Wait. What? You want HOW much for that?

When I flew back home for my maternity leave in November, I was concerned that I had overpacked. When forced to answer "2" in response to the question, "How many bags will you be checking," I felt like my credibility as a seasoned traveler was shot. The mantra of the experienced traveler is 'pack light' and here I was - a solo traveler (Lou had flown back to the U.S. 3 weeks prior) with 2 bulging full size suitcases, 1 just-at-the-size-limit rolling carry-on and a fully stocked purse that was larger than the luggage of two Asian businessmen combined.

So. Embarassing.

(sidenote: the fact that I had to pack for 15 weeks and two different body types - my 3rd trimester self and my (hopefully!) much smaller post-baby self  - was of little consequence. I've seen people fit everything they need for a 6 month round the world trip in one large backpack. Granted, their definition of "clean" may be a bit suspect, but that's neither here nor there. Your status as a traveler is measured by the volume of your belongings, not your level of hygiene..)

Little did I know that at that point, the days of travelling light were behind me. Like, way behind. Way, way behind.

This was Lou and I at the Pittsburgh airport the day we flew back to Belgium:



Lou + Me + our 10 items. Missing: Car seat, car seat base and BABYCAKES.


Now, given my reluctance to overpack, one might ask why we needed to check/carry-on a total of 12 items. Surely they have stores in Belgium? Did we really have to bring the contents of the local Babies R' Us with us?

Short answer: Yes. And YES.

You see, while there are plenty of baby stores over here, few are within our price range. Or, to be more fair, a range we find reasonable. I don't know why things are more expensive here, they simply are. Perhaps it's because most women receive expert prenatal care for FREE. And stay in the hospital a minimum of 4 nights post-delivery for FREE. And children's check-ups are FREE. And top-notch daycare is not only affordable but comes with tax-deductions. And Belgian employees get special vouchers for FREE house cleaning for the first four months after delivery. And every mother is guaranteed 12 weeks of paid time off.

I suppose the baby products industry took one look at this setup and thought "well, they are getting a free ride everywhere else, maybe they won't notice if we gouge 'em here!"

How big is the difference? Well, take a look at the cost of a "Baby Bjorn," everyone's favorite baby carrier:

Baby's R Us sells it for $129.99. However, if you have time to do a bit of comparison shopping and order online, Amazon.com sells it for $99.94 - and that's with shipping.

Meanwhile, the exact same item is on my friend's baby registry at Baby 2000 (http://www.baby2000.be/), the store that I am told is the Belgian equivalent of "Baby's R Us" for the low, low price of 113 Euros! If I were to buy that with my Capital One credit card and it's competitive exchange rate of $1.335USD to 1 EUR , that would be $150.88!! Nearly $50 more than Amazon. That's an upcharge of 33%.

 "So? Shop somewhere else" you say.  I've asked around. There is nowhere else. At least, no where cheaper. Not unless you want to start looking at second hand stores such as http://www.troc.com/ which are fine but incredibly hit or miss.

"Okay... well, what's $50?" you respond. And you're right. $50 isn't a big deal on it's own. But the extra $10 here and $50 there start to add up. I'm of the opinion that babies don't NEED much besides love and attention, however, one would be advised to stock up on diapers and invest in a car seat and perhaps a safe place to sleep. It's also considered good form to clothe the little munchkins. And, since they grow like weeds, it can be daunting when a sleeper at the local shops varies in price from 10 euros (ok, fine) to 40 euros (what the what??).
I guess what I'm saying is that even for the most frugal of parents, babies are expensive in Belgium. So, in an effort to avoid spending the entirety of last month's pay on outfitting Babycakes (and the apartment) for her arrival in Belgium, we brought as much as we could with us from the U.S. A suitcase and a half were filled with diapers, receiving blankets clothes in sizes newborn to 9 months and bottles. On top of that we brought a "Pack n' Play" (savings of $150 right there), a car seat (savings of approx. $50) and a stroller (savings of lots of dollars as our model isn't sold in Belgium).

I'm not sure how much we saved - particularly since we received nearly all of the items as gifts or hand-me-downs - however, I'm confident it was oodles and oodles of dollars. At least, that's what I kept telling myself (and everyone within earshot) as we struggled through the airport with our 13 bags...