America's Sweetheart



Theda Marie Hambro(/Mehl)

Born 30 November 2009
Ever since we announced our incipient bundle of joy, noise and bad odors, we've been staggered by the number of people asking if we're registered anywhere, or would like some sort of gift.

First of all: thank you, thank you, thank you. It's inspiring and not a little humbling to get this kind of support from everyone, especially in the middle of an economy that's ranging from the "creaky" to the "downright terrifying." We have never been more thankful to have such awesome friends and family.

We think we have a good handle on most of the physical accoutrements that are usually required for a newborn: toys, onesies, strollers, etc. Either we have it already, or suspect that we can lay our hands on them for cheap/free via craigslist, freecycle or friends with older children. But if you're feeling the urge to give us something, here's a few areas where we would not say no, many of which do not involve the use of money.
Babysitting -- Used Baby Stuff -- Diaper Service (& accessories) -- Car Seats Etc -- College Fund

Babysitting!

Sooner or later, we're going to want to leave the apartment. Want to earn our undying gratitude in a manner that will cost you no money whatsoever? Volunteer to watch our daughter for a few hours some evening or weekend.

Once we have any idea what our schedules are going to look like post-baby, we'll set up a google calendar where people can create babysitting dates. For the moment, if you're feeling so inclined, just drop us a line letting us know that you're interested.

Your used baby stuff!

Onesies, bibs, toys, books, blankets: kids use 'em, and then grow out of them and never look back. If you've got a pile of such stuff, devoid of any sentimental value, lying around your house, consider sending it to us instead of goodwill!

Things which we suspect we will probably always be able to make use of: Please no Baby Einstein or Leapfrog. In general, if it requires batteries or is designed primarily to make noises that are annoying to adults, it's probably not such a hot idea: we expect that our child will be creative enough to devise ways to annoy us without electronic assistance. Also, we'd prefer just about any color other than pink.

Diaper Service and Accessories

There's no getting around it: babies produce a lot of noxious bodily emissions, and our apartment-building neighbors would probably prefer that we not use the shared washing machine to deal with the effluvia. So we've signed up with Tiny Tots diaper service in San Francisco to ferry the things into and out of our place. Want to lend a hand? Just click here:



A $25 gift certificate covers roughly one week (actually about 8 days) of diaper service for an infant: even a single week of coverage would be awesome. We've also put a few diapering accessories onto the registry as well if you happen to feel like it.

If you'd like to donate some amount that is smaller than $25 or not an even multiple of $25, you can do that too: just call Tiny Tots at 408-866-2900 and reference registry #721 for "Lorem Ipsum Hambro", registered to Miranda Hambro and Nathan Mehl.

Car seats and other stuff

Still reading, huh? Well, if you're feeling like a high-roller, we are definitely going to need a carseat, and a bunch of other random items. We've got two gift registries going, the carseat is on the Babies-R-Us registry: And as noted above, gift certificates for either of those stores would be put to good use.

College!

It's never too early to start thinking about saving up for the staggering cost of college tuition. We'll be establishing a 529 account in the near future that people will hopefully be able to donate to directly. In the meantime, if you'd like to help with education costs, consider buying her a US Savings Bond.

THANK YOU AGAIN!