So. Much. Stuff.

I'll admit it: the last week I have been full-force, head-on, 100% American consumer. This whole pregnancy and baby thing is compulsive. Buy buy buy--you need this, you need that, you must have this, oh have you tried that? Mind you, not that shopping wasn't unbelievable fun last Thursday when I dropped a lot of jing on new clothes for me (both maternity and professional clothes). Mind you, not that starting the registry today at Babies R Us with my friend with Courtney wasn't also fun (in hindsight it was fun--during the experience I thought I was going to pass out from being so totally overwhelmed...thank goodness Courtney was there to calm me down and talk me through it!).

But I have to stop and wonder: do I need it all? Is it all necessary? Does it have to be new or just good enough to make it through numerous spit ups, drool, and other accidents without completely falling apart? Am I a bad parent already for not making sure I have everything the books say I should have? No, no, good enough, and no. Of course I want my baby to have the best start in life, but do I need to be wearing uber expensive maternity clothes to do that? No. Do I need to buy a separate bassinet when I can just use the one in the pack n play for the first few months? No. Do I need to buy everything or can I get ambitious and start making what I need? Well, the latter is my ultimate goal--we'll see what happens. On my list of things to make: boppy pillow, nursing cover, moby wrap, soft baby rattles, bibs, burp cloths, and other little trinkets. Because ultimately I'm trying really hard not to get wrapped up in the idea that I need everything in order to get started being a parent. It's really just too much to think about. And if it's too much to think about, it makes me think that it's probably all not worth it. I'll get the essentials and go from there.

So that's why I've been borrowing as many maternity clothes as I possibly can (thank you to the many friends who have donated already to the cause: Lynn, Meredith, and Courtney). That's why we bought our nursery set off of Craig's List after careful research and consideration because we couldn't justify spending so much on something that would be outgrown in so little time. That's why we're borrowing other things from friends (that and we don't have much storage space left in our house!). And that's why I'm excited to hit up the garage sales as soon as the weather warms up to see what I treasures I can find.

Because stuff does indeed help make life easier, but only when you're not buried in it (and debt...have you seen the prices on some of this stuff? Unreal!).