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Babies: 3 - 6 Months
Anyone else had to ask the g-parents to tone it down?
Has anyone had to have a talk with LO's grandparents about buying too much stuff?
Grandma is going way overboard and we are just accumulating too much stuff. if you had to ask a grandarent to cut back how did you handle it?
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Re: Anyone else had to ask the g-parents to tone it down?
Yep. MIL is crazy into buying stuff for the girls. I told her last week that it was really kind of her, but we really have TOO much stuff. She understood and said she'd ask now before she buys stuff.
This was after she brought over Halloween costumes for both of the girls, and 3 new toys. Oy...
Yeah this is my problem...we have literally over 100 books, boxes of toys, cds, etc. She also rarely buys anything useful, its just clutter.
My ILs feel the need to buy a separate EVERYTHING for their house. FIL bought a crib b/c MIL watches DD during the day, fine. Then he went out and bought a travel system and couldn't understand why I didn't like the idea. He wanted to be able to take her whenever he wanted (they've taken her once). I finally got it through to him that she will always be with her infant carrier and that it is just as safe without the base. I usually just use my Ergo so I gave them my stroller to shut him up about that. I tried to get him to buy a convertible seat if he really wanted a car seat, but he hasn't yet. We CD, pockets and AIOs, and they still go out and buy disposables. But they don't offer to buy the necessities, like formula and bottles, for when she's there. It also slightly annoys me that they didn't give us a baby shower gift... never offered or asked if there was anything that we needed.
My biggest pet peeve (which I know is completely ridiculous) is the clothes MIL buys. I bought DD clothing for a reason, I liked it and it was ALL on clearance. She picks out the oddest outfits and pays full price. So I told her I appreciated the gesture but she had to keep it all at her house because we just don't have the extra space.
DH and I have talked about asking them to set up and contribute to some sort of savings fund for later that they have access to instead of buying extra stuff now. But DD is the first grandchild on both sides, so we'll see how well that suggestion goes.
WHAT?! She got your kids halloween costumes? Did she pick them out or was this something you planned on? Cause I'd be p!ssed...we are looking forward to picking out Livy's first halloween costume ourselves!
WHAT?! She got your kids halloween costumes? Did she pick them out or was this something you planned on? Cause I'd be p!ssed...we are looking forward to picking out Livy's first halloween costume ourselves!
My MIL loves to get little things for Mr. D all the time and packages would arrive constantly until.... I got all excited to her on the phone about setting up Mr. D's college 429 account. She asked what it was and after lots of discussion she saves the money she would have spent ($10 her, $25 there..) and deposits it into his account. I keep telling her, he won't know the difference (no little treats/gifts) but he will know that Grandma helped him save for college and his future. That to me is WAY more important than a cute outfilt. She luckily agrees. Hopefully that could be a jumping off point for you....
Our ILs wanted to buy a car seat too - but we had to tell them multiple times - no. They also wanted to buy a swing - and we are there about once a month and were offended when we said no to that too. We told them that we don't want them wasting their money on stuff that won't get used. They also mentioned getting a PNP - but we told them ours is portable. We also told them not to go crazy on Christmas this year since we get a ton of outfits and stuff from them all of the time (that are NMS - and very unpractical/hard to get him in and out of). They said the same thing to us "you can't tell us what to buy him - and its next Christmas you have to worry about anyway since he will enjoy it more" and laughed. DH is going to have a conversation with them again - saying we appreciate what they buy, but we would appreciate it if they bought more practical things - such as gift cards for things we may need to buy him (like his next car seat or other gear). We are going to set up a college fund also to have them donate to instead. He has about 6 stuffed animals from them too - that he doesn't need. We appreciate the help - but I feel guilty that their money gets wasted. They honestly buy useless things that clutter too. He also has 100 books or so from MIL - which is good, but it is the stuffed animals and stuff that he doesn't need. My mom and I have a very similar taste in baby clothes - and she will buy him sleep and plays or something that he can actually wear. I love it when my mom shows up with a package of diapers unexpectedly. But I think my parents also like to keep gifts practical - which can still be fun.
My dad is retired and one of his hobbies is going to garage sales, uh, not good towards the baby. Sometimes it is, but I am going to have to tell him to tone it down.
Well, she picked them out....but they're pretty cute. She got Lucy a baby chick costume and Libby a cow-girl costume.
We might use them, we might not. I was a bit upset because I wanted to pick them out myself, too.
My mom is really sweet about it, she buys her only one or two outfits when she gets them on clearance. She doesn't have tons of money, and neither do we, and we don't see any point behind paying full price for something she will wear for only a few months.
What she is currently doing is buying her 18 mos clothing for next summer, we are hoping to be set on clothes before she ever needs that size. So hopefully we will never have to be paying full price for a seasons worth of clothing. I don't think you can ever have too many books. The best way to stop excessive toys is to say you won't let your LO play with any that are Made in China. I think my mom has only gotten her 3-4 toys because they are so difficult to find. I'd rather her have less toys that aren't full of lead and cadmium. The added advantage is that we don't have a house full of junk.