baby gear

I remember when Morgan was born, wondering why this little 6lb 13oz creature needed SO MUCH STUFF.  At the time we were renting a 2 bedroom townhouse and half of our place was filled with baby shower gifts.  Swing, bouncer seat, Bumbo seat, highchair, bassinet, crib, diaper changing station, pack n play, carrier, papasan chair, floor gym, bath tub, flat screen TV, Wii.  I remember asking Michael 'seriously?  why does a tiny human need so much big stuff?'

Oh I got my answer.

Because babies are not these cute little happy cuddly creatures that you snuggle with, sing to, feed, and put away.  They are hateful, demanding, greedy little dictators.  Or at least mine was.  Morgan was extremely irritated about being born.  It put her in a bad mood for about 6 months.  During the first week we learned really fast a new game called 'What Makes Morgan Happy' that we had to play for the next year.  Does Morgan want to hang out in the swing listening to classical music?  No.  Does Morgan want to roll around in the floor gym?  No.  Does Morgan want to snuggle down in the papasan seat and watch her mobile?  For about 1 minutes, yes.  Does Morgan want to be held by mommy while the Wiggles are on?  ding ding ding!  We have a winner!  ....for about 10 minutes. 

I read articles about 'container babies' - babies that are always stuck in a swing or pack n play or whatever.  I concluded that I had an 'anti-container baby' that wanted to be held all of the time.  But eventually all of the gear became a blessing.  I could put Morgan in her swing watching Nemo for a 10 minute shower before she started screaming.  We put a lot of miles on her stroller too.  She loved going for walks....as long as they were no longer than 1/2 hour.  That was her limit. 

The jumparoo was our best friend when she was old enough to use it.  Not only did it provide ridiculous entertainment for us (seriously, only a parent will understand why it's hilarious to sit and watch a baby jump up and down in a plastic saucer attached to supports) but it gave us some hands free time to do things like cook dinner, clean house, work on laundry, and play Mario Kart. 

Eventually Morgan outgrew all of her gear, and started to walk, so our days of trying to play What Makes Morgan Happy came to a close and we bagged up all of the gear for storage.

And last week we dragged it all out of our attic.

Oh my gosh.

Why does a little human need so much big gear?