Doo doo doo doo (that's Twilight Zone music)

When I was about 7 or 8 months pregnant, I got an unmarked parcel in the mail. After briefly considering the possibility of it containing anthrax, I decided to open it anyway. Inside was a big can of formula and a letter from the formula company congratulating us on the soon-to-be new addition to the family.

Then Mallory was born, and within weeks we got some samples of newborn diapers and baby wash in the mail. "Hope your new baby will enjoy using these" said the letter that came with those.

This week, wouldn't you know it, I got an envelope from Heinz discussing the merits of baby's first foods and coupons for dollars off of Heinz products.

I would understand all of this if we had gone to a prenatal fair and I'd entered our name in a bunch of draws or something, but I never did. So it's kind of weird. How do they know? Is my family doctor selling my name to mailing lists? Who knows.

The can of formula is kind of nice to have. We haven't dipped into it yet, but it's nice to know that if I get beer trucked tomorrow, at least Chad won't be faced with making a middle-of-the-night trip to the grocery store to stock up. And we fed Liam mainly Heinz baby food, so the coupons have been tucked away for safekeeping for Mallory, too.

I wonder if the samples and offers will keep coming. When Mallory is 18 and shipping off to university, will an envelope full of tuition money come in the mail? Stay tuned to find out...