The Other Five

It took me a little longer to get back to the blog than I planned, but here are the remaining five of my top 10 list:

Comfy Easy PC – Many of you who know me well, know my feelings regarding children watching television. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love to watch TV, but I’m pretty picky about what Grayson watches. I don’t want him turning into a couch potato. So, when I started searching for a game system (for lack of a better word) for Grayson I was very upset to find that most of them have to be attached to the TV. I wanted something that could attach to the computer so he would begin to relate learning with the computer, not the television.

And then I found the Comfy Easy PC. This is the one thing that can keep Grayson’s attention for up to 45 minutes. I’m amazed at how well he interacts with it and the things he has learned from it. I recommend this to every parent! My only complaint is that they don’t have more games available.

CDs with songs that include your child’s name – One of the things I wasn’t looking forward to when it came to motherhood was listening to children’s music. I always seemed to find it a bit cheesy. I have been able to find some great music, especially from Putumayo Kids, but Grayson’s absolute favorite is any CD that includes his name in the music. His favorite bedtime CD is from Sister Song called “Glimpse of Heaven” (actually, I cried the first time I heard it) and his favorite anytime CD is from Mediak called “Jesus Loves You.” This company actually has a bunch of CDs available, some in Spanish.

Straw Cups – Grayson stopped drinking from a bottle by around 11 months old and I think using straw cups really helped with that. I believe he learned to drink from a straw when he was about nine or 10 months old at my sister’s store. Even though he had been exposed to sippy cups from the time he could start holding things in his hands, cups with straws were a lot easier for him to handle because it didn’t require him to tip the cup. After we started using them, a bunch of his playgroup friends started as well, making it difficult to determine which cup belonged to whom when we got together!! I’m always on the look out for other versions, but so far our favorite is the Gerber Soft Straw cup. We also have a great cup from Catluna Enterprises, but I can’t find it on the Internet (it was given to us). Either way, neither cup leaks!!

Taggie/Lovey/Blankie, whatever you want to call them! – I don’t think there is any way to predict what will become important to your child, but my recommendation is that once you do, buy a back up!! Grayson received a taggie with his name embroidered on it at one of my showers. From that day on, he usually rested his head on it when he slept. I thought this would become important to him, so I purchased a back up shortly thereafter and started switching them right away and I’ve been doing it ever since. But, this wasn’t his most favorite “lovey.” That became Jerry, as we like to call him.

Jerry was also a gift at a shower and I started giving him to Grayson very early in his crib. Jerry was one of those Carter’s blankets with the knots at the corners and a giraffe head in the middle of it. Unfortunately, I waited a little too long to buy a back-up and Carter’s no longer made them, so I paid a small fortune for the one I found on eBay. Oh, well, it was worth it.

Wearable blankets – My final installment into the top 10 would be the sleepsack, or the wearable blanket. We tend to keep our home on the cool side at night, especially in the summer, and I was always concerned about Grayson getting too cold. Obviously you can’t put a blanket on a baby, so these were the perfect solution.

So, there you have it. Honorable mention also goes to the use of cloth diapers as burp cloths – don’t get the cheap ones, we recommend the ones made by Kushies Baby. These were critical to us when Grayson was a baby because he was constantly spitting up. We also love our diaper pail – buy one that can use any type of trash bag so you don’t have to get anything special. It probably sounds strange that I love a diaper pail, but I lived without one for quite some time and it was awful!