Yeah, I know Isla is over a year old already and I’m just getting to this now. Horrible, I know.

I thought I’d share with you some of my favourite baby items that I’ve either been gifted or bought personally since Isla came around.

My Spooner Sisters Designs Diaper Tote

Image courtesy of Spooner Sisters Design!

When Isla stopped pooping/spitting up/needing 100 things on trips to the store or wherever, I desperately needed something more compact and lightweight for outings with Isla. (Because surprise poops and heavy tinkles still happen!) I wanted something that I could toss a couple diapers, baby wipes and bum cream into that could act as a portable change station as well. I came across Spooner Sister Designs (who are based right out of Kamloops) and asked if this was something they could design as it wasn’t on their site at the time. Lucky for me, they were just in the process of making a couple prototypes and would be making them to sell soon! I waited, and as soon as they were available, I bought one. I love my diaper tote – It fits a “to-go” wipes container, two diapers and a little tube of bum cream perfectly, and I just leave it in the car for when I need it. So much easier than my big, bulky diaper bag!

The Pacifier “leash”

From Jake Tally’s Etsy Shop

Isla was really good at spitting out her soothers all over the floor, so I needed something that would clip onto whatever she was wearing so it wouldn’t get dirty. I was given a pair of leashes during Isla’s shower, but they were big and bulky. I found Jake Tally’s Etsy shop and was impressed by the patterns and the style of leash Jenn makes, so I ordered one! It’s small but the soother was super secure in place with the snap, and the clip attached easier and securely to everything – Sleepers, onesies, the car seat – Whatever! And, Isla knows that her soother is at the end of it, so if she spits it out and wakes up looking for it, she grabs the fabric of the leash and find her soother all on her own. No more lost or dirty soothers!

The Medela Calma

From Medela.com

Back in March I had an MRI and couldn’t nurse Isla for 24 hours afterwards, so I had to get her “trained” to take a bottle. I tried various nipples with various flows and none of them compared to nursing straight from the twins. After asking a mom support/swap group I belong to on Facebook, many of them recommended the Medela Calma. It’s not cheap, but it worked! Isla took to the bottle after one try and just like that, my boobs were free and the stress of the upcoming MRI had disappeared. I was really skeptical of the design of the nipple, but there’s something about the shape, along with the vacuum system that the Calma uses that works wonders. I was also able to, after my 24 hours of post-MRI no nursing was over, go back and forth between nursing and bottle feeding with no issues.

Really, that’s about it. I didn’t do video baby monitors, breath/motion detectors, wraps or slings. I actually have a wrap, but didn’t like it. Everything else I have baby gear-wise is pretty standard.

What are/were your must-have items?