Photo by sstepph
I always knew I wanted to have kids so before my husband and I even started trying to get pregnant—and even after—I'd buy baby items here and there.
I got some one-of-a-kind baby booties and a stuffed camel in Mongolia, some gorgeous smocked dresses in a variety of baby and toddler sizes in Vietnam, a punk rock baby T-shirt in New York City, some wall prints for the nursery in Paris, a couple of incredible mobiles in Japan, a Moses basket at a going-out-of-business sale in Boston (it was $5, I had to buy it), and so on.
I kept everything in storage marked "Baby," and waited for the day I'd get to use it all. That day came a lot later than I thought it would. Sometimes I thought I was jinxing myself by buying baby stuff before I was sure I'd ever need it, but during the depressing days when I thought I'd never get pregnant, I figured I could just give everything away as gifts to all of my pregnant friends and family.
I was finally blessed with a baby and I've been able to use all of the lovely things I found on my travels around the world. These are the items that I now treasure and couldn't bear to give away with the rest of my daughter's hand-me-downs.
Did you buy baby clothes or gear before you got pregnant?
