Top 10 baby items I could not live without

I envision most of my posts being related to fashion and design, but right now my life pretty much has one central focus: Big Squish. Although he is only seven months old, I feel like I have learned enough over the course of the past year to fill an entire novel. Many of my friends who are pregnant ask me for advice on products, clothes, and anything else baby-related quite frequently, so I have decided to put a Top 10 list together that incorporates the ten things I could not live without. In no particular order...

1: Fisher-Price My Little Lamb Cradle 'N Swing - Y'all, thank the Lord for this invention. This is THE ONLY place Big Squish would sleep during his late afternoon nap.2: Summer Infant Baby's Quiet Sounds video monitor - So necessary. Any questionable noise and you roll over and hit the button to see the little piglet without getting out of bed.

3: BabyWise - Let the controversy begin! I know there are *very* strong opinions on this method, but so many couples recommended this book to us when I was pregnant with Big Squish that we had to read it and I tell you what, it became our Holy Grail of Sleep. I was not always as strict as is recommended, but the schedule worked great for us. By four months, Big Squish was sleeping 9 hours in a row at night, and by five months he was going 7pm to 7am with no forcing. I highly recommend this book in correlation with:

4: Happiest Baby On The Block DVD - Easy peasy guide to swaddling and soothing your baby so no ear plugs are needed.

5: Playtex Drop Ins - The unique thing about Drop Ins is that they utilize disposable liners that collapse as baby feeds so no air gets into the milk, the idea being potentially uncomfortable symptoms such as gas, colic, spitting up occur less frequently. Most important, they are SO easy for the baby as the infant can continue to suck without having to release air.

6: Medela Freestyle Breast Pump - Genius! I might go so far as to say this changed my life. It is very pricey - I believe it is the most expensive out there - but after using it myself, and speaking to several other mothers who have used other pump models, I feel confident saying that it is worth every penny.

7: Vermont Organics Milk Baby Formula - Now that I am no longer breastfeeding, we use Vermont Organics Baby Formula. It is whey based, whereas most organic formulas are not and many contain corn syrup. Gross. Vermont Organics is available here: http://www.vermontorganicsformula.com/

8: Fisher-Price Precious Planet Jumparoo / Graco Jump 'N Jive Doorway Jumper - You know how fun it is to be hooked into a harness and jump up and down on a trampoline? Enough said.

9: Beaba Babycook/Beaba First Stage Spoons/Beaba Multiportions - Makes it SO simple to puree your own baby food, and it is also great for heating/reheating jars. The Beaba spoons are the softest I have found and being so colorful, who could pass them up?! Big Squish likes chewing on them to help ease his teething pain as well. The Multiportions make homemade food storage beyond simple. Worth the investment.

10: Circo footed pajamas - Warm, snuggly, and cheap! Need I say more? Be aware that they run small. Big Squish is large for a seven month old, but he is in the 12-18 month size right now. I get them at Super Target. {One of the best stores on the planet}.

These only span newborn through month seven, and I have already come across several items I can't wait to get my hands on, in addition to new products I will purchase for our second baby. That is for another post though - stay tuned!

Images courtesy of Fisher-Price, Summer Infants, Playtex and Beaba.