Money, Money, Money....Money! (Husband)

"Some people. Got to have it. Hey hey....some people. Really need it..." Sing it, O'Jays. Because that sounds like my baby talking. I felt as if I was covertly cast in a Mastercard commercial. Recyclable Baby Diapers? $20. Self-closing Pacifier? $9. 4-in-1 Daybed and Crib? $429. Having your first child? Priceless.

Seriously, why does a bjorn baby carrier cost so much? Can't I buy a sturdy bookbag, cut two holes for feet and set my baby in it? And why buy a Crib/little prison cell that hovers above the ground, when I could build my own fort of pillows around two stacked, folded blankets and lay my baby in the middle? Why do clothes that can be worn no longer than 3 months max, comprised of a mere 15% of the fabric and stitching of my own, cost the same amount of money? Why does a designer carseat that is supersafe and expands to any age/size from 2mo. to 4 years old not come with a stroller frame? Why do strollers not come with carseats, at least the kind that I'd actually want to put my baby in? Why are there at least 50 different kinds of pacifiers for my baby to choose from, and only a few kinds of vitamins?

Not that the Lord hasn't blessed us with more than enough to meet all of our needs, but wow, what a culture shock. Baby culture shock has reduced me to eschewing my formerly mizer lifestyle of starving myself and pinching every penny. Charity will atest to me spending money on a whim, almost all of it purely going to food, to feed her new, spontaneously ravenous appetite, and well, mine too. But mostly because I'll go without eating, just not remembering or wanting to stop what I'm doing, because the "it" is always at the time so much more important than food. But hey, isn't that what we work for, anyway? I've always known that without an actual monetary goal, we'll squander our money and not know where it went. When we don't need anything, money slips through our fingers. And when we have a need, we'll squeeze $40 value out of a $20 bill in 0 seconds flat. I keep thinking, though, that 20 years ago my parents combined probably made about as much as college kids right out of school (before the market crashed), and I had every toy I ever dreamed of. I think my sister's childhood was devoid of the overly requested pony that all girls ask for, but what were we going to do with a pony in the suburbs on the South side of Fort Wayne, IN? Yeah, sorry, Jil. I stretched this out just to say that God has been way too good to us for me to fret about money. Or anything for that matter. He has blessed and enriched my life, and I don't know why He thought so much of me that He chose Charity to belong to me! What could I possibly complain about? In any regard? Nothing. So I take back everything I have just said.

Wife's Response: I guess it did not relieve your stress to have your pregnant wife break down into tears in the middle of the Maternity Section as she tried on prego clothes for the first time!