Mommy & Me, and Baby Things Twee
Contributing SFist Amanda has gotten herself dressed in fabulous maternity clothes, and she knows how to get the baby out. Now for the part she really got knocked up for -- shopping for baby clothes!
Your friends or family (or both, lucky you) probably will throw you a baby shower. Let them. "But my family is crazy and annoying!" Shut up. Just let them. It's a great way to get people to buy you things that you would easily spend too much money on. Save your money for purchasing "transition" clothes, the things you'll wear when you're too small for maternity (finally!) but too chubby for your old jeans. (Where are you H&M?!)
Now, what to buy? Those "necessary items" lists you see in books and online can be daunting. Chances are that you will never need a baby wipes warmer. Just how cold is your house? Can a baby's butt not withstand room temperature? We reccomend sticking with the basics such as a crib, a stroller, a car seat, a breast pump and/or bottles, a bouncer, and a whole mess of cute onesies and toddler clothes. Starting with these basics will make you feel like you've accomplished something, and people will ineveitably fill in the gaps with things like silk bathrobes for your 3 months old (Hi, Hef!)
Keep shopping after the jump!
Photo of well-appointed nursery contributor's own
The first thing to do is to register for gifts. We know it sounds greedy, but trust us when we say that people LOVE to buy baby gifts. This isn't at all the same as when you registered at Tiffany for your wedding when you'd been living with your boyfriend for 6 years already. Many local stores will let you register in person. The biggest chain of independently owned and operated stores are the Baby News stores. In Marin the San Rafael location is Heller's For Children. This store has been around since the 70's, as our own mother bought our baby items here. In Oakland it's called Baby World (3925 Piedmont Ave., phone 510-547-7040) and in Menlo Park it goes by Planet Kids. You can also register online with the behemoths Target and Babies R Us. If anything it helps pass the time at work while you are waiting for the sweet, sweet release of maternity leave to begin.
Another way to round up baby gear is to simply tell everyone you know that you are pregnant and looking for stuff. Borrowing used items is a great way to stock up. Craigslist hosts a ton of listings for new and used baby items as well, available for sale or sometimes just "My uterus is done with this crib. It's free if you come pick it up."
But if you are bound and determined to purchase the perfect Pretty Princess Nursery all on your own, we won't stop you. Here's a few places to start your shopping. The While Rabbit in San Alselmo (415-456-1938, 601 San Anselmo Ave.) is full of twee little clothes and wall decor. The Mill Valley Baby Company has very nice nursery furniture (and
it's right next to a fancy dog shop, so you can get Fido that stripey collar you know he has been eyeing. Tangent -- have you noticed that many baby stores are next to pet stores? Why is this? Have pets come to replace children? Is it because it's easier to leave a dog for the weekend? We digress.) Palo Alto hosts The Play Store They quote
values of integrity on their website, so you know your baby is headed for Stanford if you shop here.
Moving on to the East Bay we have The Ark. We haven't been there, but it looks... full... from the website. Also in Berkeley is This Little Piggy Wears Cotton. We think that they would have benefitted by conducting an actual photo shoot instead of commissioning drawings for all of their products, but hey, we are on maternity leave and not working in Advertising anymore. So we will shut up and enjoy the piggies.
In San Francisco you can pretty much just waddle on down either Sacramento or Union Streets and you can't help but trip over the many baby stores to be found. That, and the ladies stumbling out of their botox appointments. On Sacramento you will find Maison, Town School Clothes, where you can buy new and used (Ed note: we once found a never-worn pair of perfect-fitting Prada boots there for only 50 bucks, so check out the adult stuff while you're there) and Tuffy's Hopscotch, which has the cutest shoes ever. On Union Street you'll find Mini's, and Wee Scotty which we are linking
to solely because the website features mildly hip children's techno music. And you can buy your child a mink coat there to boot! Age 4 is the perfect time to lower the PC level of your child before they head off to French Lycee elementary school.
There really is nothing more fun than decorating a nursery and dressing up your child, no matter how jaded you are. We never thought we'd be matching our light switch plates to our jungle-themed crib set. It just goes to show how powerful those pregnancy hormones actually are. Have fun! Go forth and decorate!