Compare and Contrast

S needed to get the oil changed in the van today so I accompanied him to the oil change place. When he asked how long it would be the attendant told him ‘une bonne heure’, a good hour. So with over an hour to kill we went off to a baby store to see what we were up against.

We found these gorgeous little bedroom sets, crib that converts to a toddler bed, changing table with removable top to become a regular bureau and a matching wardrobe, they seemed well made and they’d only set us back about 2000€!!! For that amount of money the boy should be able to take his furniture to college with him. On the other hand, compare that to the Ikea crib and changing table set for about 200€, at that price we could also splurge for the little table and chairs set that match.

In the stroller/car seat department we found a great stroller with a pram insert for the newborn baby (they use prams a lot here). It also came with all sorts of foul weather coverings, diaper back pack and a baby carrier that snaps into it too with a base for the carrier to snap into the car for an infant car seat. It comes in two color schemes and all this can be ours for the low low price of 549€!!! We’re talking about spending almost $700 for a stroller!!! Ok, stroller and infant car seat, but still…

They also had those fabulous three wheel jogging strollers. I’m kind of partial to them they do look so sporty, and on the bright side they’re not as expensive (by French standards). Sean liked these too and said they were more macho and he could see himself pushing one of those around.

In comparison, we saw a stroller we liked on the Babies R Us web site that is a stroller with the baby car seat that snaps into it and two car seat bases and a diaper bag for $199! We were hoping to get one here to avoid having to give up a suitcase to bring one back with us. We could check it as baggage on the plane. Aside from that one small down side there is the addition disadvantage that when we get it here we’ll have to pay an additional $100 at customs in import taxes. I guess saving $400 is worth the hassle...

As a third option, and it looks like this may be the way we go. There’s an American woman here in Toulouse who is returning to the states and is selling all her baby stuff. She has a couple of strollers for sale that are about 4 or 5 years old, but are what we were looking at today. She’s selling them for 200€. She also has a pack-n-play for sale and a set of baby monitors among many other things. We’ll look at them tomorrow on our way out to pick up Emily and Peter from the airport.

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On a personal compare and contrast note…

I used to always joke, back when I was allowed servings of alcohol and caffeine, that I was careful to balance my stimulant/depressant intake. Enough alcohol to get a nice buzz, balanced with enough caffeine to keep me from falling asleep.

These days the balancing act is a bit different. With all the vitamins and supplements I’m taking, I have to be very careful what I eat. It turns out that pre-natal vitamins contain large quantities of iron and calcium (among other things) these items tend to do unspeakable things to the digestion, especially pregnant digestion that is already not at its best. So I find that I must balance all the goodness of my vitamins with substantial amounts of fiber and water. Timing and quantities are important. If I happen to short myself in the fiber/water department I spend the whole next day feeling like I ate an entire wheel of Wisconsin’s finest cheddar.

Not a pleasant thought I realize but I’m into sharing today.