9 Baby Things We Can't Live Without

In the spirit of Hollie's epic list last week, I've put together my own list, but this time a list of items that have proven themselves indispensable since Little G joined our family. Some of the times were gifts, others we bought ourselves, but all of them have made our lives easier in one way or another. If you're having kids any time in the near future, these things come highyly recommended by us, but your mileage may vary.

1. Fisher-Price Newborn Rock n' Play Sleeper - I say this with only slight hyperbole: This thing might've saved Hollie's life. As with most newborns, trying to figure out how best to get Little G to sleep was a challenge, to say the least. The crib was a complete no-go. Would not sleep in it at all. The pack-and-play bassinet worked a little better, but I have no idea why, and even then, it wasn't that great. The only thing that worked with any consistency was sleeping on one of us while we slept on the couch. Not comfortable for us, and not really safe for her.

And on top of that trouble, Hollie had a cold that just kept getting worse. And worse. And then came shortness of breath, then chest pain. Kind of hard to feed the baby, let alone have her sleep on your chest. In the middle of all of that, we're willing to try anything to get Little G to sleep, not on us. So Hollie finds this sleeper on Amazon, and the reviews are nothing short of miraculous. Something like 500 positive reviews, and two negative. So we went out one Friday night and picked it up.

It should be said, it didn't work right away. But one week later, when I rushed Hollie and the baby to urgent care because Hollie couldn't walk two steps without losing her breath and Hollie was subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia, Little G slept for seven hours for the first time ever. Then she did it the next night, and the next night. And with a few exceptions, she's slept that well every night since. Might be the main reason Hollie doesn't still have pneumonia.

Seriously. Miraculous.

2. Stolen hospital blankets - So I'm not certain we actually stole these. The nurses seemed to imply we could take whatever wasn't nailed down, so we took lots of stuff. These blankets, though, have been really useful, mainly for one reason. For Little G, they are great swaddling blankets. If she were a much chubbier baby, or fought more in her sleep, I don't know that these would work as well. But swaddling, as much as the sleeper above, has been key in getting her to sleep well at night.

3. My Brest Friend pillow - Silly name, great product. I won't say too much about this beyond the fact that it's made Hollie's life much, much easier.

4. Jeep Child Carrier - Baby won't lay on her gym mat without fussing? Not time for a nap? Arms about to give out because you just can't hold her any more? Pop her in this carrier facing outward, and you're good to go for 30 minutes of hands-free fun. We briefly tried a baby sling, but Little G wanted nothing to do with it. This, on the other hand, has been tremendously useful since she's been big enough to fit in it.
Just follow the warnings printed inside. "This baby carrier is designed for use by adults while walking only. Please be aware that normal activities or motions may now be dangerous to your child and caution should be used." And here's my favorite part: "DO NOT cook, clean, run, ski, bike, ride horses or use any type of motorized vehicles while using this product." You know, just avoid normal activities, like SKIING and HORSEBACK RIDING. I really don't want to know about the lawsuits that inspired those inclusions in this warning.

5. Onesie extenders - When your kid is in the 95 percentile for her length, she's going to grow out of clothes strangely. A onesie that fits great around the neck, midsection and sleeves is still likely to come up short around the butt, especially with the bulky re-usable diapers we use. We were going through a lot of onesies just because she was too long. And then Hollie discovered these at the store one day. Voila! All the 3-6 months onesies fit again.

6. iPhone - Do not underestimate the many, many uses for this device. Yes, it's a last resort entertainment device for when she just won't stop crying (especially in the car), but it's a lot more. Let's say you're up in the middle of the night, rocking a fussy baby. Let's also say that you've had very little sleep, and it's possible you might fall asleep standing up. If you've got an iPhone in one hand, at the very least you can read, watch or play something that will keep you from passing out and dropping your kid.

But it's also great to have around when you need a little music. The speaker isn't great, but a little tinny changing table music never hurt anyone. The Pandora app gets regular use when I just can't think of another song to sing.

7. Plastic Rings - Her favorite toy at the moment. She can chew them, lick them, wave them, or just chuck 'em across the room. Best $4 we've spent on a toy at this point.

8. Hungry Little Caterpillar stuffed toy - It hangs above her changing table, and I think might be the reason she loves that table so much. If she's crying due to a wet diaper, one squeak or rattle from this thing, and she calms right down.

9. Makeshift White Noise Generator - Truth be told, I'm not certain how effective this has been, but it certainly feels like it helps. When we first had trouble getting her to nap during the day, we were so careful not to make any noise, but squeaky floorboards made it difficult. So we pulled out a portable speaker, downloaded a 10 minutes white noise track from iTunes, (actually, it's technically "brown" noise. If you're curious, google white noise, brown noise, and pink noise. I think you'll be surprised. White noise is actually quite irritating.) and hooked up Hollie's iPod.

Hollie dropped a metal tin outside her room later that day, and she didn't wake up. While I wouldn't recommend clanging a lot of metal around just to test the effectiveness of the noise, I do feel like it's the only reason we're able to talk above a whisper without waking her up.

I'm sure I'm missing some things for this list, so I'll be sure to follow up when I remember them.

So what about you? Anything you couldn't live without? Anything your parents told you they couldn't live without when you were a baby?