A Few of My Favorite Things: Part 1

We spent our second night since Sadie was born in the cabin last night and it stayed warm, despite the fact that it got down to 18 degrees outside.  I feel that staying in the cabin can be described as "roughing it" because there's no running water, but Paul says that nothing that involves sleeping in a king sized bed can really be called roughing it.  When we woke up and ran up to the house the ground was frozen solid and the dirt crunched loudly under my sneakers as Sadie did her best to throw her flannel bunny blanket off of her arms.  

On a completely different topic... A few of my friends are having babies right now and today I started thinking about the things that we ended up trying that really helped out after Sadie was born.  Most pregnant moms have probably seen those lists that they have in magazines and books that tell them what they need to get before they bring their little bundle of joy home from the hospital, and this isn't that kind of a list.  This is a List of My Favorite Baby Things (in no particular order, I wrote them down as they popped into my head):

-Halo Sleep Sacks- Halo Sleep Sacks are pajamas that are aptly described by their name.  They are basically a sack with no sleeves and a zipper that zips down so that the baby can't mess with it (and says Back is Best just in case you forget... if that's even possible with all the press about back sleeping reducing SIDS).  I still worried in the beginning that Sadie would somehow pull the sleep sack over her face (remember I'm a Worrier) but finally realized that they really are designed well and that it wasn't going to happen.   

-The Floppy-  If you don't know what a Floppy is, it's the liner that goes inside a shopping cart/high chair and keeps the baby from licking/tasting/touching the shopping cart/high chair and being exposed to salmonella/ecoli.  It also had a little strap that wraps around the cart/high chair and keeps the baby from falling out and a little strip of material that the babies toys can be attached to (unless your baby, like Sadie, becomes obsessed with removing her toys from the strap so that she can throw them on the floor and watch Mommy bend over to pick them up).  

-Brilliant Bows- http://www.brilliantbows.com -The Bows from Brilliant Bows aren't just cute, they actually stay on your babies head.  Even when the baby hardly has any hair to speak of.  Sadie started out with "quite a bit of hair", which turned into "some hair", which was rubbed off until she looked like a little old man with a mohawk on top and a horseshoe of dark hair around the back of her head.  Even when she was wearing a dress, people would ask if she was a boy ("no, she's a baby and babies don't have a lot of hair!").  These bows help with that and look super cute!  And there are different bows for different occasions (you may even be able to convince your husband that buying bows are a good idea if you show him the sports bows, complete with your teams colors and a little baseball or football).  

-Burt's Bees Buttermilk Baby Lotion- Sadie has super sensitive baby skin.  If I knit with wool and pick the baby up without washing my hands she breaks out in hives.  When I tried the typical baby lotions (petroleum based) her skin would get rough and dry.  Even if I put the lotion on ten times a day with every single diaper change.  The Buttermilk Baby Lotion was a lifesaver because after about a month of using it her skin stopped feeling rough and started feeling soft.  Although I have to be careful because it smells so good that Sadie does her best to get the lotion into her mouth when I'm putting it on her face.  

-Nuby Sippie Cups- The tops of Nuby Sippie Cups are soft, more like a bottle than a sippie cup, but they still don't spill, even if the baby repeatedly turns the cup upside down and shakes it to see if she can get any of the juice out.  

-The Fischer Price Little People Barn- Because watching Sadie try to get inside of it so she can play with her little people figurines is absolutely priceless!