Pimping Out Your Baby

The past few weeks we have been doing lots of baby gear shopping. I knew that babies needed lots of stuff, I just had no idea how much of it was out there. I am starting to think that MTV should make a show called "Pimp My Baby." Of course there are the necessities, stroller, car seats, crib, etc. But there is a whole lot of, dare I say "crap," out there that isn't necessary at all, but we buy it anyway. For example, I recently saw "Bling Bling" Binkies that are studded with jewels. Luckily for me, we are having a boy and the jeweled Binky thing was a little feminine. But that is only one example of the multi-million dollar baby gear market. Even the necessary items are pretty crazy. Strollers are a lot like cars, you can get a basic $80-120 "pinto" model with no extras or you can pay $1000 or more for the "hummer" model that has drink cup holders, hydraulic brakes, off road tires, etc. I mean it is pretty sad that my infant will have a more expensive bedroom set than my wife and I. I guess this is whole "forking over the money" is just preparing me for what it will be like for the next 20 years.