For such tiny things, babies sure need a lot of stuff! When I first found out I was pregnant, I made about 10 different lists—stuff we need, stuff I want, things to do right away, things to do before she’s born, and on and on. I’m a list maker. Spencer’s a list follower, which works out well. The big list of Stuff We Need was rather large and expensive. It included all required baby paraphernalia (Brenia used a lot of Stacia’s old things and they were not looking fit enough to last a third child) and a van. Yes, that’s right, I’m joining the club.

I think I’m the last mom in the county who does not drive a mini-van or suv. I resisted for so many years. Alas, it seems resistance truly is futile. State law still requires Stacia to be in a booster seat and no way are 3 carseats fitting in the rear of my Cavalier. Rommie’s cute, but she’s not so big. Here’s the one I’ve picked out. Saturns make me feel safe, plus this one comes with a DVD player standard! They call it a Family Utility Vehicle so I can still cling to the hope that I will not, in fact, own a mini-van. I’ll call her Serenity. He’ll call her our FU Van. Either way she’ll be large enough to hold all those kids, and the stuff that comes with them.

It’s really too bad we hadn’t already bought one, though Spencer is holding out for the ’06 model that comes with an iPod line-in for the stereo. We sure could have used it on my Toys R Us shopping spree! I had heard of some great clearance baby deals that coupled with some in-store coupons meant huge savings. Some people actually managed to get highchairs and travel systems for free. Since I was, of course, still asleep when the store opened I wasn’t quite that lucky. I did manage to find a few much needed items for a much smaller than budgeted price.

We are now the proud owners of this highchair, travel crib, carseat/stroller system, and bouncing seat all for the bargain price of $200, which I’d like to point out to you is less than the original price on the carseat system alone. Shopping is fun! Of course, there is still a lot on our list of baby needs, but this helps a lot and gives us more budget room for the smaller things. Is it bad that my list for #3 is longer than my cousin’s list for their first? I’m sure it’s just because she doesn’t fully grasp the concept of how much crap these little things need!

I set the crib up that night because it was the last one and had no box. I wanted to be sure everything was in working order. The kids were so excited. I took it back down and packed it away last night. All day, Brenia has asked “Where’s Rory’s bed?” Having baby stuff around makes it so much more real to a 2-year-old. I’m thinking we need to seriously get to work on that Stuff To Do Before Baby’s Born list. Having the room all setup and ready a month or so early would really help with the adjustment. She’s such a routine child. When something changes, it takes her weeks to get settled—which unsettles the whole household. It will be unsettling enough to suddenly have more kids than I have hands. Anything we can do to speed up her adjustment process ranks high on my list of priorities.