Grrrr... who's right here?

[jackie]

I agree with you!! All of our stuff for our son was given to us by family members, most of which has been in the family for years!!

Same here. I think ¨on loan¨ stuff is great. Who knows how long it will be until another baby comes along after this one. what is the point letting stuff collect dust when it could be used? Tell him if he has such a problem with it, he can return the on loan items, and give him a price list of the money he will spend on stuff you already have!

[Sara luvs her Tinky]

I don't understand men either... but I would guess.. because this is his first grandbaby.. that he will want to keep the things the baby uses.. I am sure that after the baby grows out of it he will be thankful you guys won't have to store it...


I am soooo thankful for the things (crib, swing, bassinet) and other things loaned to me.. Not only do I not have a place now to store them... but I can't afford them... I'm sure once the baby is here he won't even think twice about the "things" anymore.

[finn's mom]

Just like Carole said, it does seem like pride. Guys tend to thrive on statistics and numbers and black and white. Maybe if you could put together something showing exactly how much people spend on babies when they're first born, or something like their first year, he might be able to see it more clearly. Not sure, though, I just remember in the last week seeing about how people budget for baby, but, then seem to forget to budget in hospital bills, somehow. I wish you the best of luck getting through to him and maybe even finding a middle ground. Maybe do half of the stuff on loan. My ideas might sound sleepy, it's because I am.

[chrangharris]

I had another thought- maybe you could ask him to pick out one very special thing for the baby from him. That is his job to get and then it can become a heirloom of some sort. "My grandpa got this for me when I was a baby and now I'm using it for my child". It doesn't have to be anything big- maybe a special wooden toy, blanket, doll, etc. That might help him feel more involved in the baby-thing (guys get kind of pushed to the side in all the planning) and help with the "baby is getting nothing new" syndrome.

Sirrahned did that for Misha- he made her a beautiful cradle that I am planning on keeping for all the babies. Once we outgrow babies, they have a toy for their dolls. When my kids start having kids, we'll pass the cradle around to be used for my grandbabies.

Misha came home from the hospital in a blanket that her Dad's grandma made for him. I loved the thought and love that went into that one blanket and that her great-grandchild got use out of it.