These are a Few of My Favorite Things

Alot of my friends have had babies recently or are getting there, so I'm asked occasionally what my favorite baby things are. I honestly haven't thought a ton about it but of course do have opinions. So after thinking about it a little bit, these are a few of my favorite things. I'll be leaving out all of the necessities though those are really my favorites by default.

bumbo seat and tray

I absolutely LOVE the bumbo seat. It's probably my absolute favorite thing. Adelaide started sitting in one at 7 weeks old. She liked it more than a bouncer because she could see around better. Now pop a tray on the thing and we use it for her high chair. She still sits in it frequently, usually watching me cook dinner or clean the house. I used to be able to sit it anywhere and not worry about it, but now i can't really leave her in it unattended. She has almost learned how to pop her butt out of the seat. Up until this point it was super restrictive though.

my brest friend nursing pillow

no I didn't inadvertently type a "r" in best friend. My brest friend was my best friend early on in breast feeding. I couldn't image life without it. Breast feeding is already difficult as it, not having to hold a floppy baby constantly makes it a little easier. This pillow is endorsed by lactation consultants and really helps support the baby as she's eating. I don't use it very much anymore but am sure I'll pull it back out when the second kid comes into the picture. When I got mine there was only 1 readily available ugly as sin design. Now they are widely available in lots of cute patterns and colors. Jealous.

play gym

play gyms are ridiculously expensive but awesome. I have one by boppy that adelaide loves but she's also really liked a tiny love one that several of my friends have. Even at 7 weeks old Adelaide could lay under the play gym for 30 minutes at a time playing. Suddenly the play gym didn't seem expensive anymore.

graco carseat swing

what a great invention. this was a great thing to have for the first few months. If I knew I'd have to head out during one of Adelaide's naps, I'd put her in the carseat, put it in the swing and voila, she'd be out (and stay out). I could also bring her in from the car and snap her into it and she'd stay asleep too. Oh, for the days when she didn't realize she was being moved! Another really cool thing about this swing is that it is really small. It can be disassembled quickly and fits easily into a suitcase. Adelaide didn't need a regular swing. She was just as happy with this and it takes up so much less space.

jump n go

I remember when I was pregnant someone mentioned an "exersaucer" to me. I had absolutely no idea what that was. It's funny how quickly I've learned the lingo. Anyway, exersaucers are basically something a kid stands in and is surrounded by toys. It's sort of like a baby cage of fun, but really what isn't? crib? pack n play?
The drawback to exersaucers is that they are huge. (you'll see a reoccurring theme in things I look for-- compact size, usefulness-- i would say price, but you can't put a price on some things) We have one but we keep it in the guest room and use it occasionally but don't want to keep it in the living room. Our place just isn't big enough and I'm the kind of parent that basically has my house looking baby free once Adelaide is down for the night. So that's why the jump n go is the perfect solution for us. It's an exersaucer that basically folds flat. I attach it to the door frame of my bedroom and voila, baby cage, I mean exersaucer. Adelaide loves it.

snap n go

This is the way to go. Down with travel systems! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the person who invented this. Graco is a great brand for carseats because they fit well in almost after market stuff (and they are the lightest too). This stroller weighs practically nothing, folds nicely, and is basically wheels for the carseat. It's great too when your kiddo's sleeping in the car but you've got to get out and do something. Adelaide's always liked her carseat so the more she can be in it the better. We've got a nice Chicco umbrella stroller for when she's bigger and for walks around the neighborhood and stuff now. It's nice and light too and is nicer than other umbrellas because it can recline. She likes that too but it is much harder to shield the kid from the sun. The canopy on her carseat can move wherever it needs to in order to block the sun (another advantage of the Graco's; some carseat canopies can't be moved around as much) . The only disadvantage of the carseat is the heat. It's so hot in those things especially in Texas in the summer.

receiving blankets from target

I should have put this toward the top of my list cause I don't know what I'd do without these. Anyone that's ever had a kid knows that the top baby shower gift is baby blankets. I think we received about 20 of them when it was all said and done. Every time I'd open another one, I'd give a thanks and grin, everyone almost in unison would say, "you can never have enough blankets." Really? Maybe they didn't finish their sentence. Maybe it was supposed to be, "you can never have enough blankets. . .in a blizzard" or ". . .if you have 20 kids" or ". . .if your child eats them regularly" cause I think I've got more than enough to last through as my kids as we decide to have.

All that said, I LOVE the blankets I registered for at Target. I got 2 packs of six. The designs are different now than they were back in January but they are still cute. I got 1 pack of pink/brown and 1 pack of green/brown. First of all, they are only 3 for $7.99. Nearly nothing for babies is that cheap. Next of all, they are larger than every other receiving blanket I've ever seen which makes them great for swaddling. We used these to swaddle Adelaide burrito style til she was about 4 months old. Plus they are nice and thin. Sometimes I think a sleeper plus a big blanket is a bit much especially if your kid turns out to be a hot box like mine. Plus once they are just in the crib with the kiddo I don't fear her suffocating with them. She's actually slept with them over her head before. They are so cute and wonderful. Now we don't use them to swaddle her but we still use them everyday. We keep one in the car, one in her bag, and one in her crib and have 3 spares at all times. Every parent should get these.

booster seat instead of high chair

I'm not creative enough to think of this myself but at least 3 friends of mine told me about this booster seat. They all said they used it instead of a high chair and loved it. My neighbor came over the other day and saw it and liked it so I got it for her baby shower (for her second baby). I saw her again recently and she said she's going to start using it now for her son instead of his high chair.

I've got to admit I love it too. My dining area isn't huge so I'm thankful to have something that doesn't take up more floor space. I just leave it strapped to one of our dining chairs and it turns it into a high chair. It's also a great thing to bring along to friends' houses or restaurants too. It adjusts very easily for height and the tray adjusts for an expanding kid. I used the Bumbo until recently for meals but am so glad I decided to go ahead and set this up. Me and my friends aren't the only ones that rave about this seat though. On almost every baby website, it's got almost a 5 star rating.

biz and oxi clean

I love both of these products. Biz is awesome. Brooke told me about it so I tried it. It works great. Baby clothes are so prone to staining with all the spit up, puke, poop, and miscellaneous other adventures that stain removers are a must. I have a small bucket in my laundry room which i put all adelaide's soiled clothes in. When it gets close to wash day, I just put in water and biz and let it soak. No spraying on specific areas. It has even gotten stains out from clothes I've borrowed from people, talk about set in stains. Oh, and did I mention it's cheap. About $8 for I don't know how many buckets' full. Oxi clean is not so cheap but it works even better. For the stains Biz can't rid, I pull out the Oxi.

so easy baby food kit

I like this kit alot. It comes with a dvd, a cookbook, and 2 covered ice cube trays. Whereas some baby food books can intimidate. They read like medical books and tell way too much info. This kit is straightforward and easy to use. Just what you need to know. No fluff. I figure if you're gonna make baby food yourself you don't need 500 pages of convincing. The trays are great too because they freeze food in 1 ounce portions so it's easy to figure out how much food your kid's eating.

look a-round balls

Adelaide loves toys but right now these are her absolute favorite. They are the perfect size for her hands and she's so interested in the designs. Alot of moms told me their kids agree and love them too. Some of her other favorite toys are Baby Einstein blocks, a stuffed dog by Ty, a soft sorter by Lamaze, and a Baby Einstein globe rattle. She also loves books so much, really anything with paper. She seems partial to Goodnight Moon. I've always wondered how it has stuck around over the years, and I really think babies genuinely love it more than other books for some reason.

gowns

Early on when you've got to get up multiple times in the middle of the night and change diapers, gowns are great. I hated sleepers when Adelaide was tiny. Why put up with snaps and zippers and all that jazz when you're already half asleep when you could just use a gown? Not just any gown got my approval though. We got some that were perfect. They were thin, easy to get on and off, and (very important) the bottom of the gown was sorta loose. Lots of gowns have elastic that cinches it at the bottom. It seems good but then rides up on the kid all the time. I passed all my gowns on to my friend Cami when Adelaide outgrew them. She never used them for her first but was in love with the same ones with her second.

2 great books for mom

I really love these 2 books. My friend Liza let me borrow hers. I remember thinking numerous times early one, "I have no idea what to do with this kid." These books are wonderful resources for activities, songs, etc. I highly recommend them especially Slow and Steady. Now my problem is "how do I find time to do these things with my kid?".

Overrated Items:

Some things are worth the hype. Others are not. And in my humble opinion (and with my kid's preferences and needs), these things are not worth the hype. There are others but I think I touched on some of those earlier in the post.

nail scissors-- Some love these. Some hate them. I'm in the hate them camp. I would much rather clippers.

nasal aspirators-- you want me to do what with that? no thanks. haven't used it once. Baby 411 says saline drops are a better solution and I agree. I've heard they make good bath toys later though. Plus you won't really need to buy any of these, at least we didn't need to. They "gave" us like 3 or 4 of them at the hospital.

swaddling blankets (like swaddle me blankets)-- Adelaide could break out of these velcro blanket swaddlers in about 5 seconds flat. She'd get her legs out and then scoot it down and off her body. We tried them multiple times with the same result. So we returned to the handy burrito swaddle with the receiving blankets.

dreft-- maybe back in the day this was the only option for kids with sensitive skin for detergent; but now in a world of dye free, fragrance free everything, it's totally unnecessary to pay for special detergent.

bathtubs-- 3 people told me not to waste money or space on a baby bathtub because bringing your kid in the shower with you or getting a bath sponge would be just as good. At first I was skeptical but thought I'd wait and see how it went. Well, 6 months into Adelaide's life she gets about half showers and half baths on the bath sponge. Rocky gives her the showers and I bathe her on the sponge (sometimes in the sink, sometimes in the big bathtub, and sometimes just on the counter when she was younger). If giving a bath in the sink or tub, just lay or sit the kid on the sponge and proceed with bath; of course you only put an inch or so of water in the tub. If giving a newborn a bath on the counter, just put a towel under the sponge and proceed with sponge bath. Afterwards just wring out the sponge and let airdry. Simple. The sponges are available everywhere for about $3. Here's what they look like: