Mommy Consumerist

Last night I finished our baby registries for Target and Amazon. I’ve been making lists of the things we’ll need and reading recommendations from other moms, and as you know, I’ve been working on our plans for the nursery. The series of posts about preparing for baby on Design Mom last month were especially helpful, and the readers’ comments even more so.

I have honestly never felt so picky or read so many reviews or felt so bewildered about any other series of buying decisions. I have also never felt so inundated by marketing targeted at new parents. I understand now the conflict about so-called mommy bloggers and the advertising space. Even the much gentler nudges from good-hearted people that come via Twitter seem to only add to the onslaught.

We have a set of values that guides all of our buying decisions, baby included. First, we’re stewardship-conscious and budget conscious. Then, we buy what we need, what will last, what is not merely driven by trends, and what will most benefit us over the long haul. Sure, we give in to trendy things here and there – I think some of that is driven by our personalities and our work in the design industry. (Yellow is the new black? Yes, please!) But we don’t invest hugely into those things, because we know they pass with the seasons.

Even with these values in place, I have been hugely overwhelmed by the baby market. Have any advice for a mom-to-be? How do you avoid the over-consumerism that seems to go hand-in-hand with parenthood?