It's becoming more real!

On Monday, Ry and I traveled to Fredricksburg, VA to officially begin the "baby shopping" life... We had lunch at the Olive Garden! (yum!) Then we shopped a little around at various stores before heading to Burlington Coat Factory's Baby Depot. We had heard that their cribs and other items were significantly cheaper than places like Babies 'R' Us and other comparable stores, so we decided to take the road trip to find out...
We spent over 3 hours in the baby section. I kept saying how overwhelming it was to see everything...it was like we didn't know where to start!
We did register for some items there...things like a stroller, a pack 'n' play, a bouncer seat, etc.
We didn't find lots of clothing items or blankets, though, so we'll register at a place like Target and/or Babies 'R' Us for those items... It was neat to register; we've never had the chance to do that! :) Ryan enjoyed going around and using the scanner on each bar code... :) I think we may have registered for around 50 items...
We also made a decision for the crib... We walked around looking at the cribs and other matching furniture about 10 times...only to find another area with more furniture! The "hidden" area was where we found the crib and hutch we ended up deciding on...it was so pretty! It seemed much nicer than some of the others...and we liked the other 2 furniture choices that matched with the crib. So, we brought home the crib, a mattress, and the hutch... The hutch will work as a bureau first...and then we'll attach the shelves. The hutch will be the changing table, too, which is good...it looks really nice! It's a natural wood finish with a honey tone. (I've posted pictures below...)
We also picked out the bedding - Winnie the Pooh's "Hunting for Hunny." It's really cute...and it features Eeyore, one of our favorite characters! :) It seemed non-gender specific and is a cute, bright, and cheery choice!
I realized a few things while we were shopping...
First, it's really hard to find items for a baby that you don't know the gender of just yet... It's very obvious that retailers cater to those who find out the sex of their little one. I kept telling Ryan that it would nice to know what we were having after shopping at the Carter Outlet and at Burlington! :) He didn't see my humor... I still stand by the wonder and amazement of having a wonderful surprise in October... I think it will be so neat! :) Plus, we have a lifetime of choosing clothes for the baby after it's born... :)
Second, buying things for a baby is really expensive!! :)
Third, there are soooooooooooooooo many things out there for babies! We we were amazed at the choices out there... Wow! :)
Finally, there are lots of nice people who shop in the baby section! :) We met a nice lady with an 11 month old little girl (who was very cute, by the way :)). We were wearily looking at the 15 bouncer seats...and I just said to Ryan, "Choose which one you like the best...I don't really care" after not knowing which to pick! This lady was looking at car seats close to us and asked if we wanted her advice...and thus began our conversation! :) She gave us ideas and her evaluation of things from a more experienced point of view...after all, she knows a lot more than we do at this point! :) She not only helped us with the bouncie seat, but she also told us about the strollers, various brands, and the Consumer Report information she knew about different products. :) She was so helpful... :)
At 8:30, We left Burlington a little exhausted...but I kept glancing at the packed van (with the furniture) and grinned... It's really real... :) I'm getting more excited... :)