Wife Is Going Baby Crazy...

[Anonymous]

My wife and I are expecting our first, and likely only child, in a couple of months. She has been going way overboard with super expensive purchases or a ton of things we likely will never use. We had the normal big expenses like crib, stroller, lounge chair, etc., but we paid more because it had to certified to be free of toxins. She has put most things on the registry, but she wants to buy a $1200 bassinet, on top of a $300 bassinet we are asking for as a gift. She currently has two types of swings, two bassinets, 3 different strollers, etc. We live in a 1,700sqft. condo, and I don’t know how we will store all of this stuff. It’s like she’s shopping for twins. We may try fir a second child, but due to her age ( 37), we likely will be one and done. I want her to be happy and we aren’t hurting for money, but I feel she’s been very excessive. Can I bring it up or just keep my mouth shut?

[Anonymous]

Bring it up.Your wife is crazy. Why didn't you marry a childfree woman?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bring it up.Your wife is crazy. Why didn't you marry a childfree woman?

Um..maybe he wanted a child too.

[Anonymous]

what she's likely not telling you is that she also is house shopping....b/c you'll need more space for all the stuff she's getting for the kiddo(s).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what she's likely not telling you is that she also is house shopping....b/c you'll need more space for all the stuff she's getting for the kiddo(s).

OP here. No, we will be moving to a home, but not until child is older.

[Anonymous]

Bring it up. You MAY need two strollers at once, but DEFINITELY not three all at once.

Only one bassinet, but really the dock-a-tot seems better than that. I'd get the DaT and skip any bassinet.

[Anonymous]

I’d bring it up. If this was a husband buying all kinds of crap, the women would be going nuts. Or just box it up and take it back, like everyone thought it was OK for the wife to do with the husband’s old coat she didn’t like anymore.

[Anonymous]

I feel for you OP. Just tell her no. kids are resilient. They don't need all that stuff. Those expensive strollers are bulky and over priced. We had some stupid $350 stroller with all these stupid features and I eventually bought a 15 dollar umbrella-like collapsible one when we were traveling.... wait for it... I never used the big expensive fancy one again because the cheap small "unsafe one" was lighter, smaller, easier to put in the trunk.

All the baby crap is mostly useless. I HATE those stupid diaper genies... They don't work because the room still smells like dirty diapers...

As a first time mom she is simply inexperienced and frankly stupid with misinformation about what she thinks she "needs."

Oh, by the way, she will never ever believe you are capable or caring for the child or that your advise is valuable.

[Anonymous]

She's probably getting a ton of advice - "you HAVE to have this XXX, it saved my life," etc. She needs to ignore it all. The truth is, you aren't really going to know what you need until the baby gets here. What works for one baby and one family doesn't work for another.

She may be panicking that once the child is born, she's not going to have time to shop or get other stuff. She will.

Anyhow, you need to sit down with her and go over the finances - the baby equipment is the least of the expenses and the easiest to trim back. Childcare, on the other hand...

[Anonymous]

P.S. the most useful item besides the crib was the rocking chair. Bassinet is not needed. We NEVER used one. The crib was about $200 at babies-r-us. It worked just fine for three kids. When we had our first I was expecting to be broke from all the baby stuff but I remember telling my wife that it turned out the baby stuff was not that expensive (because we didn't buy whole slew of useless stuff).


We used:
Crib
Changing Table
Automatic swing (then later a jumpy swing)
Stroller (expensive one - went into storage) Cheap one got used.

THAT WAS IT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bring it up. You MAY need two strollers at once, but DEFINITELY not three all at once.

Only one bassinet, but really the dock-a-tot seems better than that. I'd get the DaT and skip any bassinet.

Please don’t get a dock-a-tot. They’re not safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d bring it up. If this was a husband buying all kinds of crap, the women would be going nuts. Or just box it up and take it back, like everyone thought it was OK for the wife to do with the husband’s old coat she didn’t like anymore.

Two wrongs don't make a right.

[Anonymous]

my parents told me that they used an empty drawer when I was born. She is nuts to spend that kind of money on a bassinet.

[Anonymous]

She really needs to sit with a couple of “rational” moms to hear what’s really needed and what is a waste. She will not listen to you because you don’t have any experience.

[Anonymous]

there is not such thing as rational mom