Valentine's Day has changed.

What did we do yesterday, for the Hallmark Holiday? Well, we went to Babies R Us. Yes, that's right, supposedly the most romantic day of the year and we headed off to the one store that kills the mood.

It was time to dive right in and start thinking about cribs, bedding, and pack-n-plays. Fun.

Being the savvy shopper that I am, I had picked up a copy of Baby Bargains a couple of weeks ago and brought that in, armed and ready to get a well-priced, safe, wonderful item for Baby D.

It's overwhelming!! There are so many makes and models. The one simple, "Jenny Lind" style crib there did not get good ratings, thus, we had to blanket the whole place and scope out everywhere model that looked half-way decent. There are so many! As of right now, we settled on a Graco model that converts - we had gone in thinking we didn't really need a convertible, but it turned out to be a well-priced, safe, wonderful option.

In the meantime, you can't look at the cribs without looking at bedding, because every crib is done up all perdy-like with a beautiful set of sheets and un-necessities. Like a diaper holder. Why do I need a diaper holder? Isn't the top drawer of the dresser a diaper holder? But I think we found a set that we like. Now, bumpers or no bumpers? The jury is still out on this one - some experts say they cause SIDS, others worry about the baby bumping it's head.

On to the Pack-n-Play - ours will also be doubling as a bassinet for our room, so our options here were (thankfully and immediately) more limited. Graco again won out. That part wasn't so bad - everything was pretty much condensed to one aisle.

We ventured into stroller land, but quickly retreated - we were not prepared to face that!

On the way out, I asked Gian if it was really "that bad." He said no, it wasn't that bad, but it made the baby that much more real - and made him that much more scared. Aw.

On to dinner, which was a bit more romantic than BRU- a more traditional end to the day.

First Presents for Baby D-Lish!

Thanks, Auntie Holly!The books are: Nibble Nibble and Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown; Dooby Dooby Moo; Edwina the Dinosaur who Didn't Know She Was Extinct; and Wow! City. (The last one is an attempt to brainwash Baby D into believing the city is a wonderful utopia where Aunt Holly lives....)
First onesie. Aw. The other one is a zodiac Leo one.

Clothes shopping is no longer fun.

Now, we all know I'm a girl who loves to shop. And I rarely pay full price. And I usually enjoy going to a store, grabbing an armful or two of clothes, and trying them on, figuring out which pants are the most flattering, which shirt will work best for work, and so on.

Maternity clothing shopping is not at all the same. Not even the same ballpark.

I'm not huge yet - but pants are tight, shirts are getting shorter, and I need options. First, I had to travel to the Palisades to find a decent selection of clothing all in one place, including Gap, which is a no-brainer for me. Once there, however, I only had enough time to hit the Gap and Destination Maternity.

The Gap Maternity section looked promising at first - secret back room of Baby Gap store, low lighting, beautiful layout - but the room was impossibly tiny, and the selection so minimal - made even more minimal at the fact that my size seems to be most popular and thus unavailable. And trying the stuff on? Ugh, it's like trying to determine which potato sack looks best. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm ready for the matwear just yet. That said, however, I did buy two pairs of pants and a cute-ish sweater.

Destination Maternity seemed to have two options - crazy expensive jeans (and only jeans) in the Pea in the Pod section, and then Wal-Mart-ish, picked over sale racks in the Mimi and Motherhood sections. I had heard great things about Motherhood, so maybe I had my hopes up, or maybe my patience was worn thin after the Gap experience, but I just didn't even see anything worth trying on. I got a black tee - I can always use one of those - and a Belly Band, so I can keep wearing my own pants a little longer.

At checkout, AFTER I've scanned my card and signed my life away, I am told that there is a TEN DAY return policy. TEN DAYS??? What the heck? It takes me more than 10 days to decide if I'm going to keep something... I usually try things on at home, with various outfits, make sure it works... TEN DAYS? Ugh.

But, there is redemption - my favorite pasttime, the Internet. I purchased half the Gap Maternity merchandise, to arrive here in a week, in multiple sizes, and to be returned at my leisure (in 90 days, mind you, but still, not ten!).