Wednesday, June 6, 2007

A Day Off

My cell phone rang right as I got out of the shower this morning at 7:30am. It was the Attorney Employment Office letting me know that work was canceled today because our building lost all power. That's right- canceled! I didn't know that could happen in the grown-up world. I felt like I was in elementary school and we'd just found out there was an inclement weather day. The timing could have been better- I was already awake (and now all wet) and I have a big project that I was counting on having all day to work on. My blackberry also decided to break last night so I have no way of checking my work email to see if the two attorneys I'm working for have contacted me about that assignment. I'm going to be a little scared to check my email when I go in tomorrow.

Regardless, I got a free day today and I quickly realized that I had no idea what to do with it. If I was back in Chicago I would be unpacking, decorating, and running errands to get things for the new apartment and the baby. I did have a list of errands to do- returns and such- but I knew that wouldn't take me all day. So I took my time driving around and exploring all the new shopping centers that seem to have popped up in Austin overnight. After a few hours I reached a grand conclusion, my working full-time is going to bring us double the financial reward: (1) I'll be earning a substantial paycheck, and (2) I won't have time to browse through stores. It's amazing what I find I "need" when I do that. I bought two new pairs of black heels today. I already own at least 7 nice pairs already - now I have 9. Who needs 9? Apparently I do. I also found a cute wallet and immediately decided that my current wallet needed to be replaced. I wandered through Target and bought a new eyeshadow color that called out to me, but I'm pretty sure I have the exact shade in a different brand sitting at home. Free time is expensive, dangerous stuff.

I also looked through baby clothes. I didn't get too many clothing items at my showers so I know that I need more, I just get overwhelmed by the variety and options. I don't know what I want. Normally I'm a decisive shopper, but this baby stuff is totally foreign. Several times I picked up a set of onesies or rompers, carred them around the store, and then put them back and left. My baby might have to be naked a lot- or just dressed in one of his many UT infant t-shirts with a diaper. But seriously- how many clothing pieces should I have? I keep hearing how lots of babies don't even fit into the newborn stuff so you should buy big, but shouldn't he have a few things that fit for those first few weeks? Is it easiest to have the one piece sleep 'n play outfits? onesies? where should the snaps be? and do babies wear pants with onesies or just run around with bare legs (well not so much run around as lay down)? I'm not even sure they sell baby pants, but I did get an email from "Urban Baby" about baby leg warmers to wear with onesies- seemed rather stylish in a retro-80's way. There was too much indecision and uncertainty, so I just stuck with the shoe section. It's a familiar, happy place for me.

8 comments:

  1. Ha - I've been obsessed with baby pants, and I found out they do indeed sell them, but they're not always easy to find.

    I love the little onesies, but I also worry about our baby being cold all winter with bare legs.

    There are a bunch of sites out there that tell you the bare necessities for baby "layettes" - aka their wardrobe. Some contradictory stuff, but I've just bought a few onesies, a few sleepers, a few t-shirts, and a baby hoody... I'm all about second hand stores in posh neighbourhoods. Etsy.com also has some adorable stuff.

    My friend told me onesies are key as they wear them under the rompers so their drool doesn't soak right through or something... I don't know.

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  2. Blankets people. They don't really need pants, especially in Texas. ;)

    We used nightgowns for my son at night when we wanted him to stay warm. In the daytime we kept him swaddled if it was cool. You can also do leggings if you really feel like you need pants.

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  3. Target sells baby pants! In lots of colors! I do a lot of babysitting and my little ones are usually in a white onesie (imagine that as an undershirt), a top, and a pair of pants. They have examples at www.hannaandersson.com (my favorite baby clothes spot, albeit kind of pricey). My best friend LOVES their rompers for the summer time.
    Hope that helps...

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  4. There are a lot of baby clothing stores online, which can help you decide what you need! My favorite is Sandboxcouture.com! Really cute stuff!

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  5. Yes, buy newborn stuff, you will want clothes that fit during the first month. Since you'll have a summer baby, you have it easy -- he can just wear a onesie over a diaper, and personally I like baby pants and would have two pairs on hand for cooler weather. I would say about 12 newborn onesies and a few 3 month ones so you'll have something for when he grows out of them, plus some bibs for spitup. (If you're not doing the bibs, get half a dozen more onesies.)

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  6. Don't buy too much in newborn size unless you are very petite yourself. My son was a very average 7lbs, 11oz, but he grew out of newborn in a matter of weeks (maybe 3?) and was right into 3 month clothes. I have so many wonderful leftover clothes from that time that he never even wore.

    Oh, and I definitely agree that rompers/overalls are a good alternative to pants. Anything one-piece with easy diapering access is good. I found pants kind of hard to deal with when changing diapers 10-14 times/day.

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  7. Onesies!! They are the best, and it will be hot in August/September. My kids both lived in onesies for their first 2 years. I fully agree with PT-Lawmom about the diaper issue.

    As for size: find out how big you and your husband were as babies. One of mine was premie so doesn't count, but the other was only 6.5 lbs and was in newborn stuff for the full three months.

    Pants were a royal pain. Some newborns are going through diapers on an hourly basis and being wrapped up in a blanket is the most they need. One tip: when the little guy starts crawling he'll crawl right out of pants. Overalls are the best.

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  8. I'll throw in that you never know what life will throw at you -- I was shocked at how tiny some of the newborn Carters onesies were that my aunt sent (and thought we'd never use them), but of course, that's what fit when we took little Ed home.

    Because we keep our house pretty cool, we have her in lots of sleepers with long sleeves, and I love the sleeping gowns for easy midnight access.

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