Battling the Bunnies
Chris Ford writes Modern Day Dad, a resource for stay-at-home dads. He includes the dad stuff I’ve found that’s cool, that works for the baby (or doesn’t work), as well as his own personal experiences.
There are two facts that, when you are preparing for a new baby, become painfully apparent. The most obvious is that this is something brand new. Not just new as in “Um, why did I trade my life that I’m perfectly happy with for a new one that I know absolutely nothing about?”, but also new as in a fresh start. It’s like you’re given this project completely from the beginning, and it’s up to you to make it as cool as possible.
The other fact is that all of a sudden you’ve got a reason to buy loads of new stuff. And sure, ostensibly it’s stuff for the baby, but really it’s stuff for you. And stuff for you should look like stuff you would want to have. Long after the baby shower it’s you that’s going to have to push that stroller around with the ugly plaid fabric, or carry that diaper bag covered in bunnies.
Before our daughter arrived we tried to take advantage of our fresh start and get things that were functional, appropriate for a child, and didn’t look ugly. But even as little as a year and a half ago we didn’t have many options. We had to get the crib in one place, the Blik wall decals another, the arm shell rocker in another - but eventually it all came together. Now the one room in my house that was most likely to look like it came from some country kitchen nightmare is my favorite.
So if ducks and bunnies and stenciled furniture is your thing, then you’ve already got lots of options. But if your tastes are a little different, then it might take a little more work, but fortunately there are a lot of options these days. Because as far as I can tell, babies don’t care either way what their furniture or the fabric in their car seat looks like. And hopefully if you surround them with good design, when they’re old enough to make their own choices they’ll make the right ones.
