Baby things

No, I'm not pregnant, just in case anyone is wondering :P I seem to get asked that a lot by friends/family. Maybe we've just been married too long, and everyone is keenly looking out for any sign of a bun in the oven.

Anyway, I'm not, but my sister is, and she's had her baby shower yesterday. Cue a trip to the baby things section of the local department store.

What a range of options! I expected the dozens of variations on the theme of bib, dummy and educational toy. I expected the blankets, and the jumper suits, and even the bottles and nappy pins. But the sheer number of gadgets available to new parents is just amazing, and would satisfy almost any geek - though I suppose the worst ones would be tempted to build their own bottle warmer or steriliser and baby monitor.

Even a simple stroller is no longer so simple - there are different styles depending on where you're going with the thing, there are all the accessories to go with it - special bag attachments and rain covers, the only thing I don't remember seeing were the fluffy dice.

It's just absolutely incredible how much thought and gadgetry goes into the first year or so of a person's life.

And yet, somehow, at the baby shower, it was still all blankets and bibs and jumpersuits :)