barcelona w/baby

HI!
My wife and I and our 15month old daughter will be in Barcelona for about a year and a half. From what we heard, baby clothes and other baby stuff are really expensive in BCN. Should we stock up here (USA) on clothes for her (and us as well)?? Thanks! richie

My two children were born in Madrid, and I bought almost all their clothes and shoes in the US when on visits because it was a LOT cheaper - if you want decent quality. They grow out of things so fast it gets expensive otherwise. If you want to save some money I'd buy things here in sales and stock up, and then buy a few really special clothes for her in Barcelona. (The dresses for girls in Spain are beautiful!) In particular I bought shoes for them in the US - when I found something good I would buy the next two or three sizes as well. Their feet grow so fast! Dress shoes for girls are cheaper in the US and you have more of a selection. The same goes for sneakers. The selection in Spain is very small, and shoes for little children tend to be clunkier than in the US. You may find that your daughter will get dressed up more in Spain! Little girls dress up for birthday parties and the like much more than in the US. Have fun with it! She'll need a nice little white cardigan sweater for cool days. No little Spanish girl is without one.

As far as other baby-related things go, the quality is so high in Spain you may want to buy a stroller and a car seat there. I bought a play pen in the US because the Spanish ones were so tiny, but that's it - everything else I bought in Spain. (Well, the crib was American, but I bought it there second hand. Actually, there's another idea - if you have contacts within the expat community there, ask if anyone has baby furniture to sell. It's not something people who move around a lot like to hang on to.)

For yourselves - my advice would be to just take what you have now and buy new things there!