Cool Things I Would Buy for Baby #2

Our second baby is due in less than three months, and I've been starting to get ready for his arrival. Between leftover stuff from Camille, things people let us borrow (thank you!), and things people have given us, we don't need much. However, there are a few things that I think would be really nice to have...if I didn't care about spending money and accumulating lots of stuff. We're frugal people, and I can think of lots of other ways to spend money, and I just hate having a lot of stuff. I dislike clutter, I am kind of ruthless about what kind and how many toys Camille can have, and I have no problems donating anything I don't want around the house. I fondly look back to my mission where everything I owned fit into two suitcases. That being said, here are some things that would be nice to have for a second baby if I didn't care about those things.

1. Arm's Reach Mini Co-sleeper

Between the borrowed Moses basket, the crib, and the pack'n'play, we don't need another place for a baby to sleep. However, it would be convenient to have the baby right there at the the side of the bed and not have to bend over to get him. 

2. Leachco Safer Bather Infant Bath Pad

We used a borrowed classic blue baby bathtub with the sling thing for Camille, and it worked just fine. But it's so big and bulky, and the sling got cold pretty fast. Really I just dislike the big and bulky part, and this thing looks more compact and comfortable. Even if we don't use the baby bathtub, we probably won't buy anything because a washcloth works just fine to keep the baby from slipping around the sink/tub.

3. HealthPro EBB-1 "Watch-ME-Grow" Digital Baby Scale

With all the worry about Camille gaining enough weight and the milk sensitivity issue, this would have been really nice to have. Hopefully that won't be an issue with this baby at all. If it is, I will have to consider whether this would be worth it.

4. WiFi Baby 2.0 - Wireless iPhone, iPad, Android, Baby Monitor & Nanny Cam DVR. 

This is a wi-fi video baby monitor that uses your phone or tablet to show the video. It does pretty much everything--apparently you don't even have to be near your baby to take care of him. For how much it costs, it ought to feed your baby, too. We already have a monitor, and it's even a video monitor. The screen is like 20 pixels big, but hey, it works.

5. Infant Pacifier Thermometer

I always thought this was a cool idea and I thought about getting one. Then I wondered how you clean it without getting anything wet that shouldn't get wet. Then I wondered how well an electronic device that goes in a baby's mouth works anyway. And then I decided it's not worth it.

6. 2014 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

Ha. We visited and revisited this issue, and every time we decided we should wait. We will have to upgrade to a bigger vehicle sometime, but for now, the smallest car seat available costs a lot less than a new car. In the meantime, we can save money by driving two little compact cars that get great gas mileage and don't cost very much to insure.

Edited to add: If a 2014 Toyota Highlander Hybrid with third row seats or any other family vehicle just ended up in our driveway with a big bow on it, I wouldn't complain about having more stuff :)

Whenever I start wanting to buy things I keep these things in mind:

The Difference Between Prophecy and Revelation

We had stake conference on Saturday and Sunday. The Sunday general session was very long, not because it went over, but because we had to sit in the front and keep Camille quiet for two hours. Despite Camille's best efforts, I still managed to mostly pay attention.

The stake president spoke about feeling the Spirit. I really liked one thing he said, and I've thought about it quite a bit since then. Why is it that sometimes we seek revelation regarding a proposed course of action, especially for important decision such as marriage, relocating, or accepting employment, but then things go badly? The marriage may not happen or may happen and later fail. The new job may end shortly in resignation or termination. Did the communication line somehow get messed up, or was the revelation imagined? The stake president's ideas were that you received revelation to proceed, not a prophecy of how things would turn out. In other words, you can receive revelation to do what you were asking, but it's not a guarantee that it will end how you thought. You have to live your life to see how the story ends. We can receive prophesying revelation, but I think it is both much less common and very different than confirmation that a course of action is acceptable.

Those are just some thoughts that have been swirling around my head that I felt to share. If you're interested in reading a talk about revelation, here's a good one: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=568.

Some random stuff

I haven't thought up any witty, funny, or cute things to blog about recently, so I haven't bothered blogging. But I do get sick of looking at the same pictures as the most recent post. Here are some new ones. They are all of Camille. I realized when I updated Mom's family picture craft thing that when a couple has kids, they basically stop taking pictures of themselves and only take pictures of the kids or them with the kids.

Just sitting in a pot, with my sandals nearby to look at.

She thinks she's Jane. I guess she sort of is...Camille Jane.

Camille likes to stack.

Most of you have seen this.

It's really hard to get a good picture of three little kids. 

Camille playing in the Auto Awesome snow.