Baby Care

Charlotte and Bryce had their first baby in early 2001; a beautiful little girl they named Bonnie. Bonnie was followed two years later by twins Allie and Adam, making what mum and dad decided was a complete family. With no plans to have more children, Charlotte contemplating giving away her maternity and infant clothing to friends, or possibly donating them to a charity. But something in the back of her mind told her to keep everything. So she packed them away and put them on metal shelving in a spare room.

When the twins were about seven years old, Charlotte and Bryce found out they were expecting again. Suddenly they were both very happy to have saved all the clothing from the previous pregnancies. In addition, they also had blankets, bottles, toys, and just about everything else they would need regardless of whether their new addition was a boy or girl. With confidence they looked forward to the baby’s arrival, knowing they had everything under control.

With just a few weeks to go before Charlotte’s due date, the unthinkable happened. The plumbing in the upstairs bath ruptured, sending water cascading through the floor and into the spare room below. It was a devastating scene. But among all their other worries, mum and dad were never concerned about the storage boxes full of baby items. They were plastic. They were sealed.

Charlotte and Bryce began the arduous task of cleaning up the mess that night. They poured over piles of stored things that were left unprotected and had to be thrown away. It was a difficult time. But in the end, they smiled when they were left with six boxes of items ready for baby. All thanks to those plastic storage boxes and a nagging feeling to save.