BUT THEY LOOK SO HAPPY??While one could certainly argue that buying a ton of baby stuff these days is patriotic and helping America recover from its recession/depression (although Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity would totally disagree -- they don't want anyone to spend anything so that there is a greater likelihood for Obama to fail) . . . sorry bout that. Anyway, where was I. Oh yeah, while we could buy a bunch of newborn bling, I'm interested in how to break the consumerist cycle.
Turns out we might we arriving as new parents at the PERFECT TIME, as a recent NY Times article suggests (brought to my attention by our friend and hiking guru Becca). One silver lining on the cloud of the recession could be the rapid decrease in expectations that all new parents have the latest gadgets and high-end products. I mean, if you can now buy your car on eBay (GM that is), you should also be able to buy your stroller on eBay, as well, right? And maybe not the most recent stroller model with GPS satellite and special womb sounds emitted from the seat (I just made that up, but I challenge someone to find something like this that actually exists... I wouldn't be surprised if it does. It would probably be found here.)
On that note, check out No Wonder Our Kids Are So Messed Up: 20 Strange Baby Products.
I have placed an order at LeftBank Books for Pamela Paul's recent book "Parenting Inc.," which I also heard about from a story on NPR. Once I get started on reading this, I'll let y'all know if I learn any secrets to preventing baby gear, gadgets, and toys from filling every nook and cranny of our house.
