“It seems like we’re registering for a lot of stuff,” I sighed to Sera as we walked through another aisle of baby merchandise. With the first baby shower on the horizon, we headed to the store to determine what in the world it is that we’ll need for this munchkin. The only problem: We have no clue what we need.

Did you know that you can lay your baby in a billion different products? There’s the traditional cradle, a cradle that attaches to your bed, a pack and play, the spaceship looking thing that rocks and vibrates the baby on its own, and a changing table. I’m sure there’s more than that, too! For someone who’s not going to be going anywhere when we put him or her down, I’m just not sure we need so many designated put-down spots. Of course eventually babies start to move around, and at that point all bets are off as far as containment.

Speaking of containment, there’s baby gates and car seats. There’s the baby wrap and a carrier. How in the world does a new parent know what to get? We survived our wedding registry through thoughtful planning, but it seems so much harder to plan for another human being.

What’s a need versus a want? Does a baby need a ton of toys, or will he or she get by with just a few and not notice the difference? I like to imagine our child being content as a minimalist, but perhaps we’ll give birth to a future reality television star for the show “Hoarders.” Do we need a large variety of baby clothes, or can we just get a bunch of white onesies and call it a day? Is it wrong that I just want simple clothes for the baby and only a few cool clothes for photos and the occasional public gathering? Sera firmly disagrees with this thought process, so I must already be thinking like a dad.

One of my fears is getting too much stuff that we won’t use. It’s a foolish fear, as I’m sure many people viewing our registry already have children and know what they just couldn’t live without. Hopefully that’s what they’ll buy for us. I still wonder what we’re going to do with all of this stuff when we get it though. The baby’s room is currently being utilized as my wife’s walk-in closet, so some downsizing and/or home organization is going to need to occur. Thankfully when we bought our home earlier this year we anticipated having children, so there is room to grow. Until now, we just haven’t had any need to really use storage space in a strategic manner. Honestly, we really haven’t had to throw anything out to make it fit simply because of the many storage spaces in our house. That will all change when the baby shower gifts start to arrive.

Sera, quite smartly, recommended we ask for clothes and diapers beyond the newborn stage so we’ll have items that fit as the baby grows. As thoughtful as those gifts will be, I know I’ll forget where we packed them away and spend far too long searching them out. In addition to the bigger clothes, we’ll certainly be getting toys that aren’t quite age appropriate for a newborn. Those too will be packed away somewhere seemingly brilliant, but in reality hidden in the back of a wardrobe on the way to Narnia.

As we continue making strives toward parenthood, I hope my confidence level increases. All parents were a first-time parent at some point, so it’s important to remember I’m not alone in this. We’ve got great resources in friends, family and co-workers who have all been down this road before and have answers to questions we don’t even know we have. Before we even hold our child in our arms, I’m certain the quote “It takes a village to raise a child,” is true. As my questions begin centering around our registry, I’m thankful for our village support system to be there to assist and help provide for our little one.

 

Rochester resident Matt Knutson is the communications and events director for United Way of Olmsted County.