I am a gadget junkie. There, I said it. I realized this when I bought every little thing that may have some tiny purpose with babies. My hubby says that I buy "anything with a marginal use." Yup. Totally right. But I constantly have people saying, "Where did you get that?? That is so neat!!" or "They didn't have anything like that when I was raising my kids!" I think the reason I buy all these little gadgets is that I am secretly hoping I will make it through raising MY kids a little easier if I have more STUFF (much to my husband's dismay...) So here are a few of my tried and true favorites that make my life a little easier with a baby/toddler, and have passed the "Second Time Mom Usefulness" test.
Boon Spoon
Best. Baby. Tool. Ever. Fill it up with your pureed baby food, screw on the spoon lid, and put on the cap. There is a little hole at the base of the spoon that the food comes out when you squeeze the spoon. Instead of fumbling with a baby food container, taking the foil lid off, taking the top off, holding a spoon, etc, etc, you have a one-handed way of feeding on the go. I can't say enough about how great this is.
Smocket Pocket
This is probably the most-commented-on piece of baby paraphernalia I have. It's ridiculous and GENIUS at the same time. It's basically a long-sleeved apron that has elastic that pulls the front over the high chair tray. My first baby was a MESSY eater and got food down the front of her, on her lap, in her diaper...everywhere. This keeps everything off her. All it's missing is a rain hat. You'd have to google it to find one of these anymore...
Snack Catcher
These cups have rubber tops that let little hands get inside to grab snacks, but if dropped, you don't end up with 268 Cheerios on the floor of your car.
Formula Dispenser
This is my most-used item. Couldn't live without it. I have one for the diaper bag for outings, and one in the nursery on the nightstand with pre-filled bottles of water at night. It saves me from having to go down to the kitchen in the middle of the night and mix up a bottle. (I train my kids to think room temperature formula is awesome). I got it for going out when I have to fill bottles at the zoo, church, you name it, and love it for both functions.
OiOi diaper bag
With my first, I insisted on a Petunia Picklebottom Boxy Backpack for my diaper bag. It had a cool fold-out diaper changing pad, and I loved the idea of a backpack because you always have a car seat on one arm and it's hard to keep a diaper bag on the other. BUT after a few months with it, I found it too small inside and got annoyed with the stiffness of the whole thing. Enter the OiOi diaper bag. It has TONS of room and it has two handles, plus a long strap. It also comes witha changing mat, bottle insulator, and wipes holder. And it looks like a big yellow purse. I use it even when I don't have to!!
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