Registry

When we got married, it was a surprise wedding, so there was no registry. We got a few gifts, but nothing like the virtual house remodel that many couples get. Nonetheless, we went out and created a registry with the plan to include the link to the list in the thank you cards, because some people were plain annoyed that we didn't have a registry (I also hankered after some new dinnerware!) However, we lagged on sending out the thank yous, to the point where it was close enough to the time we'd have a baby registry that we just combined the two.

We absolutely refused to engage in the trad shower, with its awful games and general lack of blokes. To celebrate the arrival of this baby, we would like our male friends around as well as the laydeez, so we're throwing a Pre-Birthday Party for the baby. Despite our best efforts, we've caved in to the idea that we'll be accepting gifts. This is simply too expensive a gig to go it alone.

We've found that this about balancing a number of competing pressures: trying to avoid accumulating stuff; not wanting to impose on our friends and family and their finances; making sure we have what we need without putting ourselves in the poorhouse; and understanding that some people simply *want* to buy us stuff and we should make that process as easy as possible.

So the registry is complete, and the major item on there is the stroller. We set it up for people to contribute to it, as opposed to having one person drop that amount of money. "What about reducing your carbon footprint?" you may ask. Good point. It comes down to this: carseats are like motorcycle helmets - if you drop it, it's basically no good anymore because you have no idea whether the shock absorption properties have been compromised or not. Neither K nor I would ride in a helmet that had been dropped. So although we've been offered carseats by other people, we've decided that we're going to buy a new one. Once that's on the cards, you might as well buy the whole "travel system" that includes the seat, the base and the stroller that the seat latches onto. It is true that we could take the Greco stroller that my mother has offered us, and buy a Greco seat and base, but for basically double that cost we would have a brand-new travel system, one that we had selected. In this case, we tried out a whole bunch and found the Chicco system to be significantly better. It also was ranked MUCH higher in Consumer Reports' survey of carseats, measuring an 88% against the Greco's 75% (the difference coming in the usability area).