The Things We Resort To

We have probably spent no less than $500 dollars on various things that Ava can sit or be held in (swing, bouncy seat, highchair, Bumbo seat, a sling, a baby carrier, and the list goes on) and often I am finding it so much easier to just use what is available at the moment. Case in point, this morning while I was doing laundry she really wanted to be held, and although I have mastered many a thing one-handed, it is difficult to fold things while holding a baby. Rather than going to find one of the above mentioned baby contraptions I just set her in the laundry hamper, atop many soft things. At first she was a bit apprehensive (see image) but then was happy as could be and just hung out there while I worked for upwards of 20mins. Why do we buy into marketing when really you can just set your kid in a hamper or give them a plastic bowl and a stick and they are just as happy as they would be with the Fisher Price saucer-sitter you just invested $80 on! And besides, all those plastic things that are slowly taking over our organized/minimalistic home are often way too "over stimuli" for my tastes- who needs lights and music and various things popping out at you when you've got dirty clothes and a pair of pjs with bright images to stare at.