Way back when Alexis was a wee lass, there were decisions to be made. Risk SIDS by putting bumpers in her crib, or deal with a kid who was destined to amputate her own legs by twisting them in her crib slats? Return to work full-time or try to work out some sort of part-time schedule? The white blanket with bunnies or the fuzzy purple one? Pampers or Huggies?
Obviously, some decisions were more important than others. And, yet, some of results of those seemingly unimportant ones are still lingering with us today. For example, the answer is PURPLE. Not white. Definitely purple. Just ask Alexis.
Really, though, the diaper one just won't go away. Still. After trying every brand and not-really-a-brand under the sun, we realized that there were only two that would work for us. Thus, the Pampers vs. Huggies question. After agonizing a ridiculous amount over something the kid was just going to poop on, we finally went the Pampers route.
I made that choice because I am a sucker for reward programs. A HUGE SUCKER. If you tell me that I can have something free just for buying something that I needed to buy anyway, I turn into an over-achieving maniac. I'm pretty sure it was my fault Panera got rid of their frequent customer punch card thingy because of me and my need to get a free sandwich every week. The Gifts to Grow program? TOTALLY up my alley.
The thing about Gifts to Grow is that you kind of have to buy a heck of a lot of diapers to actually accumulate points. I'm pretty sure Octomom is the only parent ever to earn a free thing in under a year. Since we only had one butt to clean, we only managed to accumulate a couple thousand points before Alexis was potty-trained. But! But! Bonus! I found some codes on a website earlier this week!
Armed with my bonus codes, I logged into the Pampers site, all ready to redeem those precious points we earned over the course of the last several years. I copied and pasted and grinned at my brand new total. 3400 points! Surely I could redeem that for a new car! Or a new house! Or at least a cup of coffee!
WRONG.
First of all, please don't remind me just how much money we had to spend on poop containment systems to wind up with that many points. I start twitching just thinking about it.
Second of all, Pampers, really? REALLY?
I spend years anally collecting tiny stickers with bizarre alpha-numeric combinations and you "reward" me by letting me trade points for BABY TOYS?
Am I the only one muy confused by this? It takes years to get enough points for a reward, but by the time you have those points, the kid is too old to care about any of the possibilities . . . That's just delightful.
Yeah. So. I'm redeeming the points for a donation to the March of Dimes, but I'm not thrilled about it. I kinda think Pampers owes me a new car by now. Or at least a cup of coffee.
P.S. Speaking of the March of Dimes, there's kinda sorta a thing over there ------> where you can financially support me and my team as we participate in the Walk for Babies. Please and thank you and I luuuuurve you!