Sunday, May 13, 2007

crib shaking and stroller folding

so ted and i have been checking out the baby gear on offer at various places in town and have found that you can swiftly lose your mind as you try to decide which of the fifty-seven cribs on display will be the absolute right one for you. we both like to shop for, research and buy gear--camping stuff, shoes (yes, they count), cameras, stereo stuff, instruments--you know, big and unnecessary, but great, things to have.

the baby gear universe is a completely different...universe. baby gear seems to come with added resonance and weight. your camping stuff tells you and others about your relationship to nature in degrees of symbiosis and hostility. but the baby gear you buy--or even look at--seems to convey a solid, public impression of what kind of parent you see yourself becoming, or perhaps what kind of parent you already consider yourself to be.

this kind of fortune-telling via consumer action makes the decisions much more complex.

i suppose it's really just another manifestation of fact that having a baby began for us as quite a private affair, and that once it really happened and we started telling people, it became a public and communal experience. i'm still a little bit dazed by that very big, but very welcome change. and that's really what this blog is intended to address as well--the fact that we want to share this experience with our friends and family in as many ways as possible.

so that's all for one more private reflection, posted for public consumption.

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