And I'll take one of these, two of those....

Did you ever look at all the stuff you got given for your little one and think 'what the hell am I going to use this for?'. And then six months later, you think 'there is no way I could live without this'?


Yeah, me too. I recently had the pleasure of attending not one, but three kids birthday parties AND a baby shower, all in a two day period. Aside from the fact that I will never do that again (I'm blaming my phone and calendar's not syncing for all the over booking) and that poor Little P was so tired and a little confused with all the people we saw in such a short time, I made me think. I know when I was pregnant and going through the whole Baby Registry thingy, that I would look at things that were suggested either by that store, other Mommies or on Mommy blogs and think, 'why would I need that'. 


Perfect example: wipes warmer. I know, I know. Our parents didn't have them when we were little, but heck, when I was little, they didn't have infant car seats either - are you going to skip that one? Little P was born in February, and granted, it does not get as cold in Las Vegas as say the northern states, but it does get cold. And I bet you don't like to sit on a cold toilet seat in the middle of the night, so it only makes sense that their little tushies wouldn't like a cold shock either. And I have to admit, those diaper changes in the wee small hours go so much easier when the wipe you are using is warm. 


And baby slings. And bottle warmers. And sleepy time music (I recommend Rainforest Music or some sort of rain sounds, like Rain for Sleeping and Relaxation, the white noise helps big time). Oh, and then there's all the 'health' stuff too. Baby thermometers, and nasal bulbs and teething products (those especially). And once you get the baby stuff sorted out, you have to start looking at things for their 1st birthday, then the 2nd, then the 3rd and so on. It's endless. 


'Stuff' is cool. 'Stuff' is fun. Heck, 'stuff' can make a somewhat ordinary day into an extraordinary one. But you know what? At the end of the day, what your little one is going to remember is you. You laughing with them. You reading stories and playing games and painting with them and sitting down to have tea parties or go on jungle safari's or just lying in the grass and watching clouds go by. Yup, it's just you.


So while 'stuff' will always be around (shows like 'Hoarders' proves that) it's the time you spend with them that will be their strongest and fondest memories.


Now I think I have some cleaning out to do - we have got so much stuff.


K


Mommy-ism #8: We discovered Dante's 10th circle of Hell- Teething. Some babies will breeze through this relatively easy, and others, well I only have 3 words for you 'amber teething necklace'. It works, trust me, I wouldn't lie to you about this. Google it, Wiki it, talk to people who have or do use them. It made Little P's teething so much more tolerable (& believe me, when she wasn't wearing it, she was miserable). Still needed Orajel for those tough ones, but invest in one, for around $17 it will save your sanity during this rough time.