How much is too much?

I went into this third pregnancy with a very minimalist attitude.  We would care for this baby with as little as possible out of necessity of space.  No need for a fancy crib when an all-in-one "care station", i.e. pack n' play, would do.  We weren't going to go crazy with the clothes when we could just do an extra load of laundry every other day or so.  Don't need a baby gym when a blanket and a few toys are stimulation enough.  Well, that was all good until we found out it was a girl.

Now as I wash everything I wonder where I'm going to put it all.  She has no less than 10-15 outfits in size 0-3 months, as well as another 10-15 outfits in size 3-6 months.  In addition to that there are sleepers, onesies, and whatever my sister is hoarding at her house.  I'm not even sure why I think she will even be able to wear the newborn clothes for 5 minutes.  My boys were born into size 3-6.   But I have them in the hopes that she will be tiny for a little while.  It's time for us to have a tiny baby.

Just where did all these clothes come from?  Oh, yeah.  Kids consignment stores.  It only took 3 trips.  I was so weak.  I went in and going around only one rack, came out with 10 outfits.  In my defense, this is my first girl; and where I used to fuss at the lack of diverse clothing in the boys section that is not the case with girls clothing. It is all so cute, how do people pick just a couple of items?  There also may have been a factor of shopping therapy.  Again, that is another post.  I did, however, find solace in that I was at a consignment store.  I helped the planet by buying used, and I helped our bank account at the same time.  My husband would argue that buying less would have helped our bank account more.

I love consignment stores for the kids.  You get really nice name brand stuff for 30% the price.  It's like a 70% off sale everyday.  Then when the kids outgrow it, you just sell it back to the store.  This works really well with baby clothes, because they don't use them enough to wear them out.  With this I still think that I am sticking with the mission.  Economic and Ecologic.

I have done well with resisting the crib and fancy bedding.  We have a fabulous pack n' play with some very nifty storage.  No separate bassinet, so far.  We have a small bouncy seat, a small box of toys, and a few blankets for playtime.  I just have to figure out how to resist all those cute girlie clothes.