Cot? Check. Pushchair? Check. Rising sense of panic? Ch...

190120071320

It's started then. The endless flow of money going out of our bank account and into the coffers of people who make Stuff For Babies. The cot arrived at the weekend from Mothercare. It's very cool (left), as the side comes down so you can have it next to the bed, so it's like the baby being in bed with you, except with less chance you'll roll over while drunk tired and squash it. Don't call the NSPCC though - we ARE going to buy a mattress for it.

Then, Saturday was the pushchair day. We schlepped down to Cheshunt (and man, that's a sorry excuse for a high street if ever I saw one) to go to the Mamas & Papas shop there. I believe this makes Alice a wannabe Yummy Mummy, as it's quite posh. I'm not sure what the equivalent is for fathers who buy expensive stuff to look cool. Faddy Daddy?

Anyway, we didn't have a clue about prams, other than we wanted something that felt solid, had four wheels not three, and wouldn't make us embarrassed to be seen walking down the street with. I was quite keen on having some gadgets in there too - MP3 player in the hood maybe, or a kettle. But no such luck. Instead we got a Plika (I think) pushchair that turns into a pram, and I daresay into a robot if you pull the right levers. It's quite complicated, but it turns like a taxi (i.e. very fast), so should be good for hairpin skids in the supermarket.

The upshot: we've spent hundreds of pounds, and we now have Proper Baby Stuff in the house. Apparently some people think it's bad luck to do this before the birth, but to hell with it. I'd rather have it all set up early, not least because it'll take us the next 12 weeks to figure out how to pull the pushchair cord so it neatly folds into a standing position. It looked so easy in the shop...

Last bit of baby stuff (for this post anyway): we went to the hospital tour on Sunday, when parents-to-be get a guided look at the ante-natal, labour and post-natal wards, and ask all the important questions (do they encourage active birthing, are the birth pools likely to be free, should the father bring his own PlayStation 2 or is one provided etc). It all seems great, anyway - very relaxed regime, mother free to give birth however she wants, and only a slight risk that if they're full up when you arrive, you'll get packed off down the motorway to Enfield. I MAY have felt a bit faint during the talk about epidurals, but I maintain it was the heat. Those stuffy rooms, etc. Really.