Pre-parenting Worries

[Megan]

Originally Posted by rodaniel

Well, it seems that most of my worries were for naught - the ladies at work hosted a nice, simple shower for Dede & me on Thursday and it was great!

It sounds like you guys had a perfect shower. What great gifts! I know so many people who think that gifts like diapers or gift cards or hand sanitizer are "boring" and they would prefer to give "fun" gifts. But it sounds like you guys got gifts that you will actually use and that you will actually appreciate.

I'm glad it went well, and best of luck with rest of the process. I plan to spend some time going through your adoption blog entries, as international adoption is something that I have considered from time to time.

[Xin Lu]

I think when I have a kid I will just ask people to give us cash if they want to give a gift. It is the most practical gift in all reality because babies outgrow clothing and toys so fast that those things become useless quickly. During our wedding we wrote that we would appreciate red envelopes on our wedding invitations and most of the guests gave us money and that made things a lot easier for everyone. Though I guess giving money is more of a Chinese thing.

When I think about it I will probably let my baby be naked for a while and return all the 1 week/3week tiny clothing I get as gifts.

[purplefdu]

Good to hear your friends are more intelligent than my best friend's. She had her shower last weekend and got baby clothes from everyone there but me it seemed. And bottles, pacifiers, and toys as well. We bought a Johnson's Bedtime Gift set with a lullaby CD and lavendar wash, lotion and massage gel as we know its hard on parents when the kid doesn't want to sleep and its her first.

I definitely think these days its important to stress that gifts, however well meaning, that aren't asked for or wanted will be returned or simply turned away. Just like people can feel free to ask for whatever they want, they can also raise the bar. Luckily most stores give gift reciepts easily.I think shopping for someone you've never met has to be darn near impossible to get right, as you never know what the baby will like, adopted or not.

And your idea of interactive does indeed suggest you will be amazing parents. Congrats on your new family member.