Baby Needs

When I started my first job, I was right out of school and hence, practically broke. My Indian mentality made me save a part of my paycheck in the bank, thus giving up on a lot of fun things which now I realize were possible only while young. My single account became a joint one after marriage. Soon, we were expecting a baby… what we were not expecting were the unexpected expenses that came with the baby. I mean c’mon, babies are these cute little cuddly people who have very basic needs like food, water and few clothes, right? Yeah right!

Even before our baby arrived, I was swarmed with – of course the advice from every other person you meet, but also the list of things I must, repeat must buy before the delivery. I waddled to the baby store, bought all the things on this huge list and thought – “I am finally done shopping for the baby!” Naïve that I was, it was the last time I said that sentence!

However, it wasn’t before I had spent a fortune on baby stuff that I realized - babies really do have very basic needs. Most of the things that we buy for them are mostly for the parents’ comfort.

Yesterday, I bought an expensive toy for my baby - it boasted “intellectual development.” With much fanfare, we opened the box. I started showing her how to play with it. Few minutes passed and I heard her giggles… I was still playing with the toy…she was totally ignoring it, quite content playing with the box and the packing material inside.

The money spent buying the toy was well worth it…my baby thoroughly enjoyed played with the box for days to come!