7 Must-Have Baby Items - To Give or Register For

I'm pretty picky when it comes to what I buy or keep for my daughter. We live in a small two-bedroom apartment, and we don't have a lot of room for clutter, or barriers for noise. My husband and I decided before our daughter was born that we didn't want any electronic, noise-making, light-up toys. In the past year and a half, I have developed a collection of favorite items that we have either purchased, or were generously given to us. If I had to do it over, I would still buy all these items in a heartbeat.

1. FisherPrice Rock'n Play - $43.99-$59.99

We used this ALL the time. Our daughter slept in one of these for the first 2-3 months until she transitioned to her crib. I was able to borrow one from my sister-in-law after my niece outgrew it, but I would gladly pay the sixty dollars if I needed to. They carry this in multiple colors/patterns at Target.

2. Sara Gillingham book series

These board book, finger puppet combo books are a gem. There are several more in the series. I found and purchased our first two at a little book store in North Carolina long before I was pregnant. My mom purchased the rest of the collection for our daughter's 1st birthday, and they are an absolute favorite. 

3. Hape Stacking Blocks - $19.99

A friend of mine purchased this set for our daughter's 1st birthday. I knew it would be a hit with her because she loves fitting shapes together. I love this because it includes animals, colors, shapes, letters, and numbers, and when all the boxes are inside each other it takes up minimal space. 

4. B. Zany Zoo Activity Block - $59.99

My husband and I splurged a bit this Christmas and invested in this awesome toy for our daughter and any future children. It's a bright and fun twist on the age-old whatever these are called that you see in every pediatrician's office. She loves it and it's recommend for ages 1-3 so hopefully it will be loved for a while!

5. Elegant Baby Wooden Alphabet Blocks (set of 36) - $29.95

I was fortunate enough to find a set of these for $7 at a "Just For Friends" event when we lived in Washington state. The company is no longer selling them from their official website, but you can find them on Amazon. Our set is black and white, which they don't seem to make anymore, but I love the color ones. Each block has a capital, a lower case, a picture that starts with that letter and the corresponding word. I love that there are extra blocks (extra vowels) so when she starts learning to spell she can actually use her blocks to make more than one word. 

6. Hape Bird Stacker

We received this as a gift for Hadley's 1st birthday, and it was instantly a favorite, and one she continues to play with. I put it together for her the first time and she's been able to do it herself from 12 months. The sad part is, I cannot find this exact one for sale anywhere! If I could it would be given to ever baby I know. They used to be at Target, but they're nowhere to be found, even on the Hape brand official website. However, Hape has many other great wooden and bamboo toys to be discovered. Check out their website here.

7. Melissa & Doug Felt Sandwich Making Kit - $19.99

This was another great gift given to Hadley for Christmas this year by her sweet auntie. It came with all the pieces pictured, and I love that it's felt! The pieces stick together so you can actually form a "sandwich," and bonus: they don't make a bunch of noise clacking together. It's recommended for ages 3+ but our 15-month-old already loves playing with them!

5 Reasons to Be Thankful For Extra Laundry

Just to clarify, I'm sharing five reasons why I'm thankful for extra laundry this week, and how it's changing my outlook on being thankful in general. 

My daughter has barfed six out of seven nights this week at bedtime. It "ruined" our New Year's Eve plans, and another night when friends were visiting. I found myself complaining about her inconvenient timing to more than one family member and friend throughout the week. But yesterday, as I folded my third crib sheet in a row, I started thinking--extra laundry to fold is a first-world problem. 

You're probably familiar with the term being used in GIF listicles and strings of pictures on the internet, all poking fun at ourselves for the things we deem problems. For example, "I need to get to the third floor, but the elevator is broken," or "My laptop bag hurts my shoulder," and "I want to change the channel, but the remote is on the other side of the room." 

So I took the opportunity, as a personal challenge, to think of things that I was thankful for in relation to my daughter's barf-a-thon. Here's my top 5:

1. I'm thankful I have a washer and dryer in my apartment and don't have to haul buckets of water and hand wash all the laundry, or even take it to a laundromat.

2. I'm thankful for more than one crib sheet so I can quickly change the bed when I need to.

3. I'm thankful for a crib and mattress for my daughter that I can put said sheets on.

4. I'm thankful that I have a home to put a crib in, and a separate room so I can get sleep most nights.

5. I'm thankful that my daughter is otherwise healthy and that there isn't a serious medical condition causing her to be sick.

My hope is to continue finding the joy in circumstances that might otherwise be frustrating or discouraging. 

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  

- Colossians 3:17