Acquiring "Stuff"

Soon after we told my parents we were pregnant, I got a call from Pop.

"Your mom and I have a bet," he said.  "We want to know who's right.  Would you prefer to get new stuff or used stuff for the baby?"
"Used stuff," I answered without hesitation.  "Babies grow out of things pretty quickly and don't use things for very long.  And there are a ton of parents in the city who sell used stuff pretty cheaply." 
"Ah ha!" he said triumphantly.  "I was right!" 

He knows me well.  When we got pregnant, one of the first things I did was join a local neighborhood listserv, reputed for not only it's hilarious discussions between drama-oriented and overprotective yuppie parents, but also for it’s helpful reviews of local resources, and opportunities to get affordable used baby stuff.  Within the first few days of poring through an overwhelming number daily classified postings (up to 150/day), I was able to follow trends on the kind of gear local parents buy, recommend and sell. 

The first thing I learned about was an oft-used baby swing - cozy and cute for a newborn, and best of all, portable.  I wrote to a parent selling the swing for an affordable $15 and made arrangements to pick it up after work.  When I arrived, the parent had prepared it for me in a clear plastic garbage bag for easy transporting.  At this point, I was a mere seven weeks pregnant, not at all showing, and nowhere near sharing the news publicly.  As I hauled the swing uphill toward the nearest subway, I repeated to myself over and over again, "please don't let me run into someone I know.  Please don't let me run into someone I know."

And because life always gives us what we ask for, as soon as I descended the subway stairs, I ran into someone I know.  A coworker whom I never, ever see in the office.  Who was waiting for the same train, to get off at the same stop in my neighborhood.  She looked at the bag, and then at my belly.

"What did I miss?!" she said with raised eyebrows.
"Oh, nothing, this is for a friend," I said, vaguely.  We took the train together and I attempted to make small talk, panicking in my head all the way.  We finally arrived at our stop after an excruciating ten minutes.  And as we got off the train, because life has a sense of humor like that, we ran into ANOTHER coworker.  I tried to be nonchalant about the fact that I was carrying a giant baby swing with a bunch of cutesy animals all over it up the stairs.  "So... what's new with you?" I asked.

Needless to say, it's been much less stressful acquiring baby stuff at a point when I can share the news of our pregnancy.  To-date, I've done pretty well through the listserv.  I've scored a free baby tub, carrier, car seat and snap n' go, a cheap pack n' play, and our most momentous purchase, a crib... all without running into someone I know.  When a neighbor delivered the crib to us last weekend, S and I truly felt the excitement and anticipation of our little one's arrival.  Nothing says, "we're having a baby!" like having to rearrange all the furniture in our one-bedroom apartment to accommodate a bed for a new little person.

Yet, I'm trying to walk that fine line between acquiring just enough and not too much "stuff."  I'm of the belief that babies don't need much and most of what's out there is just part of a multi-billion dollar marketing effort to try to get us to buy buy buy more and more crap that just ends up in the landfill in the end.  Perhaps I'm naive, but I like to imagine us as parents who will take a pretty minimalist approach. 

Even then, I have to say of the stuff we have acquired.... it is mighty cute.