Too Much or Too Little

For those of you who haven't yet entered the adventures of parenthood, or who are new to it... it I have a couple tips.

#1 - You CAN have TOO MUCH and
#2 - You will have too little even when you have too much.

Now let me explain. With both William and now Elizabeth, I have had friends & co-workers who have offered me hand-me-down clothes and toys. Both times I have accepted because children grow out of clothes SO QUICKLY, that it's a waste to just get rid of baby clothes rather than passing them down. For unless you wash your baby's clothes against sharp rocks, there is no way for a small baby to put much wear and tear on their clothes. In addition, you will often have SO many from friends and relatives that your child cannot feasibly wear them all and you'll feel less guilty if at least SOMEONE wears them. HOWEVER, be careful what you wish for. I have received SO many hand-me-downs for Elizabeth recently that I cannot, I repeat CANNOT fit them all in her closet and dresser! AND, I have received SO many toys that it actually once prompted a guest in our home to view our playroom and ask, "ummm... how many children did you say live here?" I just smiles sheepishly and told her that my kids have 6 grandparents and I have a lot of generous friends.

The other problem with the too much is organizing it all. You see, I am also determined to hand down my clothes (and have) to other parents so they too can have the joy of sorting through ridiculous amounts of clothing and being able to change their child 2-3 times per day when spit up or poop explosions happen without worrying about running out of clothes. However, organizing all these clothes takes up a LOT of time. I have spent NUMEROUS hours putting our initials on all our clothes and sorting them into sizes and storing them in size order so that I know which bin to reach for next and/or hand down to the next parent. Therefore, I now have tons of boxes labeled with things like "Boy clothes: 6-9 months" and "Girl/Gender Neutral Clothes - 3 months."

The advantage of the "too much" problem? Well, one was mentioned above. Elizabeth could have 3-5 poop/spit up explosions per day and I would still have enough clothes to last me without having to do laundry more than once a week. Another advantage: I can have "ready clothes" packed away in her diaper bag or her daycare bag in case a change of clothes is needed and still have enough in her closet and dresser to keep her dressed forever. A final advantage to both the clothes and toys: sharing. When other kids come over, you can be a fully prepared host to have enough toys to go around and enough spare clothes to share in case of impromptu runs through the sprinkler or last minute needs for extra jammies when friends stay longer than they had originally planned.

Now... how can you have too little, when you have too much? Here's how. You have so much that you trust that you have tucked away enough extra clothes, diapers wipes and toys that you forget to run a double check on your diaper bag or backpack when leaving the house. We have a two story house and I'm often packing both a diaper bag and another bag when leaving the house to ensure that both kids are covered that I make sure to keep clothes, burp cloths, toys, diapers and wipes in numerous locations. HOWEVER, it is the Murphy's Law of parenthood that the one time you NEED the extras will be the time you don't have them.

Recently, Mike and I were at the park and when it came time to change Elizabeth's diaper (poop, of course), I discovered that I actually did NOT have wipes. WHAT?! How does this happen? Now, thank God we live close to the park, but it still SUCKED to march home in really hot weather, JUST to bring back another package of wipes, especially when I have, like 12 extra packages lying around!

Another time, I had gotten so used to there being extra diapers in her bag that I did not double check. BIG ERROR. We were at Mike's work and she did a SUPER POOP and I had NO diapers. A very experienced and resourceful mother and friend told me to take a huge Maxi Pad from the ladies bathroom and tuck it in her diaper until we could get home. It worked, however, Elizabeth's diaper looked comically HUGE for the rest of our time at Symantec and I could barely snap close her onsie.

Finally, my favorite... I failed both my children at once. Despite the plethora of burp cloths, pacifiers and toys I have within reach, I failed to pack any of them one time. I then ended up at Starbucks using a napkin for a burp cloth, letting William play with my wallet, keys and cell phone and letting Elizabeth suck on my finger to placate herself. Way to go mom. Yeah, I was looking like mother of the year there.

Oh, one final tip to parents, speaking of burp cloths and too little or too much. Both in quantity and size... there is no such thing as too much! When you find yourself expecting or with a newborn, immediately go out and by yourself large packages of "receiving blankets". Do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy anything labeled burp cloth as these things are so comically small that unless you're lucky enough to have a baby who spits up less than an ounce at a time... you will be SOAKED. Also, these "receiving blanket" packages are very inexpensive and while the "blankets" are way too small to RECEIVE anything larger than perhaps a 4 pound preemie... they make FABULOUS burp cloths. They are large enough to cover your upper half, light enough to carry a few at a time and cheap enough to buy in larger quantities and have no guilt about ruining with multiple washings.

Now good luck parents... and wish me the same. I need it!