some Babies R Us coupons to help get us started in our baby-gear buying. There are so many things we could buy: crib, changing table, dresser, rocking chair/glider, travel play yard, activity mat, bouncy seat, baby carrier, stroller, car seat, sling, diaper bag, clothing, bedding, towels, blankets, diapers, baby wipes, baby wipe warmer... the list is literally endless. Anything you can think of is available for purchase, and in the end you probably only need a fifth of it.
It was recommended to us that we "try not to go crazy in Babies R Us. Do not buy everything in sight. Try to leave after an hour. Do not stay past two hours. You will have a meltdown." I think this advice was right on the money.
We innocently walked into the store, oohing and ahhing over the new babies out shopping with their parents, and at the other parents-to-be perusing the aisles. There is a lot of hand-holding and a lot of wistful looks going on in this store. What a happy place to be! Until you begin the searching process. We were not prepared; we had not done our homework.
Clothing was in the center, surrounded on either side by furniture pieces and toys. We were there to purchase furniture items, and decided to stay on that side of the store only. Maija, Jeremy, and Baby Boden are coming out for a visit late November and we wanted to provide some sleeping and playing things so they wouldn't have to bring so much out with them.
There were so many brands to look at and pick between: Graco, Britax, Maclaren, Peg Perego, EvenFlow, FisherPrice... and that's just skimming the surface. We really must have looked like deer in headlights, because a very kindhearted mother of two stopped us. "I don't mean to intrude but can I offer you some advice?" she sweetly asked.
It was then that we got our first on-site tutorial in baby item shopping. 1) Play with everything. Take it off the shelf and see what it does. Abuse it because that's the type of punishment it's going to get. 2) Use your children as guinea pigs (she correctly gathered that this was our first so this advice didn't really help us this time around, but is good advice none-the-less). 3) Think realistically about what you really need because you won't use half the gadgets you come home with after the first few months.
She was very helpful, and I wish I had gotten her name and address so I could send her a card telling her so. Her advice also scored me some points with Ross because she reiterated, more clearly, some of the thoughts I had brought up to him about what we'll need or not need. Ross scored some points as well, by picking out a very cool bouncer that this woman said was the best of the bunch. If only we'd have a little helper like this woman with us all the time, we'd feel like the smartest parents-to-be ever!
We left the store with lots of ideas, a few items to be tested out by Boden during his visit, and a discounted price thanks to the coupons. It was grueling, and I'm nervous about looking for the bigger ticket items (cribs and such) but next time we'll do our homework and will be more eager to tap veteran parents on the shoulder for some advice."
--Clare, 10/25/05
It was recommended to us that we "try not to go crazy in Babies R Us. Do not buy everything in sight. Try to leave after an hour. Do not stay past two hours. You will have a meltdown." I think this advice was right on the money.
We innocently walked into the store, oohing and ahhing over the new babies out shopping with their parents, and at the other parents-to-be perusing the aisles. There is a lot of hand-holding and a lot of wistful looks going on in this store. What a happy place to be! Until you begin the searching process. We were not prepared; we had not done our homework.
Clothing was in the center, surrounded on either side by furniture pieces and toys. We were there to purchase furniture items, and decided to stay on that side of the store only. Maija, Jeremy, and Baby Boden are coming out for a visit late November and we wanted to provide some sleeping and playing things so they wouldn't have to bring so much out with them.
There were so many brands to look at and pick between: Graco, Britax, Maclaren, Peg Perego, EvenFlow, FisherPrice... and that's just skimming the surface. We really must have looked like deer in headlights, because a very kindhearted mother of two stopped us. "I don't mean to intrude but can I offer you some advice?" she sweetly asked.
It was then that we got our first on-site tutorial in baby item shopping. 1) Play with everything. Take it off the shelf and see what it does. Abuse it because that's the type of punishment it's going to get. 2) Use your children as guinea pigs (she correctly gathered that this was our first so this advice didn't really help us this time around, but is good advice none-the-less). 3) Think realistically about what you really need because you won't use half the gadgets you come home with after the first few months.
She was very helpful, and I wish I had gotten her name and address so I could send her a card telling her so. Her advice also scored me some points with Ross because she reiterated, more clearly, some of the thoughts I had brought up to him about what we'll need or not need. Ross scored some points as well, by picking out a very cool bouncer that this woman said was the best of the bunch. If only we'd have a little helper like this woman with us all the time, we'd feel like the smartest parents-to-be ever!
We left the store with lots of ideas, a few items to be tested out by Boden during his visit, and a discounted price thanks to the coupons. It was grueling, and I'm nervous about looking for the bigger ticket items (cribs and such) but next time we'll do our homework and will be more eager to tap veteran parents on the shoulder for some advice."
--Clare, 10/25/05
posted by RB at 2:54 PM
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