Our Five Month Faves

I've been meaning for a while to write about our favourite baby things. When I was pregnant I felt completely overwhelmed by the number of products you could buy for babies. A wipe warmer? Baby bangs? A safety helmet? I found the reviews by mums on other sites to be really helpful in assessing what we needed and what we could leave in the virtual shopping cart.

For us, aside from the basics (sleepers, socks and strollers), the success or failure of Frankie’s baby accessories has been determined by some combination of her idiosyncrasies and our adaptation to parenthood.

1. Snuggli - Oh snuggli carrier. Oh snuggli carrier. Thy straps have saved our sanity. Frankie has been using (and loving) her snuggli since she was six weeks old – since she could safely hold her head up on her own. We’ve used it to walk through the mall and to walk from one side of this town to the other. It has been our saviour many-a-night when nothing except being popped in her snuggli and taken for a walk seems to satiate the bug. It lets us get out of the house, get a coffee and get in some adult conversation.

2. Boppy - The baby product of many faces - nursing supporter, tummy time encourager and now baby sitting assistant (as in helping her stay seated on her bottom and not leaving her to be supervised by the boppy while we see The Social Network). We bought our boppy at the baby flea market for a whopping $8 unsure of its ultimate utility. I can now say that we'd most definitely pay full price for this thing. Twice.

3. Large (larger than you could ever imagine needing) Flanel Blankets – Like the boppy these blankets have served many purposes – mattress liner, stroller cover, car buddy, swaddler, and just plain blanket. Ours are custom made with love by Grandma but the key is their size – at least three feet by three feet. We’ve learned (especially when it comes to swaddling and cuddling a three month old) that you can never have too much blanket.

4. Car seat bees – These were gifted to Frances when we were en route from Ontario and may be solely responsible for the success of that trip. They give her something to look at, grasp and listen to (they make a sweet little jingle jingle). Unlike all the other toys we take in the car with us these bees attach to the handle of the car seat with velcro preventing her from dropping them over and over (and over).

5. Baby leggings – With the exception of one pair of jeans baby pants look ridiculous on Frankie. Maybe it’s the cloth diapers but for some reason the waistband usually falls around the middle of her ribcage. Her baby leggings fit (and fall) perfectly under and over onesies and their snugness means I know her little legs are warm on these cool fall days.

Of course her faves will change as she grows. Someday regular pants will look completely normal on her and dangling bees won't get us through an eighteen hour car ride. But for now these are the things that make all of our lives just a little more charmed.