Baby Gear I Couldn't Live Without

After a year of this Mama gig, I have identified a few pieces of gear without which the quality of my/Mini-Me's life would be severely compromised:

pacifiers - I feel so sorry for my friends whose babies won't take a pacifier. I may change my tune when Mini-Me is older and we have to go through the trauma of giving up the pacifiers.

swing - The first time Mini-Me fell asleep without being attached to my body was in the swing. It quickly became my favorite tool for helping her fall asleep. In the beginning it also worked well as a sleeping spot when we traveled to stay at other peoples' houses. I think I bought four of these off Craig's List in four different cities. This particular brand has a deeper seat and deeper recline so it is a little safer once baby is able to sit up a little.

nest - This was Mini-Me's parking spot during the first four months of her life. We had it in our bedroom when she was first born, and then we had it in her crib. For a refluxy baby it was ideal to have her sleeping at an angle instead of lying flat.

Ergo - This baby carrier changed the way I felt about leaving the house. As Mini-Me got heavier, side carry slings quickly because a problem for my back. We live on a big hill, and walking to do errands became uncomfortable. The Ergo is terrific. I also love it for plane flights - baby can sleep and you have your hands free for the flight. Now that Mini-Me is older I carry her on my back instead of my front, and it continues to be a comfortable ride for both of us.

miracle blanket - We swaddled Mini-Me *way* longer than most people - I think we finally gave it up when she was about 10-11 months old. As she grew and got stronger, no other swaddling method could hold her. We still use a miracle blanket on airplanes to help her get to sleep in such simulating settings. We stopped swaddling once it because clear that worming her way out of the swaddling was a play activity when she was supposed to be napping.

hook-on high chair - We got this initially for a trip to Mexico, never dreaming we would get so much use out of it. Restaurants. Hotels. A spare when we have a friend over. I like it better than restaurant high chairs because Mini-Me is right at table level with us - makes it easier to feed her and it's socially nicer. This brand is better than most because it has padding along the back and seat and the cover comes off easily to throw in the washer.

peapod - Used to be, Mini-Me would sleep easily in her Moses basket so we would lug the thing with us whenever we needed her nap away from home. When she finally outgrew that, we got this Peapod. We actually got it for camping, but we find it fits easily in a suitcase for hotel stays, and it works well when we need her to sleep in strange surroundings.

Kelty convertible - A friend of mine who has four boys said she didn't understand how I could possibly travel solo with Mini-Me without a stroller. I told her I could do without a stroller as long as I had the Ergo with me. And she sent me this for my birthday. Best birthday present ever! This baby backpack converts to a stroller. It is neither as comfortable as the Ergo nor as smooth a ride as a mid-price stroller, but the fact that it is both makes it indispensible. It's narrow so it's easy to maneuver in shops and crowds. It's more comfortable for my husband than the Ergo. And it's terrific at airports - baby *and* stroller on my back, car seat in one hand, suitcase in the other - it's a breeze. I've never seen anything like it and I get a lot of comments about it.