Day 255: And the winners are...

Well, only 12 days until Christmas. And so, as promised and by not-so-popular demand, here is my list of top 5 baby items. These are the things that have gotten me through the past 8 1/2 months, those wonder products without which I would have long ago pulled out my hair and run away from home. For your convenience and in hopes of receiving product endorsement royalties, I've even linked to the relevant sites. Once again in no particular order, here they are:

5. Receiving Blankets. A co-worker who recently had a baby told me that you just can't have too many receiving cloths. He was right. I'm not sure what they're really intended for - to "receive" the baby, I guess, whatever that means - but I used them for just about everything: As a swaddling blanket, as a burp cloth, as a rag to clean up puddles of spit-up, as a wrap during her baths in the first couple of months, as a comfort blanket to go to sleep with - for Maddie, not for me (although there were nights I probably could have used one, too). In the first four months we went through at least 10 a day, and that's no exaggeration. We have around 30 of them, and that's just enough to get us by. And they're pretty cheap, so stock up!

4. Exercise Ball. When Maddie was 2 weeks old and I was at my wits end, I had a post-partum doula come to the house to observe us in action and hopefully tell me what I was doing wrong that was making her cry all the time. When I greeted her at the door she had a big purple exercise ball with her, the kind people do ab workouts on at the gym - well, I don't, but perhaps you do. She told me that bouncing on the ball while holding a fussy baby results in instant calming. I was highly skeptical and it didn't work at first, but after four or five attempts we witnessed a miracle: there was blessed, wonderful silence in our house again. Not only that but it put her to sleep every time. It got to the point where we had a ball upstairs, a ball downstairs, and one at my parents' place. We've still got one on hand and in fact I just had to use it this afternoon. Fernando knows it's been a tough day when he comes home from work to find the exercise ball in the living room. After all, it's not like I'd actually use it to exercise. God forbid.

3. Baby Einstein dvds. Everyone knows that Baby Einstein works some kind of black magic voodoo on babies, lulling them into a near-comatose state. It's heavenly. I first sat Maddie in front of her Baby Mozart dvd when she was about a month old, and even back then she quieted down and just stared at it. Now, almost 8 months later, it doesn't have quite the hypnotic hold over her it once did, but we still play it daily. I specify the dvd rather than the old VHS version because the dvd has a "repeat play" option. Call me a bad mom if you like, but I figure they wouldn't make such a feature if it wasn't meant to be used. When you've got a screaming baby on your hands it doesn't take long for some ideals (eg. "My baby isn't going to watch TV") to go straight out the window.

2. Exersaucer. We inherited a hand-me-down Graco exersaucer from a friend. It was really big and a bit of an eyesore and I remember pleading with Fernando to just donate it to the second hand store. He didn't, and I'll be forever grateful for that. Ever since she's been able to hold her head up she's loved being in the thing. She bounces up and down and sucks on the toys and feeds her snacks to the dogs from it. Usually while watching Baby Einstein.

1. Baby Bjorn. This miracle of a baby carrier can be a bitch on the back now that Maddie's getting bigger, but in light of her intense dislike of the stroller, it has likely saved my sanity. Seems like a pretty good trade-off to me. I use it so often I've turned it into a verb, as in "Mads and I Bjorned it to the mall this afternoon." I literally don't leave home without it, and it never fails that when she's hanging from it, dangling her little legs and squealing, somebody will comment on what a happy baby I have. I love how people feel they can sum up a baby's personality based on 10 seconds of observation... I sense that I'm about to go off on a tangent, so I'll stop myself now. The point is, the Bjorn has been a lifesaver.

Honourary Mention: Babylegs. Okay, so it's a bit of a stretch to say I couldn't have lived without them. But they're just so darn cute, I had to include them on the list. And they are useful. They're great under dresses and even pants during the cold weather, and if Maddie were to one day decide to crawl they would protect her little knees. And most importantly they make the constant struggle to change her diapers a lot easier because you don't have to worry about taking pants on and off. And did I mention they're really cute?

I'd like to also mention: The Children's Place, which has the most adorable baby clothes and has 50% off seasonal sales, and the Jolly Jumper, which is a source of constant bouncing amusement, and baby Tylenol, without which I'm sure teething would be even more of a nightmare than it has been. Oh, and last but not least - it's not actually a product, but definitely something that's gotten me through: family (cue the chorus of "awwwws"). I am in total admiration of all the single moms out there, I literally do not understand how they manage it all on their own. I've always appreciated my family, but never so much as I do now that Mads is here. Thank god I have a husband who can put up with all forms of crazy from me and still not head for the hills. Okay, this is starting to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech, so I think it's time to sign off!

Disclaimer: As every baby is different, you may find none of these products at all helpful. In which case... sorry. And good luck. :)