Two milestones down…many more to go

Anything you read or anyone you talk to will tell you that babies cost money. Whether you’re a bargain shopper or a high-end retail purchaser, you’re going to spend a decent amount of cash on a baby. Nate and I are soon-to-be first-time parents so we are inundated with decisions on purchases we should make for our baby. Some of them are pretty superficial – what color should we paint the nursery, do we want a cushy rocking chair or an old-fashioned wooden rocking chair, etc. Others are more necessities – what kind of car seat is safest, can we get diapers in bulk from Costco, that sort of thing. So far, we’re one-for-one on the superficial/necessity scale.

1) We’ve chosen a color for the baby’s room. It’s called “Recycled Glass” and is Sherwin-Williams’ Harmony brand which is low-odor and a no-VOC formula. The actual color is a light shade of green (the online swatch doesn’t do it justice). Nate and I both love it and are excited to paint over the current light blue color in the room (it was a baby boy’s room with the prior owner). We chose this color because it is gender-neutral. That’s right, we’re not finding out the sex of the baby until he or she is born! Plus, it will pair nicely with other color schemes once we know the sex.

2) We’ve ordered an infant car seat and it should arrive via FedEx tomorrow. After a decent amount of safety research and also a little aesthetic research, we settled on the Maxi Cosi Mico, in green (of course). I know it’s a little early to have ordered a car seat, but my motto is that you can never be too prepared! Plus, I did get it on sale and with free shipping. Score one for me already saving money on our little bun in the oven.

The so-called urgency of making these decisions and the ones to come is mostly driven by me and my plan-ahead and plan-for-anything personality. Nate knows me well enough to go along with this, while also laughing at my 5-month too early purchase of a car seat. But he has gotten pretty interested, and dare I say, excited, about some of the things we will “need” for our first baby. He is a guy and he loves gear and technology. I think he’s actually done more research on strollers and firmly has in his mind what he/I wants. By the way, it’s a Bugaboo Cameleon, but we haven’t made that big purchase yet.

Nate and I were so excited when we first found out I was pregnant; and we continue to be amazed every day. Sometimes it feels like ages until our due date in early April, but other times it feels like that time will just sneak up on us. I know we’ll be prepared with all the stuff we need by a few weeks before our due date. That’s when the waiting will really be tough. However, what we won’t be prepared for is the feeling we’ll have when we’re parents for the first time. And that’s something I’m looking forward to…more than all the baby gear, furniture and diapers we can buy.