The rate at which I can produce these posts is mildly disturbing. Because it means that we have a shit ton of crap in our house. But I’m that girl that will totally buy the new shampoo in the new bottle with the fancy thing on the thing that does the thing, just because. Even if I totes love my current shampoo, there MAY be something better out there and I must know about it. Cue all the crap in my house.
Lucky for you, this makes me an expert at stuff and crap and things. So here we are at 9 months and a new set of stuff.
Get out your amex internet. Let’s go shopping.
Getting the right cup was like the most important thing since air, to me. Why? Because G is tied to my boob like a budget bra. He never took a bottle, so he WILL TAKE THE CUP IF IT KILLS ME. We tried lots of cups. This was the winner. You can squeeze the cup a little bit and some liquid comes up through the straw so that they know the goodness is a suck away. Bonus: these cups are now recommended over traditional sippy cups for speech development. But I did not care about that business. Now he is a great cup sucker.
Playtex Baby The First Lil’ Gripper Twist ‘n Click Straw Cup
For all 9 months of G’s life, we’ve been reading books to him. But like for the most part, books he didn’t understand or care about. Sort of like the equivalent of me reading the newspaper. Oh stop, I could have said the Bible but I DIDN’T. So one day we realized that if we read books to him that are for actual babies and did stuff, he would be happy. Happy baby means happy baby. He eats these books up for breakfast. He thinks the little puppets in the books are actually talking to him. He kisses them and grabs them. It’s adorable. I’d recommend any puppet books but this one is the cutest.
Here’s a first on stuff I like. Something I hate. But I’m going to tell you why I hate it so you don’t make the same mistake. Also there are some parts of it that I like. Take this information and be smart with it. This is our highchair. I wanted to buy one way early so G could sit at the table with us when he was like 4 months old. One of us was carting his ass around while the other ate and then switching. That was a no go in our house. I bought this because it supported a very little baby. Mistake. Just wait. This one has so much fabric all over it and creases and nastiness that are hard to clean. Get an ALL plastic one. No cushions at all. But I love love love that it’s on wheels. I wheel that thing all over the place. But it’s also way too big. I do love that the tray pops off and I can clean it, while another tray is underneath.
I wish I sprung for this one:
Boon Flair Pedestal High Chair
But it doesn’t have wheely goodness. Regardless, I think it’s better than my sack of crumbs.
Kids at this age pee their pants over cause and effect. G’s favorite activity right now is knocking things over. Like everything. So we bought him stacking cups. We count them as we stack and as soon as he hears, 1, 2…he’s literally panting like a dog and scooting his heart out to get there and knock them over. It never gets old. Cheap and good toy.
This is one of those books that I was talking about that G couldn’t give a shit about. Me? I DIE FOR IT. I’ve been reading it to him since he was born and I tear up almost every time. It’s such a winner. This would be a great shower gift for someone too. TRUST me on this one. You’ll weep. Yes I said weep.
This thing is so awesome. It fits in my purse and it will fit on any chair, wherever we go. G can sit at a table and eat his food or do whatever the hell it is babies do. It’s adjustable in all ways and very easy to use. Bonus: an Asian is in the picture. That means quality. This thing is so worth it.
G is eating foods now. Like all of the foods. Baby Led Weaning has been a huge success. We do a combination of purees that he feeds to himself through those self feeding pouches
When you have a baby, you should get a box of these at the hospital with a note that says, USE IN EMERGENCIES. These things are the baby silencers. Bonus: they are Asian. Duh. When your kid starts on solids you can introduce these right away. They melt in their mouth and they feel all proud because they can hold it themselves. G gets these on car rides when he’s screaming, at the mall when he’s screaming, in the living room when he’s screaming and extra with dad when he’s screaming. Note: there is like no nutritional value. But every hippie I know proudly totes these bad boys around.
When I was still only eating air and frowns, I thought that G had to be gluten free as well. These were the only puffs I found that were gluten free. For the regular non baby speaking adult, puffs are little cereals that melt in their mouths (aka also shut them up when they are screaming). I give G these on his tray while I’m cooking his actual foods. He sometimes eats them and always throws them places. Note: not all flavors are gluten free.
These were a hand me down from a friend who is also a hippie and also a blogger. Her son is G’s buddy. And by buddy I mean, they smack each other in the face.
These are the only shoes that stay on G’s feet. I have finally won the battle of shoes on a baby, in our house. B loses. The kid is mobile now and needs shoes. These are the best.
Back to life, back to reality. Not all the stuff I like is for the baby. This is something for me. Back in wonder wonder land, I used to dry my hair straight every day. It would bounce and shine like a stripper’s new boobs. Today, life is different. I usually do the beachy look. Which is code for “I did nothing to my hair”. But sometimes on some glorious days, I blowdry and straighten my hair. You best believe I want that shit to last a long time. So I use this stuff. I spray it in the morning in my roots and it keeps it going for 2-3 days. Now I’ve used dry shampoo before but this stuff is good because it lasts a long time. All of the other ones I’ve used last like a week. This stuff is goodness in a bottle.
TIGI Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo
This thing has entertained B and I just about as much as G, if not more. If you’re into music and want your kid to be into music, you’ll love this. It’s a cube that plays music and every side is a different instrument. You can add or take away instruments and change the sound of the song. Don’t act like you don’t want your kid to know about the french horn. Music is for winners.
About 2 months ago my knees started hurting. Then my ankles started hurting. Then my feet were screaming. I was like WHAT THE F I’M ONLY 30. Then I realized something. I walk around barefoot in my house all day on hardwood floors. I needed new shoes. House shoes to be exact. And this was maybe the 3rd time in my life I actually NEEDED to buy shoes. I told B that these felt like walking around on baby angels. He was like “that seems uncomfortable with all of those halos and pointy wings”. Asshole.
This thing has saved G’s little noggin from a billion bumps and bruises. Now that he’s a big boy in the big boy tub (at what point does “Big Boy” become an insult?), he’s all over the place. I’ll be totally honest. We have a much uglier version of this. Get this one.
Skip Hop Moby Bath Spout Cover
You probably saw the video of G losing his shit over this baseball toy. That’s another “cause and effect” thing that babies go wild over. it. There are very few toys that you find that hit the magic mark at the perfect age where they just LOVE it. This is one of those toys for an 8-9 month old baby. Maybe even 7 months. Buy it and thank me.
Playskool Swing ‘N Score Baseball
Ok ONE More book. To be totally honest, the author of this book sent it to me. I was secretly thinking, unless it has a puppet shooting out of it, G won’t care. I was wrong about this one. This book has a really good rhyme and rhythm. It’s about babies telling parents to F off. And they chant funny things. And when I read it to G he cracks up at the chanting part. So I like it. And the author said she wasn’t sending it as a review, just a gift. Which is super nice. And the illustrator? She did all the Ramona books from when we were like 8. Remember those?
The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered, Baby Brigade
And there you have it baby lovers and baby shower frequenters (I’m sorry for your luck).
Now my favorite part of these posts: Tell me YOUR current favorite things. That’s how I find my most awesome stuff…from your recommendations.
Also, tell me if you’ve purchased any of the stuff I like from the past and if you also like it. Or even LOVE it. gasp.
Click here for past “stuffs I like” yep, stuffs.
MODG
The internet psychic says you would like this too:
Hi I’m MODG. But you can call me MODG. You say it like Modg, like a Grandma name. Not like M.O.D.G. That’s a lot of syllables and I don’t have that kind of time. 
{ 180 comments… read them below or add one }
My baby LOVES “In My Den” (just like “In My Tree” but with a bear). I wish that book was like 87 pages longer. I have the stacking cups, too. She thinks they’re fun in the bath with the water pouring out the bottom…maybe not quite as funny when I make the water pour out all over her face.
uh this comment is awesome
yeah you think it is ren because you do it!
I LOVE the Beco Gemini. I literally use it everyday. I also just got the spongy frog thing for the tub and I’m about to go test it out. I don’t think there’s any crap I Iove that you don’t already have… Meanwhile I’m on my second kid and you’d think there wouldn’t be anything else to buy, but there always is.
Love Mum mums. Even better? The strawberry Toddler mum mum. I steal them from my kids.
I’m loving Baby Legs now that the weather is turning. And I’m a freak for all the California Baby stuff.
Also? We just finished potty training the oldest, and I can’t say enough about the Baby Bjorn potties. Simple and to the point and they don’t look ridic in the bathroom.
I’m a new MODG follower. Found the blog through your super fans that did the MODG themed baby shower gift–they were purchasing the gift for one of my best friends! Love the blog, follow every day, and have gone back to the beginning to read old posts while I breastfeed in the middle of the night… I have 6 week old and a three-year-old daughters. LOVE the Mum Mums–my daughter loved the veggie ones when she was little. I also love the California Baby Calendula Cream. It’s magic on a baby butt rash and really helps heal any cut or scrape on the bod. We call it “special lotion” in our house. Also, the book Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie is really rhythmic and chanty. My three-year-old eats it up! The pics are kinda creepy, but the story is fun to read (until you’ve read it 1,000 times…). Thanks for your favs! Excited to try some of these out with our new lil one!
My son, who is now 6 months old is in LOVE with his taggie blanket. When I first got this for a shower gift, I was like, “Another blanket??? Great, and it’s only 1 foot by 1 foot, the worlds smallest blanket that I can’t use for anything!” Well let me tell you, I now love this thing! Jack goes to bed with it every night. He loves the little tags that hang out from all sides! He plays with them, eats them, and best of all, he rubs them on his face when he is tired. How cute is that!? He rolls over, cuddles with this thing and holds on for dear life, and then he sleeps. It’s marvelous! The person who gave them to me (we have 2) actually made them, but I’ve seen them sold at Target too. I highly recommend this if G likes blankets! (PS It’s breathable too, I put it up to my face just to check!)
Agreed! Taggie blanket is in our top five must haves
even better if homemade.
Hate to break it to you Modg, but the Boon Flair does, in fact, have wheels. Oh well. Next time.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Wheels are the bomb-diggity. (yeah, diggity)
My credit card and amazon thank you for making us shop. J is the same age as G, and can’t get enough of Haba blocks. We have the First Blocks and now the Habaland set. He can play with them for hours, no joke. I build towers for him to knock down.
The newest thing he drools over is the Hohner 4 Piece Baby Band. Loves.
Our credit card isn’t going to know what hit it in a few months, when J is old enough for this stuff.
We did our first ROAD TRIP to my parents’ house in Pittsburgh (we live on Long Island), and my mom stole the baseball toy from the Mother’s Day Out program at the preschool she teaches at. It cracked J’s sh*t up, in his “I can’t really laugh for reals yet so it sounds like I’m suffocating” way. I can’t wait for him to see it again at Thanksgiving when he has a better idea of what’s going on!
Oh, and I’m the mom whose baby was saying, “Aw, HELL NO” to the bottle a few weeks ago. I’m happy to say that he takes the bottle like a champ now. We started out giving it to him in his bouncy chair, but now we can hold him and give it to him. I’m so relieved, since work starts next week! My pump and I = BFFL.
I use this with my kids (they are 1 and 3 but we have been using them since they could use a straw)! We use them in yogurts, applesauce, juice boxes, anything with a lid you can poke a straw through!!
http://strawlution.com/
Amazing!
I love your “stuffs I like posts” as I’m expecting my second baby and things have changed more than you would think in 3 years. I’ve definitely added the Skip Hop diaper bag to my registry at your recommendation.
Things I love:
-Tiny Diner Placemat by Summer Infant. http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Tiny-Diner-Blue/dp/B002WTANQ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314835659&sr=8-1 Super easy to roll up in a diaper bag and makes clean up a breeze. Dishwasher friendly when you get home. BONUS is that every time I use it someone in a restaurant asks me where I got it. Definitely a big hit baby present.
-Take and Toss feeding set by The First Years. http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Learning-28-Piece-Feeding/dp/B000FGG8TG/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1314835865&sr=1-1 BPA and all those nasty chemical-free set that is cheap. These are great for travel if you have to feed on the go and don’t want a dirty spoon and cup in your bag for a 3 hour flight. Or if the spoon drops on a really nasty floor of a restaurant you aren’t concerned about taking it home to clean. BONUS is that this can be combined with above placemat for a super-useable baby present for under $20.
I love the Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube. It was awesome and was one of the only toys that didn’t annoy the crap out of me. I wish I would have had that Totseat when my son was younger. That would have been awesome.
We really liked our high chair. It is one that sits on a regular chair at your table, and it adjusts for infants. It has a vinyl seat that wipes off easy. The only draw back is the fact that I thought my child was eating a whole lot, but it actually ended up “hiding” under the vinyl seat piece.
I Love On the Night You Were Born and the Mums. Tiny Girl will only sit in the Jumperoo with a Mum Mum. I love love Sophie The Giraffe. Just bought a friend some Chewbeads for her baby shower. In a few months we will see how that works.
I need to try the sippy cup. Tiny hates the Tommy Tippee cup we have tried and I need to try and get her off the boob and bottle a little more. Are you putting breastmilk in G’s cup or just water/juice? We are working on baby-led weaning with one meal of purees for lunch at my MILs. Also,” Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type” is my 3 YO’s favorite book.
My 10 month old son’s newest favorite thing is the LeapFrog Cook and Play Potsy. Its this little pot that has veggies and a spoon and it sings as you add ingredients, stir, etc….like a flamboyant gay man. Not only are we entertained by it, he loves the darn thing and claps when it responds to him smashing plastic vegetables into it. My latest favorite thing is another fabulous, “Here…eat this and be quiet” food. Gerber Graduates Lil’ Crunchies are great and a good snack for the arsenal.
I haven’t seen any butt healing recommendations…on that note the triple paste cream is heaven sent for a chapped ass ( not the annoyed kind, just the baby kind.)
Diapers: target for day ( Way cheaper and cute polka dots instead of characters.). Recently we started having night time wetness issues ( my baby is 8 mo) and the ONLY one that has worked is pampers in a turquoise and purple box. NOT baby dry. I think these are so good they don’t even have a name.
Ok and teething product: Hylands teething tablets are back on the shelf! Holla! Maybe they do make you hallucinate but who doesn’t want to in that much pain?! Plus they are homeopathic so should be hippie friendly! Also raspberry teether is pretty
rad. It looks like a paci but has a raspberry bumpy teething heaven shape on the end.
No baby butt healers because G doesn’t get diaper rashes. HOLLA CLOTH DIAPERS.
i second the raz-berry teething paci; the ONLY thing my kid likes for teething. i found mine at a local grocery store.
tritto on the raspberry teething paci! My 8 month old LOVES it!
When did you start the cloth diapers? My one month-old still seems too small. He’s in Size 1 disposables. Do you remember what size G was in when you switched over to cloth?
I did a whole post on this, search it out in the search bar
Yeah, all I saw was “as soon as he was big enough.” Am I missing where it says how old/big he was?
I think he was 1 month old
I started my baby on cloth diapers when she was one month old and in size 1 disposables. I use Thirsties covers, size small, (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001IHZNRY) and newborn-sized OsoCozy prefolds (http://www.amazon.com/OsoCozy-Indian-Cotton-Prefold-Diapers/dp/B000TZVW6M/ref=br_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1XJLGE1WX8XMV&colid=2XMX330WJ0GZP). They are good for up to 15 pounds.
Huggies Overnights in a size too big – they hold gallons of pee – all my friends and I swear by them
I second the overnite huggies in a size bigger. I can pick my daughter up, nurse her, and back down without changing her in the middle of the night so she goes right back to sleep. When I change her in the morning, her butt is dry!
Wordy McWordcakes. Huggies Overnights eat all the pee and don’t give mah baby a rash.
Mum Mums are magic, but what makes them even better is a Cookie Safe.http://www.amazon.com/Green-Cookie-Safe-Diaper-Container/dp/B00514C210/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314837482&sr=8-1 A perfect sized container to hold your Mum Mums so when your baby is tweaking, you can offer them a whole cookie and not some crumbled up mess from the bottom of your diaper bag. I swear, all the cool expensive baby shit I buy, and this is the thing that all moms start screaming “Ohmygodwheredidyougetthatthat’sgeniusIneedone”. Do it.
THANK YOU!!
This is awesome — but seriously, $2.99 thne $5 to ship? Is amazon the only place to purchase this goodness?
I got mine at a baby specialty store, but I’m in Canada. I think it was like $6 or $7 total in store. Totally worth it!
Pretty sure you could use anything for that… like a mentos gum container http://www.meijer.com/s/mentos-gum-sugar-free-fresh-mint-10-packs-15-sticks-ea/_/R-146294
Maybe! I mean, you’re right, you could use any old container, but this one fits two packages perfectly, and it’s nice not to have something bigger than you need clunking around in the diaper bag. I love it, but I can see how some people might find it excessive!
Book: Sandra Boynton’s “Hippos Go Berserk”. Really amusing while forcing me to do basic math, but in a good way. Though I’ve read it hundreds of times and am certain that a few hippos are unaccounted for in the end.
I’m also a huge fan of Where The Wild Things Are, but I think that’s a given. Love the mommy/son-ness of it. And my almost two year old boy likes to howl at the pages with the moon
I forgot to mention sandra boynton…I love her books. super weird.
So this is more on the expensive side of things….I am in love with our stroller it is the orbit and yes it is a little over a grand, but it is awesome. I don’t know another travel system where the car seat turns all the way around a full 360 degrees. This system also snaps in the car sideways then turns so there is no worrying about killing yourself trying to get the dang car seat on the base. So snaps in and turns 360 which is great for handing bottles, snacks, toys etc. to a screaming child at a stop light just grab the side and twist it’s amazing and I am so thankful my hubby made me get it!
Orbit is awesome. Wait until you move up to the toddler car seat rear facing on the base. With the new “keep your kid rear facing forever” news it just keep getting better and better, value-wise. Our 2yo loves the sidekick accessory while baby bro rides in the stroller, too. Just an amazing system all the way around!!
please keep these lists coming. my baby shower is in a little over a month, and each time you post a new stuff i like list, at least one new item is added to the registry. you are awesome at picking out good baby crap
We did baby-led weaning too and it was fabulous, messy but fabulous. I was amazed how he never choked and just spit out all the pieces that were too big. He’s fourteen months now and eating like a pro.
Oh, the Baby Mum-Mums. My husband thinks they should have been called Baby STFUs because that is the one surefire way that our daughter will stop crying! I wish I would have known about those for the older two! Best invention ever!
Dying over “Baby STFUs.” hahahahahaha, that’s perfect.
I am so with you on “The Night You Were Born.” Love it. I plan on getting it for every baby shower forever.
I am MODG’s 55 year old groupie and “I’ll Love You Forever” was my generation’s “The Night You Were Born”. To this day my adult daughters say…”Mom, you always cried when you read that book to us.” As an ele. school teacher, and then principal, I always read the book to my students. I always cried too then.
btw….get it….you’ll love it.
My husband and I *BOTH* weep every time we read “I’ll Love You Forever”
I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always
as long as I’m living
my baby you’ll be… sniff sniff…
Tears my heart right out!
I’ll Love You Forever is so creepy! The mom sneaking in to her son’s house? Creepy.
Agreed – totally creepy! Especially when she climbs up a ladder (!) into his room when he is an adult. Weird.
AGREED so freaking creepy. Ew, I mean who wants their mom to crawl into your room when you are a teen and rock you.
I remember reading that the first time when I was babysitting a kid and they wanted it read to them. I thought . . . “Oh, how sweet and nice and WHAT THE ?! WHY IS SHE CLIMBING IN HIS WINDOW?!” Totally wigs me out to this day.
I seriously live for these posts. Everything goes on my baby list and I do what you say because I’m scared of not knowing what’s cool. Thank you.
Henry is 8 months old and loves this Robo Pull Toy. It’s more of the cause-effect excitement.
http://www.basicfun.com/brands/david-kirk-fun-house/robo-bobo-pull-toy.html
He also loves these A&A blankies, which function like Ghost Dog.
http://www.adenandanais.com/shop/Issie.aspx
We have this high chair, which I hate and love for the same reasons you mention.
http://www.inglesina.us/us/collection/high-chairs/zuma
You’re super funny. I wish I could get away with shit like this.
My daughter is just over 5 months and she loves her Sophie. I will be honest – we got it as a gift and I about lost it when I found out we had a $20 squeak toy. Now she gums that thing like no other so I guess it was. Money well spent.
As a personal note, I am in love with MT Everyday Life “Boom Chocco Boom” dark chocolate bars and Earth Balance PB. It my soy and milk free Reeses Cup. Mmmmmm my little indulgence on my diet for her intolerences.
i just bought my dtr the munchin mozart magic cube! she is way into music and we are tired of playing with her drum and guitar and yes by we i mean all three of us!
THANKS
p.s. my kid would totally flip the chair if i strapped her in like that.
My daughter is not much older than G so i thought I would share her absolute favorite toys. We have just about every ball, block, and book you can think of so I promise this shits good.
This thing does EVERYTHING, and its like super weird because the zebra moos and honks and growls and has a lantern on its head? But its a walker, rider, and scooter too! It makes lots of fun music and lights up and my LO goes bannanas over it. http://www.amazon.com/Vtech-3-in-1-Learning-Zebra-Scooter/dp/B0038B9GG2/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1314840024&sr=1-1
Baby gets in and out, puts things in and out, and opens and closes the door a billion times over. This thing gets like 30 minutes of playtime at a time! (Half of Vampire Diaries?) http://www.amazon.com/Little-Tikes-Princess-Cozy-Coupe/dp/B001PAHGJM/ref=pd_sim_dbs_t_3
Baby goes nuts over this this too. She loves putting shapes in and out and all that crap and it sings to her constantly that she is “oh so pretty”. They have GOT to have a boy version of some sort
http://www.amazon.com/Tech-Fun-Shapes-Jewelry-Box/dp/B002T2WEOC/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1314840285&sr=1-1
Loud as hell but tons of fun
http://www.amazon.com/Toysmith-Parum-Pum-Drum-68626/dp/B002YIRKOK/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1314840362&sr=1-1
Ive stepped on this thing countless times but it sings cute songs and actually moves around the room
http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Amazing-Animals-Sing-Choo-Choo/dp/B000EULXA2/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1314840394&sr=1-1
My guy is only 3 1/2 months but I literally add everything from your posts to my Amazon wish list. Any face baby shampoos? My baby has so much hair he looks like baby Zoolander and I have been using Johnson’s but wondering if you are into something else. I use the California Baby soap in the bath
Know you aren’t asking me, but I LOVE mustela baby shampoo and body wash. your munchkin will smell like an earth angel!
http://www.amazon.com/Mustela-Bebe-Hair-Body-Wash/dp/B00021D2TI/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1314843757&sr=1-1
Stuff you need . . .
Get the baby band set :
http://www.amazon.com/Hohner-4-Piece-Baby-Band/dp/B000RGP4ZS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1314841237&sr=8-2
And tambourine:
http://www.amazon.com/Edushape-MPB608-Baby-Tambourine/dp/B001BC72K2/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1314841277&sr=1-1
And maracas:
http://www.amazon.com/Maracito-Individual-Maraca-Color-Vary/dp/B000H6H4II/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1314841318&sr=1-1
My nine month old loves loves loves these.
So on the subject of books, this one is great. Not so great to read to baby – but to keep the non-sleeping-baby-momma sane it rocks! It is also sadly appropriate on so many nights, and naps.
didn’t add the website duh http://www.amazon.com/Go-F-Sleep-Adam-Mansbach/dp/1617750255
I love, love the tovolo silicone ice cube things. So pleasing to pop out frozen goo in perfect cubes.
my 8 month old also loves mum mums and puffs.
from this post, i want to buy:
the hair product – and i want to get the other one in a previous post
the shoes, omg, we have hardwoods and my feet and knees are also killing me.
the baseball toy
the music cube
the non-sippy sippy cup
we have a drum that A loves: it’s leap frog, so you know it’s good: just search LeapFrog Learn Groove Alphabet-Drum on amazon.
Camryn is still too small for these, but I used to convince the kids I babysat that it was nap time so I could steal them and build increasingly more complicated structures without them wrecking all my hard work. I already try to convince Cam that its always nap time, so I’m setting myself up for hours of enjoyment later on.
http://www.growingtreetoys.com/product/magformers-magnetic-building-toy
I basically use all of those things. All of them. I love to be a psuedo hippy. PS my sister is a speech path and so I get all kinds of news on the cups
One of our faves is the tummy tub. Basically, it’s a bucket u can bathe your baby in, but the awesome thing about it is that baby is submerged in water (ideally up to the chest) so they don’t get cold and fuss. Because the design of it, baby can sit up on his own pretty early. Our son first used it at 5 weeks old and loved it! We got it as a gift from my SIL who used it for my nephew, it was one of the best gifts we got, wasn’t something I had even known about. HIGHLY recommend. Our son loves his baths because of it
FYI- u can only get it online or in specialty baby stores/boutiques
We have this too and really like it. For us though, our baby didn’t really like any bath until about 8 weeks. She just hated being naked. But I think she would’ve really hated baths if we didn’t have the tummy tub. Mel – You can actually get it on Amazon. That’s where I had my registry: http://www.amazon.com/Original-Tummy-Tub-Baby-Bath/dp/B000VS3C2E
I love the Tummy Tub so much. It made bathtime relaxing from the start. $29 here: http://babymeetworld.com/tummytub-clear.html
I am a 22 year old student who is the absolute farthest from having children, but I devour these posts. As in clicking on every single one, reading the Amazon reviews, and putting away the information for…? Thanks for still being absolutely entertaining, even to those of us who can’t relate!
Also love the Aden & Anais swaddle blankets from target, they r thin so baby doesn’t get overheated.
Agreed, those things are awesome! Plus, they come in so many super cute designs.
I love “Wherever You Are, My Love Will Find You” by the same author as “On The Night You Were Born.” I can’t read either to my child without weeping. WEEPING.
Oh, and my 8 month old’s favorite toys currently are: a water bottle and the tags on everything. Sigh.
I highly recommend a taggie blanket, hours upon hours of fun! (and sleep if you’re baby is like mine!)
Yes!!! This one is even better than “on the night you were born”! MODG, you must get this one!!!
We bought the silicone ice cube trays and love how perfectly square they are. I use them for freezing other things too like chicken broth and pesto. We also bought the fresh food feeder, which everyone in my family thought was genius and proceeded to purchase for pregnant people.
I’ve got to give a shout out to random kitchen crap as toys. Our 7 month plays with colanders, measuring cups, small bowls — and chooses them over her toys. A close second is this stacking toy: http://www.amazon.com/Green-Toys-My-First-Stacker/dp/B0036WSVQ4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1314847427&sr=8-2.
I have the cube, the straw cup, and the stacking cups. Yes, I love all three.
My favorite thing, and I have a few of is the “snack catcher, snack dispenser” by Munchkin. I used to give her grapes or snacks in a bowl, and they would always end on the floor. Not with this awesome cup. My floor has been cleaner, since I bought these. She knows they’re for snacks, so when I take them out, she gets excited, because she knows she’s getting a snack. Here is the link:
http://www.munchkin.com/feeding-accessories/snack-catcher
“All the World” by Liz Garton Scanlon is the new favorite book of everyone in my house–and not just our favorite kids’ book, but seriously OUR FAVORITE BOOK. It makes me cry every. single. time. And it’s one of those where when you really study the pictures (which you WILL, if you’re three then four then five then six then seven years old) you’ll see all kinds of tiny little storylines going through the book too. And the rhyme and meter are wonderful and the illustrations are stunning and it’s all biracial hippie kids doing lovely things and biking and farmer’s marketing and weather-watching and hugging and making the world beautiful. Like, for real. It is the best.
Also “Iggy Peck, Architect” by Andrea Beaty is pretty fantastic. It’s worded excellently too (you may get it stuck in your head as you fall asleep) and the illustrations are inventive and lovely and it’s all about spending your life doing what you love even in the face of a rigid world. Square peg celebration. Yay.
We’ve been reading both of those to our two-year-old for a year, and at first we could only get a couple pages in before she wandered away, but we kept on truckin, and now she’ll sit through bookreading for hours. I feel kinda guilty about basically forcing her to love what we love but DEAL WITH IT KID.
http://www.amazon.com/All-World-Liz-Garton-Scanlon/dp/1416985808
http://www.amazon.com/Iggy-Peck-Architect-Andrea-Beaty/dp/081091106X
just out of curiosity, d’you know why this still says “your comment is awaiting moderation?” it is a perfectly nice comment! ah! must share the literery wonder!
*literary.
apparently i, myself, am not very literate.
Dear Modg,
I’m slightly disappointed, a plastic highchair? Not very hippie, I would recommend a stokke or Leander high chair, they are made of wood, designer looking (here in Denmark they know a few things about it), are light and grow with your child (and are cheaper too, at least on this side of the ocean…).
Ciao from your Italian affectionate reader.
This is a great list — I’m bookmarking this for my 4 month old. What kind of teether did G like? There’s like a 1000 options – the hippy in me thinks something made of out of natural wood seems perfect but I also like the cold gel rings. Thoughts?
On an unrelated note, maybe you could do a post about nighttime sleeping??? As a current bed-sharer, holy cow, the idea of putting the baby in her own crib and getting up to feed her 100x a night seems challenging. I can all ready hear the cries both at bedtime and all night. What did you guys do? I know we’re getting to the point where sleeping through the night is an option and man, I’d like it.
I did many posts on this. search it out in the search bar (search ferber)
Ah! I found it — I read it that post before my baby came and it was yet to be relevant. Now, it’s very reassuring that that method works and everyone in your house is sleeping. Amazing.
We actually went through two different high chairs before I finally just bought this Fisher Price booster chair. This thing is awesome. It’s small enough to pull right up to the table, doesn’t take up tons of room and is so, so easy to clean. The tray can go right in the dishwasher. Plus, you can take it with you when you’re traveling. I can’t recommend it enough and don’t understand why anyone would buy a regular high chair when you can just get this thing.
http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Healthy-Deluxe-Booster-White/dp/B001GQ2RWQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314878906&sr=8-1
I agree!! We have it too and it’s going strong on baby2.
High chairs: check out the Oxo Sprout. Super cute, wood and some plastic, converts to toddler chair, super rad.
http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Sprout-Chair-Taupe-Birch/dp/B003AM8CLO.
Also, love love love All The World. Great feel good book.
My little guy (14 months) loves “In My Pond” (a fish in a pond instead of the tree thing)… he’s also into “Goodnight Gorilla,” “Dinosaur Babies” and “First 100 Words.” He’s been ‘reading’ on his own a lot lately… so cute! Along with Lluvia, we love the Munchkin Snack Catcher. We also love the Tommee Tippee straw cups in the feeding department.
Jumperoo. All of my kids have rocked that shit. It’s a beast and will take up half of your living room, but it keeps your kid occupied and happy while cook. Or pee alone. Worth it’s weight in gold.
I second and third the jumperoo! With our first kid, he practically lived in it he loved it so much (would even jump his little self to sleep). Second kid also loves it–so awesome to pee alone.
I third the jumparoo…B LOVES that thig
“these felt like walking around on baby angels. He was like ‘that seems uncomfortable with all of those halos and pointy wings’” – THIS made me laugh out loud at work!!
I love all of your stuff!
modg, i bought the becco gemini per your recommendation and it has made my life AWESOME. thank you.
I also signed up for the secret amazon associates program – did a crap i like post – and made $30 (I know, I know, absolute pennies compared to your crap post returns. but I feel it’s well deserved! crap posts help a lot of people!) anyhow, i bought more cloth diapers and some “make more boob milk” tea with my $30. pathetic. but go hippies!
Awesome…I will SO be registering for some of this. Wonder if Target sells any of it?
I made the same mistake re the High chair with my first baby and had the same Boon envy (the Boon does actually have wheels). Cushions with creases are a breeding ground for nastiness. I, however, decided against the Boon for our second baby in favor of the Stokke Tripp Trapp– which can be used well into the toddler years. If you buy it now, that can be your husband defense. Its not a replacement item, it’s a “next stage” item…. http://www.stokke.com/highchair.aspx
MODG, you bring me joy. (Been reading for a few months, first-time commenting…) My baby boy is 5 months now, and we went through all of the ridiculous things that you went through, including surviving on a diet of air and tears. We turned the corner about a month ago, and it’s been good times, great oldies ever since. (Other than still spitting up a bit…not the insane projectile vomiting we used to have, just a post-burp party gift of cottage cheese that can and will bring a sofa to its demise.)
I also adore hippie shit. In case you’ve never been to the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, check it: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep
It gives EVERY SINGLE cosmetic you’ve ever dreamt about a rating: 0 is the best, 10 is the worst. Stay away from anything 6 or higher. (Melissa, I apologize for bursting your earth angel bubble, but Mustela gets a terrible rating…) Actually, I apologize to everyone, because if you give a shit about stuff like this, you will inevitably find that one or more of your beloved products gets a terrible rating (like I did) and you will then be confronted with a Major Life Decision. It’s like cosmetics Judgement Day. So, happy researching and good luck with that.
xoxo
Indeed, the hippies don’t dig on plastic. (“I don’t dig on swine.” love you PF.) Also my plastic doesn’t dig on spending over $200 for a high chair – not that I won’t lay down a couple hundred bucks for some shit I have my heart set on, but this is an item that gets filthified multiple times a day, and in a few years, you’re ready to give it away… We have this one and think it’s the bee’s knees (wood, inexpensive, easy to clean, will not tip over):
http://www.amazon.com/Lipper-International-516-Chair-Natural/dp/B000P7Y9IW/ref=sr_1_10?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1314887056&sr=1-10
xoxo
we have the joovy nook highchair, which is attractive but also gross after a short while. wish I’d gotten the all-plastic one from ikea for like $20!
LOVE the BLW cookbook.
On the Night You Were Born brought me to tears, too, and I am not a sap (either).
Going to try this straw sippy. My girl can’t quite figure out that she has to tilt her head back and tilt the (normal) sippy up.
ugh. I cant imagine having fabric on the high chair with the mess they make!! We have a wooden one but to be a LITTLE nice, we made something for behidn her head and that is washable.
Happy baby/tots is a client of a friends and she gave me lots of those pouches of food. I used them camping this weekend, and they were a hit….but since it was the first pre made food I had used, I was shocked at how thin/liquidy it was! oops. I have been serving up some thick shit.
Do you have stairs in your house? I need a safety gate for the top of the stairs like ASAP- if you already know of a greatt one, it saves me the time of researching. THanks
we do have a gate, but it wouldn’t work for anyone else. We have very weird stairs so our neighbors gave us theirs.
My youngest is 3 now, so I am out of all of these baby items (but I miss them…)
I just had to comment and say that I use that same dry shampoo- I freaking LOVE that stuff!
You’ve got to get “Where ever you are, my love will find you”! I love it even more than “On the night you were born”
I can’t get my head around the Mum-Mums. Any food made in China scares me, since their quality control standards are not the best. Same with most apple juices, like Mott’s & Juicy Juice. I prefer made in the good ol’ USA.
Um. Quality control standards? Everything recently published about American-made food (GMOs, Monsanto, grotesque slaughterhouse stories that basically are like “hey, hormones are fed by the barrel to all these animals, so have fun growing breasts when you’re eight years old” and “blood and poop in the tortured meat, blood and poop in the tortured meat”) is horrifying and terrifying. I’m sorry–I don’t mean to be rude, or be a downer–I firmly believe that American-made food IS a downer, though. I will take the rice rusks!
No, I don’t think it’s rude, I agree that many products in our food supply our tainted by hormones, chemicals, etc. But I was hardly commenting on our meat supply. As a vegan and a local supplier of organically grown produce, I take the utmost care in knowing where my food is produced. I trust companies that are committed to grow organic, such as Earth’s Best. They have similar products on the market, therefore, I support them. Take the rice rusks, but know that the Chinese use the same kinds of pesticides in their growing. Just like big farming Americans. Buy local. Buy American.
Seriously we are product twins. Those cups rule!- had no idea they were actually “better” then traditional sippy cups! I ALSO wish I had splurged on that high chair, and we adore the pediped shoes- great list.
I’ve got to be honest, I’ve seen that “tie your baby to a chair” thing before and I laughed out loud.
I thought it was ridiculous. But maybe since you say it’s awesome, well then just MAYBE it is.
Plus, like you said, there’s an Asian baby in it, so double bonus.
I have the Chicco Poly something highchair and I love it. It’s plastic and all things non-hippie and it’s super easy to clean!
Might have to try out the sippy for new baby when he gets here, that thing looks cool.
Love Rockaholic!
My 2 year old STILL plays with the stackable cups in the bathtub.
I want that whale spout protector thing.
Mum Mums taste like shit (to adults) but apparently babies dig them.
My son (and me) also loved the yogurt melts. Those melt in their mouths so are good for G’s age too.. and they taste a shitton better than Mum Mums
I need to read your stuffs u like for newborns since I’ll be doing all that fun shit again soon.
i hate those yogurt melts, they are so sticky. He throws them everywhere
We love these indestructible books – http://www.indestructiblesinc.com/
Little gal goes to town on them.
ok, so that totseat- does it only work w/ that specific type of chair? as in, i can’t use it at my favorite outside bar that only has cheap plastic rounded chairs?
works on all types of chairs. round square star shaped
My baby is obsessed with “in my tree”!!! He has three other books that are guaranteed to entertain him. He’s ten months and for the last couple of months he would literally get these books out on his own and then sit and “read” them to himself while squealing and laughing with delight. They are: Tails http://www.amazon.com/Tails-Matthew-Van-Fleet/dp/0152167730; Alphabet http://www.amazon.com/Alphabet-Paula-Wiseman-Books-Matthew/dp/1416955658/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314893807&sr=1-1; and Peek-a-who http://www.amazon.com/Alphabet-Paula-Wiseman-Books-Matthew/dp/1416955658/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314893807&sr=1-1.
There is also an “On the Night You Were Born” baby milestones book called “The Wonder of You”. It has beautiful illustrations and lines from the book worked in around some better than typical baby book fill-in pages. It makes a much nicer keepsake than your average shades of blue (or pink) baby book.
Other great “make mommy cry” books are “Love you Forever” by Robert Munsch, “God Gave Us You” by Lisa Tawn Bergren and Laura J. Bryant, and “You are My I Love You” by Maryann Cusimano. When I was pregnant with my oldest, I bought every book in the store that made me cry, so I have quite a collection.
The Brightlings Exploration Station by Leapfrog is Vivienne’s favorite toy. It does pretty much everything: colors, numbers, alphabet, musical scale, shapes, cause and effect, and even how to say a few words in five different languages including *BRACE YOURSELF* Japanese! Viv has been playing with it since before she could sit up, but she’s REALLY gotten into it during the last few months – around probably 8 or 9 months.
If you’re looking for books that make you cry, my mom always read me I Love You the Purplest by Barbara Joosse and definitely cried every time. It might’ve been after my little brother was born, because it’s about two little boys asking their mom who she loves more, which I probably did. Check it out if you’re into that sort of thing:
http://www.amazon.com/Love-You-Purplest-Barbara-Joosse/dp/0811807185
Two that make me cry every time are All the Places to Love and Hello Baby (that last one is a home birth one).
Okay, so about the highchair. Fro 20 bucks you can get the Antilorp frm IKEA. It is all plastic and basically will match any dining room that doesn’t look like a granny’s. It is so easy to clean they use them in their restaurants. I love those stacker cups too, but I ultimately bought the Green Toys stacker because it looks more like the one I used as a baby but without all the nasty chemicals we were slopping down with our saliva, and it just looks cuter. I’m definitely getting the first book, just becuase it has an owl on the cover and will match my son’s nursery; that’s good enough for me.
I bought the Beco Gemini and I like it okay, but I still cannot figure out where to put all that damn extra strap material! I cannot be the only one with this. I’m small but not THAT small. So in the end it works but makes me look like a moron. I give you ten gold stars for the Round We Go Exersaucer. It is basic awesomeness and I can eat lunch now without balancing a plate and the tiny man. I can also have coffee or answer the phone. He loves this thing! I got the vitamind D3 too, and plan to bring it to shove in my peds face (probably not literally though). He told me there was no vitamin D without all the other vitamins I didn’t want to give my son in them. Probably saved me from allergy problems in the future.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30069724
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Toys-My-First-Stacker/dp/B0036WSVQ4/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1314895530&sr=8-7
On every strap there is a little elastic band. You roll the straps up and the elastic fits around it. TA DA!
I get teh elastic part, but the rolling? I may possibly be too stupid for the Beco. It doesn’t help that the Youtube vids never show them from the back and are super annoying.
LONG time reader here.. but 1st time commenter!
I, like youself, am also a self-proclaimed brand WHORE. You advocate it, I WILL try it… just because I HAVE TO HAVE IT.
I HAVE to ask you about the TIGI Rockaholic Dry Shampoo! Don’t know if you’ve ever used Oscar Blandi (spray or powder) but that stuff is thee BOMB! Has a great kinda lemony scent too. I’ve tried Ojon, which I don’t like cuz the scent is awful, and cheaper brands from the drug stores but nothing compares. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me this TIGI one is JUST AS GOOD if not better!?
yes I’ve used all of those dry shampoos. This stuff is better because it lasts longer
Bitch, you just made me spend like 50 bucks. Thanks a freakin lot.
I think that this trike is the best thing ever. It grows with them so its not one of those things that you can only use for a couple months.
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Tikes-3-1-Trike/dp/B001UE85DO
Its kind of expensive but its well worth it. And I don’t say that very often.
Oh and P.S. My baby is apparently not a baby. She doesn’t like anything that other babies like. Hates puffs, hates mum mums, hates pureed foods. She will not eat anything off a spoon, only forks. I don’t get it. She is like 30.
I went and bought the Jewel Lullaby cd the next day. It was an instant calmer in the vehicle! I’m working on getting a bumbo seat and a gemini carrier (the expense it totally worth it, however being a stay-at-home momma makes the funds a little harder to come by instantaneously!) I just bought a mirror for the little man to look in during car rides (my 10 year-old step son just went back to school and little brother misses him in the car like crazy!).
The dry shampoo made me smile because I had bought a can the other day and then I saw you post about it! It is a LIFESAVER!!
My must-haves include: Medela Pump In Style Breast Pump (perfect when I am too full and also because someday I will go back to work and I am trying to build up a supply for when that happens. Also handy when I occasionally get to spend more than four hours away from the baby).
“Eating only Air and Frowns” almost killed me. I was nursing my baby to sleep last night and reading blogs on my phone (what? that’s ok, right?) and had to literally swallow a laugh (don’t try it, it sort of hurts) to keep from waking him up.
My nursling is a little younger than yours, so your things guides are super helpful. Someone else recommended Mum Mums to us as “Baby Crack” which makes me a little afraid to buy them for the Babe. I don’t want to take him to NA at such a young age.
My favorite thing for him is the Sling (I use a Maya Wrap). Child wants to be held all the time still, and it makes it way easier to do other things.
PS – do you have an Amber Necklace for G? You can’t be a real hippie until you have one (my child was last photographed wearing his an a friendship anklet, so you know what I am).
Also PS – I have hard wood floors and have noticed that my feet/ankles/legs kill me. I never wear shoes inside, but maybe now I need some cute fur slippers.
we definitely have amber. We have an anklet but I WANT a necklace
Buy this now: http://www.amazon.com/Many-Colors-Sizes-Choose-Necklaces/dp/B004EF6R36/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1314405739&sr=1-1 – I don’t know how to make hyperlinks in comments. It totally works.
And what’s up with not responding to my email? Here I am, moving to your neighborhood and I need cool hippie hook-ups, yo…
I don’t know if I got an email from you?
Just emailed you.
On the night you were born is my #1 thing to buy when you have a baby! I bought it shortly after my son was born and now he’s 3 and can “read” it on his own, word for word.
Also, the baseball game! My son’s favorite toy up until about 6 months ago!!!
Great List!!
Baby mum mums and the happy baby puffs RULE!!!! Praise Britney for the manufacturers of these two food items…my 1 yr old still snarfs these things down like crazy. He must have at least 4 mum mums in one sitting or all hell will break loose. I think I’ll give the straw sippy cup you listed a try…we are having um, challenges, getting him to take other sippy cups at this point. He thinks they are toys more than anything else.
Things I love right now: Suave dry shampoo (super cheap and smells good!), Cetaphil Restoraderm lotion for Noah’s eczema (he’s had less flare ups since we started using it…maybe a coincidence, but I’m sticking with it for now!), and Stila tinted moisturizer…
I totally love your recommendations! It gives me an excuse to buy even more crap for the boy.
“but modg says we need it!” i tell the husband. “she’s on the computer! it must be great.”
On the Night You Were Born was the first book I read to my daughter, when she was maybe a week old. I COULD NOT STOP CRYING. I was just happy I was alone in the room or my husband would have been pretty worried about what was to come.
Thanks for all these suggestions! We’re about three months behind you and it’s so great to get ideas. You were so right about the musical mobile. Juno LOVES it, still!
SO I have a random question that may or may not be related to this in some way. That purple shit you painted your boobs with – was that gentian violet? Did you use it bc he had thrush and you got a booby yeast infection? Because I’m seriously contemplating making my baby look like an a-hole and staining all my favorite shirts to get some relief over here.
i used gentian violet for thrush and it worked! never needed an antibiotic. also, hang your bras in the sun and steambag or boil your pump parts and pacifiers and bottles if he takes one. thrush is a stalker…gotta pull out the big dogs to kick it sometimes.
New reader first time commenter!!!!
I am sad you didn’t get the memo on the plastic chair.
I received “on the night you were born” book in the hospital on the night my little boy was born and I cried my eyes out.
It’s now my go to boom gift!!
I totally feel your pain about feet and knees hurting. I’ve started to wear my tennis shoes everyday inside!!!
I really enjoy your blog!!!!
You are one funny little chicken. I found your blog a few days before I had my second behbeh (oh the insomnia). I’m lovin it
Baby mum-mums….NOOOOOOO!!!! I thought they were the best thing until they totally constipated my son. Everything constipates him. These do it double time. One mum-mum and he’s all stopped up. He loves the things, but I don’t love digging the poop out of his butt. I have two boys and after the first, I learned quickly that the less stuff you have, the better. My current most useful tip: When potty training, don’t buy a pretend potty that takes up so much room in the bathroom. Just buy a little seat for the toilet for like $8 and have him sit on that! So much easier! Ok, my two cents…
Ahhh, we lived in Pedipeds! Best shoes hands down. I’m enjoying these lists even though my daughter is 6… maybe I should consider a second baby? haha!
Ok. So I am a creeper that has gone back and read all of your posts
but, to make you feel even more completely awesome about yourself, I am a part if a mothers group that met on an App for iPhone when we were all newly pregnant. We ended up making a facebook page for ourselves, and have ended up sending each other gifts and birth announcements and all kinds if cool stuff. It’s magical. One of the moms posted your link, and now we All read your blog. So, just like that, you got a bunch of new readers. 
My son is 3 months old today, so I haven had the need for lots if the cool stuff you have— BUT— I just went on vacation (6 hours of pure nightmare in the car) and the mirror with lights and stuff is now in my list. Apparently the car seat we have has demons inside of it. My boy screamed like nobody’s business. I let him look at a mirror, and he was all “Hey. How YOU doin.” for like an hour. I have really enjoyed reading your blog, and I have recommended you to a few friends as well. I talk to my husband about stuff that you write like we talk every day over coffee or something. He thinks I have issues. I think he should stay a home with our kids for a week, and see who his pretend friends are. Thanks for making middle of the night breastfeeding’s funny!
I hope everyone on here has signed up for Amazon Mom: http://www.amazon.com/gp/mom/signup/welcome
Free to join and free prime benefits. That means FREE two day shipping for three months. Plus earn another month (up to a year) for every $25 you spend in the baby store. It doesn’t matter how little you spend, you always get free two day shipping. It. Is. Awesome.
Highchair solution: take the fabric stuff off now that he’s a big boy?? (Does it come off?)
Books- we have the “On the Night You Were Born” book and LOVE IT, we especially love when polar bears dance all night long.
Other books we have loved for 19 months now or have just recently found we love OR have cycled back through for more love:
Goodnight Moon (cycled back through again)
How do I love you? (P.K. Hallinan)- a favorite of mine
Books with pictures of vehicles and construction vehicles—his current favs.
He also loves this pop up book we have- but also loves to tear it apart.
Puzzles- chunky ones or ones with handles are a big hit in our house.
We have a 6 cube bookcase that has three fabric containers in it in a corner of our living room- he is enthralled every day with emptying out the containers- one with cars/trucks, another with balls, another with misc.
Kitchen items like plastic spoons, measuring cups, lids to tupperwear and the containers- still remain entertainment.
Lastly- give my boy a hose and a bucket—-or really just the hose and he’s good to go.
“shoes” for that age- we were lucky to get some hand-me-down little slipper shoes and then Target has some as well that won’t break the bank.
I will be buying the music cube!!!
LOVE the puffs. We just discovered them a few weeks ago and F is a puff eating machine. I tried them at the grocery the other day and she just started sticking her hand in the tub and grabbing puffs. It was the greatest grocery shopping experience with baby ever.
We have on of those highchairs that goes on a regular chair and it works great. The tray is a little bitchy but I just don’t take it off anymore.
Things we love for baby:
twist and seal ziploc containers (http://www.amazon.com/Ziploc-Twist-Containers-Round-Small/dp/B000LNY1D8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1314988981&sr=8-2),
any book that talks to you (http://www.amazon.com/Vtech-Rhyme-and-Discover-Book/dp/B0027CS7BI/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1314989010&sr=1-2)–they voices a a little creepy but aren’t all voices on kid toys creepy
Burt’s Bee’s baby wash
Aveeno diaper cream (not a fan of burt’s bees because too perfumy),
catalogues (she loves to drag them around the house and crinkle the pages
ps- I just started reading a few weeks ago and love your blog. I shared the blogs about G and the cat with my husband and he got a chuckle. We have 2 cats and a dog and our thought bubbles sound a lot like yours.
Hey! I love your blog. Love love love. Love your wit. One question. Do you get perked or paid to post these types of things?
I get a commission from amazon for linking to them. But lucky for me, amazon sells alien balls and everything else. So these are really things that I love.
something I’m not sure if I can live without is this squeezable applesauce. It comes from a few different brands, but I like the kind in the green packs. I can’t remember what it is called, but it comes in flavors like applebannana, applestrawberry, applecinnamon, and appleapple. They are virtually mess free, and my 2 yr old LOVES them!
one more thing I’m pretty sure we NEED in the kitchen is these Buddy Fruits fruit snacks. They’re like the regular fruit snacks that you buy in the snack aisle, but they have no added sugar, no preservatives, and nothing artificial. I love that I can read everything on the label.
Love those squeeze applesauce things – the green ones are GoGo squeeZ. They are on my current list of favorite things.
Just when I thought I was out….you pull me back in.
On the verge of abandoning my MODG readership status (found you in March just before I had my first via c-section) because, frankly, I can NOT deal with all of the “I love being a hippy mom” commenters and the competition to give one’s baby the most ridiculous nickname possible. Yes, I understand that I don’t have to read the comments…or the blog for that matter…but I must be a masochist.
Your hurricane post won me back for the time being, especially the list (“clean everything). I know that you are now famous enough that the loss of a reader here and there is no big deal, but if you care to hear my feedback, I guess possibly the issue is that your blog can be a little alienating to working moms who might not have the time/resources/energy to raise a cloth-diapered, no-bottled, baby-led-weaned, organically-shampooed, perfectly-napped, yada yada yada baby. And again, I understand that I don’t have to read it, but there are some amazing quality gems (especially in the archives).
Mostly I just wanted to comment that this polar bear book everyone is crying over must suck for babies born during the day.
I’m sorry you feel this way. It may not always come across this way but the point of the hippy thing is that I’m so NOT a hippy, but trying so hard to be one. I’m not sure what you’re talking about with the commenters or nicknames though. You lost me there.
And I do care about losing readers, but I knew it would happen. When you start a blog based on a question of one thing or the other, you’re going to have people on martinis side and then people on diaper genies side. Not everyone wants to read about my baby and my life and I get that. But what realllly surprises me is that you think that I’m this perfect mom raising this perfect kid. The whole point of this blog is a very frank reality of what it’s really like with a kid and there is nothing perfect about it. We cloth diaper because we can’t afford packs and packs of disposable diapers. JESUS GOD I WISH MY BABY TOOK A BOTTLE. Baby led weaning is just less time and energy than pureeing foods. And I can’t speak for shampoo, B does the baths.
We saved up our money for almost 2 years so I could stay home with G. It wasn’t easy, but that’s the choice we made.
It’s pretty alienating for people as “hippies” amongst you regular moms out there who give us side eye when we pull out the cloth diaper or put on the amber teething necklace. I’m just trying to make it not so black and white. I think you can be Jcrew sparkled out and still do things kind of naturally for your kid and not be a “hippy”.
I wrote all of this because you sort of hit a nerve with me and that’s ok. But I had to respond to some things that I feel like you may be misunderstanding. But maybe you are just a masochist.
I have no kids, no husband (no boyfriend either because I am socially awkward on all first dates), and pretty much do mindless things with my free time; however, this blog intrigues me. MODG has never come off as someone who is partial to one demographical mother BECAUSE she writes about mindless cool shit. Not sure why people who can’t put two and two together haven’t seen how this blog is suppose to be funny/honest/helpful/a great procrastination tool. This is like the fourth post I have seen where people don’t get it. Maybe your new blog intro should be “This blog is not for dumbasses”
Here is my favorite thing that possibly you could use since I am without husband and a tax write-off (See? An example of sarcastic humor that is not intended to alieniate dumbasses): http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-5-Meal-Electronic-Pet-Feeder/dp/B000GEWHNS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1315099184&sr=8-2
This thing shuts the cats up pretty quickly and sends them running out of my room to leave me the hell alone at 4:30 in the morning.
It’s unfortunate that you feel the need to dog on someone for doing what someone with a blog is supposed to do. They blog about shxt. And if you wanted a blog to fit your life to a tee, you would be blogging yourself instead of turning to other people in hopes that their’s will be a beacon of light and shining guide, and when it’s not, you pull the “i’m gonna verbalize that I don’t want to read your blog anymore” card. Not cool.
What about us that don’t even have babies? We read it because it’s good solid internetness.
i don’t think you should be calling out to a web-stranger who, by all means, has given under-handed disclaimers and witty warnings about what she does and writes about. I mean, come on, she’s not hired to be YOUR mentor.
I think you should have just snuffed yourself out quietly.
I grant that the masochist thing might be the bottom line and is obviously therefore totally my issue.
And to clarify, the “perfect kid” thing was more about your commenters than you. I really do appreciate your self-deprecation overall, and your kid is damn cute, but I think the snarkiness in me just enjoys silently mocking your fans who try to imitate your writing style and sense of humor about their own lives/babies and just FAIL.
And in terms of staying at home versus working…I promise I have never given anyone any “eye”, side or otherwise. Maybe I’m jealous? Maybe I have a sense of superiority about maintaining a “career”, even though I’m beyond thrilled to get home to my baby every day?
Or maybe…just maybe…I get sad seeing a generation of women who seem to see motherhood as an “escape” from trying to maintain a career. Are we going to leave the professional world to the men again?
I think I will probably hit a nerve in more than one person on this blog…so if it seems the right thing to do, I will just make a (not-so-)graceful exit.
And to think…I had an awesome non-poop-related confession for the next Confession Friday.
I am ‘new’ MODG fan and read it because her sense of humor is great, she hits the nail on the head when it comes to being a mom, stay-at-home or otherwise and she knows her shit when it comes to baby crap. Her attempts at being a hippy actually inspire me – maybe I could get my act together and use cloth and get over my fears and do baby led weaning. I left a job as an attorney after taking bar exams in three states, volunteering for the Army’s JAG office for six months while searching for a job in Washington after moving here with my husband (in the Army) and finally finding one that I LOVED. I wonder where you get the idea that we are a “generation of women who seem to see motherhood as an ‘escape’ from trying to maintain a career.” Making the decision to stay home is not always an easy one, and the choice usually depends more on what you think is best for your family that on escaping a career. Staying home is HARD. Hard for different reasons, but hard. Sometimes I think of going back to my career to “escape” staying home. I’m not trying to get into a MODG comment war here, but that one hit a nerve and the attorney part of me (that no longer gets to argue with adults other than my husband on a regular basis) couldn’t let it slide.
I’m a breastfeeding, cloth-diapering, make my own baby-food, co-sleeping, babywearing, unmedicated birthing (with a placenta in my freezer just in case I go off the deep end with the sads), buy my meat and eggs from a farmer kind of WORKING momma of two. Career, yes. Hippie, yes. It’s about choices and priorities. Not easy, but it’s important to me. Let me also add that I’m not so crunchy that I don’t appreciate a fantastic diaper bag (jujube)’ love shopping at Nordstrom, or appreciate a good handbag and shoes. I learn a ton from the HMN local group and that helps me balance it all.
I am about to head back to work (my son just turned 4 months and I am a teacher so really lucky that we timed it right and I could stay home for as long as I have). What is the HMN local group? I live on an island (literally not figuratively so we probably don’t have that specific one but I am interested). I find the working vs. staying home mom debate I dare say is more of a loaded argument than the breast milk vs formula maybe because it lasts longer? I think all these debates get so heated because all us Mom’s are so in love with our babies we just want to do the best things and like with everyone we get scared about what everyone else is doing and if its better than what we are doing (or maybe that is just me). For me I think I would have worked harder to figure out staying home if I had known more what it would be like being a Mom and at this point its a bit late. There is also the whole husband dynamic and that’s a whole other can o’ worms. Katie, I appreciate you taking the chance of being blog comment attacked for adding a critical comment. The comment section is a great resource in MODG and its nice to have a few different views, your tone came through a lot better than other critical commentaters.
“I get sad seeing a generation of women who seem to see motherhood as an “escape” from trying to maintain a career. Are we going to leave the professional world to the men again?”
I get sad seeing a generation of women trying to escape the rigors of motherhood by trying to maintain a career. Are we going to let corporate American and poorly paid daycare workers raise our children?
- A law-degree’d, MBA’d SAHM
See, that’s where the logic falls apart for me, though. Staying at home is best for YOUR family, but not for mine? I hear this argument all of the time: “it’s totally fine, I don’t judge you. Everyone just needs to do what is fine for his/her/their family.” So…your child needs his/her mother at home, but mine doesn’t? Doesn’t hold water. You obviously believe that one is a better choice. But for some (my family and I included), we don’t have the luxury of that choice. I’ll retract the word “escape,” however. I think your objection to that is fair.
And to the poster who reduced my entire point-of-view to me being a “dumbass”….well, it’s too bad that the dialogue had to become one of those who “get” MODG versus those who don’t. My mental acuity isn’t the issue here…I have a Master’s degree, blah blah blah. I actually said in a few different ways that I think the blog is great, MODG is hilarious and perceptive. I just had recently been growing weary of all of the hippy mother threads, that’s all.
So, “K.Girl.Hey”, you might be right. I should have just “snuffed myself out quietly” (interesting choice of diction there). But I guess I had surmised from MODG’s writing that she valued opinionated people speaking or writing passionately and that she would have been interested to hear the various perspectives of her ever-burgeoning readership, and of course her response reflected that openness, even if she wasn’t thrilled with what I had to say. This is to her credit. I anticipated a defensive reaction from her fan base, one that is warranted, probably. But you can’t claim that a blog is “just a place for people to write shit” and then dive head first into the conversational milieu of the comments page. So which is it? A one-way street or a two? Or a 158?
I will stick to debating these questions of motherhood, work, balance, and whatnot, with those who know me and understand that I come from a place of sincerity and curiosity.
Apologies for stanking up this here blog!
I know people who have a choice and choose to go back to work. Not everyone who can wants to stay home full-time and I respect that decision. I don’t judge anyone who works outside the home. It really is a personal decision and when I say that it is a decision based on what is best for your family I don’t mean that mom staying home is always the best decision. There are a lot of reasons someone might go back to work, financial or otherwise. I was literally one week away from doing it myself even though I didn’t ‘have’ to. I also appreciate you putting your opinion out there. Healthy discussion among moms is great and these blogs are usually a great forum. We can all learn from each other and our choices and experiences.
Katie, I have to say I am also a little disappointed at the blog this is becoming. I found this blog in December and fell in love. Thought MODG was the best thing since sliced bread. I still do think you have an amazing unique sense of humor, and your archives are definitely so fun to read. But, no matter how hard you are trying to show that you aren’t perfect and how raising a kid is, you DO have this pretentious way about you that I have noticed coming through the past few months. Maybe it’s since your blog has really gotten more attention now, IDK. Maybe I’m totally reading it wrong or taking it the wrong way, but as someone who has read almost every post on this, I really do see a change and it makes me sad!
When you’ve had ppd, and a sick baby and ate only turkey and rice for 6 months and hated staying at home with your baby, the day you become happy and come out on the other side, your world changes. And you want to share with the world what you did to make life not stabby. I WISH i had someone guiding me through the hard times, so I’m trying to help people in the same situation. I’m sorry you find that pretentious.
What everyone has to realize, is that I’m not a robot producing posts that your brain wants to read. I’m me. I change. I have babies. I have martinis. I have pretentious days. I have acne days. But what hasn’t changed is that I’m totally honest about everything in my life, take it or leave it. I’ll just never understand the people who tell me about how dissapointed they are in changes here. Do you want me to say? Wow, she is really unhappy about my life. I’m going to write about what she wants to read. No, you wouldn’t want that, because you like the honesty.
So nothing here will change. I will keep writing about what I want to write about, my life. and you can take it or leave it. But everyone who wants to leave it, just leave it. You don’t need to complain about it first.
Just givin my feedback. I’ve been laughing less and less, which is why I began reading this religiously, to get a laugh. Guess I just don’t relate anymore! And you’re right, you can’t please everyone, you aren’t writing this for ME. I just liked the humbled MODG much better.
Damn you, internet FAME.
I’ve been reading your blog before baby G existed and since I had my baby 4 months ago, I’ve been laughing more and more! Obviously, you can’t please everyone but with your recent brush with fame, my guess is you’re gaining tons new readers who appreciate you. Keep on keepin’ on.
I guess I don’t understand why everyone talking about “internet fame” and “humble”, etc. From my perspective, she’s just as bat-shit-crazy as her first post, and that’s why I love her. The topics have just changed and she’s trying to make a little dough from the site, which she absolutely SHOULD be doing.
I think some of the comments on this post suck ass and all of the people jumping on the “you’ve changed” bandwagon are being silly. Of course she changed! SHE HAD A FREAKING BABY! Have one and see if you don’t change (mind, body and soul).
MODG4LIFE.
Here’s my two cents on all of this: my husband and I are raising our son to the best of our ability. We’re making the decisions that we feel benefit him the most. Neither of us stay at home because that’s the reality of having a family as a gay couple – it costs as much as buying a house. BUT we did the responsible thing, which was guilt a close friend who runs a daycare into keeping him. So, he’s with someone he knows, he’s loved, he’s well cared for and he’s flourishing. We would love to have a stay at home parent in the family but that’s not possible for us if we want to keep purchasing George Clooney’s used dental floss off of Ebay.
But here’s where I totally disagree with my home girl Katie: I’ve never felt judged or like an outsider reading MODG or the comments. As much as I expect stay at homers to respect the fact that we’re going a different road, I have to respect them. I love hearing different view points because I think that’s how you grow. I think that MODG’s growth as a mother and fledgling hippie has attracted more hippie Moms around here lately. I don’t think that’s a bad thing (as long as we’re all still shaving our arm pits – this isn’t France ladies). There’s also nothing in the world that bring out more passion in women than parenthood, so you can expect that everyone has really strong opinions about raising their fatties.
I chime in now and again and make stupid comments. I’ve never felt unwelcome or judged just because I’m not listening to Joni Mitchell while making my homemade baby food from items grown in my garden. Everyone takes a different path in life and as a parent. Unless you’re beating or neglecting your child, you’re doing alright. I’m less concerned with how others view my parenting choices and more concerned with whether or not I’m raising a healthy, well-adjusted, slightly eccentric and Britney loving child.
Didn’t Britney say it best? “Guess I can’t see the harm in workin’ and being a mama”
Woo hoo!!!! MY shower gift TO YOU made it on the fav things post. I’m pretty sure this makes me an uber genius and also gift-giving princess. And I don’t even have a baby, so that makes me quadruple genius-ish.
And I’m in Denmark, on vacation, and reading MODG.
Let me break it down:
Gift princess + Baby Free + Vaca Reader = SupaFan. Just sayin’
Love the lists! I have a 7.5mo and so your blog is a little peek into our near future…
My baby started having eczema at a few months, and Vanicream saved us. I tried cutting out dairy, soy, eggs, etc and it made no difference. My awesome Ped suggested this, and applying this after his (soap-free) bath every night has made his skin as perfect as he is:
http://www.amazon.com/Vanicream-Moisturizing-Cream-Dispenser-1-Pound/dp/B000NWGCZ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315181842&sr=8-1
And this is a website that’s made figuring out the food situation so much easier. The creator of this site is pretty conservative about what’s safe – but it’s great for figuring out how to make cool baby food purees:
http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/
And I bought like a thousand baby books before our guy was born, and this by far is my favorite one. It tends to cause me to freak out a lot less about stuff:
http://www.amazon.com/New-Basics–Z-Modern-Parent/dp/0060535482/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1315182010&sr=8-3
Ps. Bought those little plastic egg toys from a previous list of your and it’s my guy’s absolutely favorite toy these days. He could spend hours taking them out of the case (and then I put them back in again). And they’re the perfect size for gnawing on. Thanks for the tip!
2 other things the kiddo loves and can’t get enough of:
http://www.amazon.com/Edushape-Pack-Sensory-Ball-Colors/dp/B00261BAAK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1315182186&sr=8-2
http://www.amazon.com/Bright-Baby-4-Copy-Slipcase/dp/0312494475/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1315182405&sr=1-1
I have the “In my Nest” book – SOOO cute. And my G baby seems to love it. I also received the “On the night you were born” book as a gift. Yep, its totally a book for the sappy moms.
This is the best highchair solution EVAR.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DEW8N
We started out with a regular, huge chair that had fabric too. After steam cleaning it for the millionth time and stubbing my toe for the two millionth time, I threw it in the garage and ordered that one. Best decision we’ve ever made. It fits on our dining chair so it’s not so ugly and invasive. You don’t have to give up half of our dining space, it’s all plastic and easy to wipe down, it has 2 trays and a lid (can go straight in the fridge!!!!) and it folds up and has a carry strap. This has been all over the US with us and is one of the few items I give at baby showers. It’s amazeballs x 1,000.
I’m trying baby led weaning too, and I have a question about how you introduced foods. I know the BLW advice is usually to just go for it and give them a wide variety of foods, but then I keep reading everywhere else to give one food for 3-5 days and eagle eye the baby to look for reaction and then add something new. Aaargh. I can see the sense in this but it also means I feel like we are moving sloooowly. I know it isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things and “food for fun before one” and all, but I just wondered how you handled that part of it. Thanks!
PS I know you know this, but you can’t please everyone, and I think you are fab fab fab. xo
You need to get paid for these posts – straight up commission. My son would not take a single sippy cup we gave him and after trying every one we could get our hands on, I tried the one you suggested here. BINGO! Took him about 30 seconds to figure it out and how he’s a happy juicy kid. Thanks for the rec!
Due to the wonders of technology, I read this post on my phone as I waited for my boyfriend to meet me for dinner, immediately clicked on the non-baby item (dry shampoo because I have SUPER curly hair and agree with you – if I’m going to go to the trouble of straightening this shiz, it bettter last like a week). And because I have an Amazon account, added it to my cart and purchased it. This all took place under 30 seconds. It’s getting tougher for us shoppies out there. It’s all just too easy!
I’ll report back my findings on the dry shampoo.
I know this comment is late, but when I went onto Amazon dot com to put one of your faves in my cart, 4 out of the 6 items listed below under the heading “Customers who bought this item also bought…” were also from this list!
MODG – I was a big fan of the Playtex straw cup UNTIL I was introduced to the Zo-Li BOT straw cup. Amaze. It doesn’t leak and spill like the Playtex and they can’t backwash in it which my almost 9 mo old does often. It was a weighted straw so even upside down doesn’t leak. Try it, you’ll love it.
MODG, you’re probably way too popular to read all of your comments any more, but I just wanted to let you know… we have the same highchair and I also kind of hated it, but then I just took the fabric parts off of it and it is 1000% better. You’ve probably figured this out by now, but just in case. Thanks for the straw cup rec- my baby loves them!
hey, not sure if you care, or if its worth your effort to update the link, but i just went to buy the straw sippy cup and the link brings me to amazon saying its unavailable. When I search for the name of that cup, it is still available on Amazon, and I’m going to get it, but now you’re not going to get credit for it…
Just a heads up, if you wanna update the link.
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