Favorite baby/child things

I've decided to take Samantha's challange to post my 10 favorite baby/child items. I expect all of you other mom's to do it too. You just post your 10 favorite things that make life as a mom easier/better.

So, here are mine in no particular order:

1: The Bumbo: if you look at my dropshots link, you will notice Lincoln is sitting in this thing in like half of his pictures from 6 weeks until 4 months. It really frees up your hands if you have a baby that wants to see things all the time. And I totally think this is at least part of the reason why Lincoln was sitting unassisted at 4 months. Too bad he was a sumo baby and his legs were too fat to fit in it much longer than that



2: Cloth diapers: You may all think I'm crazy, but I LOVE them. Not only are they super cute, but they are better for the environment, better for the baby, and help kids potty train sooner (unless their name is Lincoln in which case they have a major fear of the potty which no diaper will ever fix.) My personal favorite are BottomBumpers, but there are tons of good kinds.


3: elitecarseats.com: By now most of you probably know that I'm a complete carseat nut! I debated which of our carseats to put on here, and decided that this covers it all. They sell only the best carseats, they have carseat experts you can call, email, or chat with instantly and they tell you which seat works best for your specific needs. Plus they offer free shipping and for $2.95 you can purchase return shipping insurance so if you don't like it for any reason you can return it for free! While I'm talking carseats please leave your kids rear facing as long as reasonable possible and leave them in 5 pt harnesses as long as you can!


4: Gymboree: OK, so this doesn't make my life easier, but it is an obsession, and I spend way too much money there, so here is my plug. Oh, and if you aren't familiar with Crazy 8, they are great too. Owned by Gymboree, but much cheaper!


5: Mesh feeders: These are great for babies that want table food but aren't quite ready and for teething. You can put any food in there and the baby can munch on it without choking. Also for teething I'd freeze fruits or veggies and put them in there and let Linc chew on it to relieve the pain.


6: Amber Teething Necklaces: While on the subject of teething, these things are worth their weight in gold. Gold I tell you! The amber releases oils into the baby's skin which helps relieve the pain from teething. They also work great for ear infections.


7: Mei Tai baby carriers: You can get them all over the place. These things are amazing. You can carry newborns all the way to preschoolers in them and they are comfy for mom and baby.


8: The leash: Yes, I'm one of those parents. My kid wears a leash. I originally bought it for Savannah when Lincoln was born and I panicked about how on Earth I could do anywhere with a toddler and a newborn. Well, Savannah was my well bahved child and I've gotten one hundred times more use out of that thing with Lincoln, even without a newborn.


9: Leapster: Savannah got one of these for Christmas last year. In the past 9 months we've driven from North Carolina to CA, from CA to UT and back 4 times, and flown a few times too. This kept Savannah (and sometimes Lincoln) occupied during all of that traveling. Plus, she loves to play with it at home too. Unfortunately ours got stollen at the park a few weeks ago.


10: The Dog: I am not a dog person. In fact I strongly dislike dogs, but I have to admit, they come in handy with small kids. They act as child engagers, protectors, garbabge disposals, vacuum cleaners, face washers, and many other things. And he's pretty cute too.