Stuff We’re Crushing On, Lately

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about things we’ve been loving, lately–things that make life with Finn a little easier. Now that he’s 6.5 months old, we’ve outgrown many of the things we originally coveted. He can basically crawl out of his Rock ‘N Play now, for instance.

But there’s some new stuff that has come in handy, and these are the things that, currently, we can’t live without.

1. Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit

At around 3.5 months, we decided to transition Finn out of his Halo swaddles at night. It lasted about two days, and then he started showing signs of the dreaded 4-month sleep regression. Immediately, I took to the trusty internet and found many moms singing the praises of this sleepsuit. We tried it, loved it, and have never looked back! Finn sleeps like a charm, and he’s never woken up in the middle of the night since we started using it.

For most naps, he sleeps in a sleep sack, as we want to try to make the looming transition out of the sleepsuit a little easier, but if he’s really fighting a nap, the sleepsuit always does the trick!

2. Noggin Stik

The Noggin Stik is one of the best-rated baby toys on Amazon. So, for Christmas, we ordered it for Finn. It was the first gift he opened, and for those first couple of weeks, he seemed relatively uninterested in it. “Well, that was a dud!” I thought.

Then, sometime in January, once his grip improved, he took a liking to it, and he has been obsessed with it ever since. Not only does it rattle and light up, but it also has a mirror on the bottom. It has provided hours of distraction (which reminds me–the battery needs replaced)! It is definitely his most favorite toy.

3. Plastic Chain Links

These seem so simple–and cheap! But they are really great for chubby, little baby hands. They are easy to grip and good to chew on. One set comes with plenty of links, allowing us to have some in the car, in the diaper bag, at home, at the nanny’s–you get the idea! They are a quick and easy method of entertainment, and Finn really enjoys them. All of that for $5? Sold!

4. Aquaphor

Can we buy stock in this stuff? It’s the perfect remedy for dry baby skin, faces chapped from drool, diaper rash, craddle cap, chapped lips… I could go on. Very early on, when Finn started showing signs of dry, sensitive skin, our pediatrician recommended that we “slather” this stuff on him twice a day.

At his latest check-up, she said that we should start putting it around his mouth every time we change his diaper. Since he’s drooling so much, this helps prevent drool rash.

Truthfully, in this dry winter air, I find myself sneaking in and stealing a scoop for myself, too.

5. Zutano Booties

I went a little crazy, buying Finn lots of baby shoes that he really didn’t need. But, in pretty much every photo you’ll see of him, he’s wearing these booties. He wears them nearly every single day. They are cute, warm, and easy to put on. He’s very close to outgrowing his first pair, sadly, and we’re already planning on buying another.

6. Silicone Baby Food Freezer Storage

Finn has started eating solids, and we try to give him a “meal” at around dinnertime each day. Usually, I just put whatever we’re eating in the food processor. I like making his food. It really doesn’t take much time at all, it’s cheaper than buying pre-made baby food, and I can control what goes in it.

When I make a batch of something–like lentil stew or sweet potatoes or cinnamon pears–I usually make enough for a few days. So, I fill these silicone trays with the leftovers, pop them in the freezer, and have little pre-portioned rounds of baby food for a later date. When they are frozen, I put them into little freezer bags, labeling them with the ingredients and the date. Without much effort, we’ve already accumulated several bags of possible meals, and it makes busy evenings much easier.

I’m going to try to post about the things we find useful more often, as the internet is overloaded with lists of “must haves” for new parents. The reality is, there is a lot of stuff we could do without, but there are also some things that we find invaluable. And, as Finn changes so rapidly, our must-have items change, too.