Duplicates and Triplicates
I used to laugh at those silly mommies, blowing their hard-earned cash on multiple "kinds" of the same thing. Why isn't one stroller, or two pacifiers, or 3 sippy cups enough? Why buy so much? Suckers.
That's what I used to think. Now? We are the
First world problems, I know. And stupid us. I also know.
But here's the thing: I forgot to factor in the all-too-important-and-varying variable, Little L. She is the reason for this madness. She grows, and all of a sudden one stroller no longer fits her adorably chubby thighs and long legs properly. She has her own preferences, as it turns out, and only likes certain kinds of sippy cups. She learns to roll, to sit, to stand, to walk - and this affects her comfort levels in her crib, necessitating a larger one.
Then there are the pragmatic reasons:
* a smaller place = a smaller crib, but a growing toddler + a bigger place = a full-size crib
* sometimes a smaller and lighter version of something is called for (e.g. an umbrella stroller vs. a jogger for airline travel, a thin Boba Air carrier instead of a thick structured Beco Gemini for grocery shopping)
* ease of use (our full-size pack-n-play takes longer to set up than our Bjorn Play Crib) (having a Foonf in E-town as well as one in Van means we don't have to rent and fuss over another car seat, and Little L actually likes the Foonf but hates all the rest of them)
* functional differences (e.g. some sippies are great for water, whereas others are good for smoothies)
Anyway, I no longer scoff. I understand, and I recognize how privileged we are to be able to accommodate our kids' preferences and our own desires for ease and convenience. We are thankful for this excess, and despite the duplicates and triplicates hogging up our storage space, I have no reason to complain, and much to rejoice about.
How about you? What do you do with your doubles and triples and quadruples? Have you also given in to this excess or did you find a good way to minimize?
PS- Before you wisely advise that I sell my stuff or give it away, I have to tell you that I can't do that until we are done having babies. I'm not good at borrowing and returning, so I try to avoid borrowing others' stuff and tend to buy my own and use it until I'm done. And we aren't good at selling, either. We try to give things away when we can.
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