Normally, I am the opposite of frugal. I warned N. from the start that any financial planning and money saving will have to be done by him because I’m useless at it. And since he is phenomenal at these activities, we complement each other very well.
However, I have discovered one area of existence where I balk at the idea of spending big amounts of money. And that’s buying expensive things for an infant. The infant will not be capable of appreciating anything that can be bought with money, right?* I haven’t spent much time with infants in the past 30 years but I believe that what they need is to be completely sure that they will be fed, protected, comforted and cuddled whenever they want to.
I’ve tried to analyze this reluctance and all I got is that I do have a massive problem with people trying to give others not what those others really need but what they have decided the others need.
Everybody who wants to buy expensive things for baby Eric (you know who you are!) is welcome to do so, however. Don’t let my issues stand in the way of yours. 🙂
* I can guarantee that he will be the very first among all his friends to get a car of his own, though. I also saw a tree-house that I really want to get him if we have a place to put it. All of this means, of course, that he will be one of those weird kids who want neither a tree-house nor a car. Maybe he’ll want a piano and then I’ll just have to jump off a cliff.
Clarissa's Blog 
No or “Yes, for good reasons”.
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I feel better now. 🙂
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I’d say you are lucid. Why spend money on a tot who won’t notice what you’ve bought? Expensive baby stuff is purely for the parents. All you baby wants is you, N, feeding and a comfy bed, oh and fresh air.
The rest is superfluous but if it would make you happy, buy up the shop! 🙂
Personally I could never get my head around the cost of luxury baby stuff. We were given much of what we needed thank goodness, and it was all solid stuff that we passed on to others later.
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When I say given, it was used stuff from parents whose kids had grown, not new gifts.
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Thank you, I feel less guilty now! 🙂
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You’re not getting involved in compulsive conspicuous consumption over the kid, which is a very healthy attitude. Seriously, those crib bedding sets creep me out.
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I recently saw one for $450. Beautiful and packed with stuff but $450! That’s crazy.
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Just imagine all the children’s books you could buy with 450$.
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All an infant needs is food, diaper changes, sleep, and love, which includes being held. Infants are easy compared to what they eventually become — children who can rationalize! haha. It’s all fun, but the infant stage is great because they learn so much so fast. It’s pretty amazing watching it.
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What a cheapo! Good thing Eric has an aunt who cannot wait to spoil him.
🙂
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Thought you might like this article: Why do Finnish Babies Sleep in Cardboard Boxes?
http://www.goodnet.org/articles/1116
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