The baby-shopping trap

The emails I look forward to the most, on my happy work-free mornings are the ones that I get from 'deal' sites like Gilt, Ideeli, and Ruelala. I was not prepared for the fact that having a baby opens up a whole new spectrum of consumerism. I will be the first to admit that babies do not have to be expensive. Get their clothes at Once upon a child, cloth-diaper them, let them play with natural toys like trees, plants and bugs. Oh, but those mini pudgy thighs, huge melty eyes, and teeny-tiny fingers are irresistible to shop for! And baby-clothes makers know this well.  They join hands to weave a web of 'discount events' on the internet, the boutique of choice for shoppers (like me) in sleep shirts and pajamas. They hide this clever web behind trap-doors with cute names like zulily.com or totsy.com, and then pour a sticky-sweet coat of words on it, like- delightful, cuddly, ruffles, summer fun, adorable, munchkins...

Suckers like me think we're getting a deal, when really, we spend hundreds on clothes and toys that our babies grow out of in a minute.

Once in a while, in a blinding flash of wisdom I see through this trap and say, "Ha! Better luck next time, evil internet-store!" and slap my laptop shut. Unfortunately, this does not stop me from wanting to see my adorable little munchkin, looking all cuddly while having his summer fun in a delightfully ruffled romper and a beret. And if I cannot have that in person, I must have it on paper!