Here's a tip!

Here's a tip for those of you are planning to have kids, but are not yet pregnant - FIND OUT THE SEX OF THE BABY.

In the beginning I really didn't want to know what I was having... the fact that so few things in life a really ever a surprise was the part that sold me on waiting until the baby is actually born to know the sex. I have always made the analogy that finding out the sex before its born would be like knowing what people are getting you for Christmas, before Christmas morning - what is there to be all that excited about on Christmas morning if you already know what every gift under the tree is?

However... me and all my analogies haven't gotten me anywhere in my hunt for crib bedding for this baby to be. Honestly, if I knew the sex of the baby I think I would be at home on weekends maxin' and relaxin' with my feet up and an ice-cold (non-alcoholic, but wishing it was alcoholic) beverage - it would have been easy to select some fashionable bedding for a boy or a girl by now. BUT, the fact that I don't know the sex has had me running from store to store to store to website to website to freaking insanely mad that I can't find something I love.

I am waiting to make any decisions on paint for the baby's room until I find some crib bedding I like. I think once I find the bedding, it will be easier to choose the paint than the other way around. Every time I run into a dead end I say to myself (in a rather annoying voice) 'if I knew the sex of the baby I wouldn't be having this problem'!

Last weekend, when my sister was in town we headed across the border to the US of A as I had saw so many bedding/nursery sets online that I really liked. I thought... we would hit Watertown where there is a Target, 2 Walmarts, KMart, Sears, JC Penny, Kohl's... but the selection at all of these stores was complete CRAP, if you didn't know the gender of the baby.

One of my big things is that I don't want to come anywhere near any animal or character themes... I just want something modern with cool stripes, polka dots or argyle prints... but that apparently is not what is out there in the stores. While in Watertown I did discover a few polka dot prints but not in the right colours as I felt everything was too boyish or girlish... hence allowing me to conclude: KNOWING THE SEX OF A BABY PRIOR TO BIRTH IS A GOOD THING!

I have to admit I was pretty deflated when we returned from Watertown empty handed (although we did find some cute/cheap Carter's baby outfits), but I regained my composure and went back to the websites, discovering this set from Walmart Online:

I really really liked it... and so between my sister and I, we put our heads together and figured out a way to get it ordered to the states, as its not available in Canada and they won't deliver it to Canada either.

I went all out, ordering pretty much every piece you see in the second picture... and its suppose to arrive sometime in the next 2 weeks, so I am pretty pumped about that. I got the whole she-bang for just over $250 dollars... curtains, extra crib sheets, pillows, the rug, the mobile, wall decals, etc - you name it I ordered it!

So... provided that I like the set in person, I think the search for non-gendered crib bedding may be officially over! But take it from me, don't put yourself through this - find out the sex of the baby and your life will be so much easier!