Addie's Top 10

1.    A Baby Sling or two…or three.  See the free baby sling patterns here!
2.    Uniden phone set with the room monitor feature.  We use these instead of a traditional baby monitor.
3.    Buggy Bagg shopping cart cover…they are the best out there!  Hubby thought that this was a waste of money until I asked "What were all those wierd diseases that you used to get as a kid?"  He started saying "Impetago, scarlet fever, mono..."  Exactly.  Beside the baby sling, my buggy bag is one of my most used items.
4.    My Timex Rush ‘Mom’ watch.  It’s not pretty, but it has a 24 hour stopwatch, so I can tell how long it’s been since the baby has eaten…and also a timer which comes in useful for my older kids as well.  It also has an alarm, and it ‘indiglo’s so that I can read it at night, and a pulse check feature.  Oh, and it also shows me the month and date, which I end up checking all the time.
5.    My nursing covers.  They fold up small and allow me to be a hands-free mobile nursing unit when necessary.
6.    A package of cloth diapers.  The old fashioned cloth diapers are indispensable as burp cloths (especially for babies who spit up a lot!)  And they also double as a pillow, small blankie, nursing cover, and they make great cleaning rags later on!  Make them extra cute with the free baby cross stitch patterns, or by glamming them up with this great craft idea!
7.    A custom passie clip.  I had baby’s monogram engraved on a pair of old shell buttons, and made passie clips out of them.  It is small, adorable, and she can wear it with anything.
8.    A clip on book light.  I used this a lot when I was getting up in the night.  Clip it onto your PJ’s, and you have a little directional spotlight for midnight feedings.  According to a friend who works at an international lighting supply company, using a red light will allow you and baby to fall back to sleep much more easily than white or blue lights.  (Red light wave-lengths are less disruptive to sleep)
9.    Curtain clips: I love these!  They are sold in 12 packs on the curtain hardware aisle.  Essentially, it’s a ring with a clip on it.  Slide the ring over the hanger hook, and then clip on all of the outfit’s accessories.  This keeps all the elements of an outfit together.  No more digging for the matching socks, bonnet, bootees, bloomers, etc.
10.    Crocheted booties.  Totally frivolous, but so, so precious!