My Top 10 Baby Items

I know a lot of people having babies. I have babies. I am far less experienced than most of my friends, but I thought I would share my Top Ten List of Baby Items, in no particular order:

1. Maclaren Stroller

Researching a stroller is a bit like researching a new car, but with far more opinions and contradictory pieces of information. I am convinced that many back-specialists and chiropractors secretly fund the creation of overly short, bulky, or ill-conceived designs, yet much like the wipers on Volvo headlights, they add completely unnecessary gadgets like a temperature gauge. I have a jogging stroller I enjoy, but on the whole find travel systems overly priced and rather unhelpful once Bundle of Joy #2 arrives. Enter: the MacLaren. I have two, and they fold easily, weigh about eight pounds, and can take a lot of abuse.

2. "Hooter Hiders"

Otherwise known a "Udder Blockers" or some other pithy title, these are nursing covers that attach around the neck and have a bit of corset boning around the top to allow you to see your baby. For those thinking, as I foolishly did, "can't I just use a blanket to cover myself?" - unless you are one of the few mutant superheroes who are capable of this feat, once Bundle of Joy can grab and pull, you will be wanting one of these unless you feel like...celebrating...the joys of nursing. Publicly. These are genius, but even I, whose sewing ability peaks at being able to press a peddle and thread a needle, can make one. Or, you can look on Etsy for cheap, cute alternatives that don't cost $40.

3. Cuisinart Mini-Chop

Now, I don't have one of the "it-grows-the-food-and-harvests-it-and-peels-it-and-steams-it-and-stores-it-and-feeds-it" machines that I occasionally lust over in Williams-Sonoma catalogues, but if you can steam a few carrots, just buy a mini-chop. Steam the food, stick it in, chop it, and then put the pureed food in BPA free ice cub trays. Once frozen, remove the plops and stick them in ziploc bags or containers and keep in the freezer for easy serving sizes. Wholesomebabyfood.com is one of my favorite sites for ideas and recipes and 'when to serve what food.'

4. IKEA's Antilop High Chair

This thing is about $29, and another $10 for the tray. It's FANTASTIC. It's cute and easy to clean and inexpensive compared to other versions - like our beautiful wooden maple chair from Amazon which is destined for the burn pile.

5. BumGenius One-Size 4.0 Cloth Diapers with Snaps

I'm all about hugging trees and kissing fish - but I primarily like cloth diapers because they save money, especially if you want more than one kid. I always thought a good friend of mind was sick in the head when she said she loved folding cloth diapers and stacking them nicely - but now I understand. Apparently, I have drunk the kool-aid. And I like it. Once you get into the swing of cloth diapering, it's really easy. And don't spend your money on expensive diaper pails - just get a trash can with handles from Target or WalMart.

6. Soft Shoes

I don't like 'hard' baby shoes - they never stay on my kids, and I always wonder, are they comfortable? And what is the point? So, I LOVE soft shoes. Robeez are still my favorite, and they are the best quality, but there are also great shoes on Etsy, and a fantastic seller on Ebay who sells her shoes for about $10!

7. Play Mats

We have the Rainforest Play Mat, and it is genius. It only entertains them until a year or so, but they are WONDERFUL. Seriously. Get one. It's the best toy for a little baby.

8. KidCo PeaPod

I have a Pac 'n' Play, which is great for room time, corralling a small child who shouldn't otherwise be wandering, or alternative sleeping locations, like my parents' closet. But for traveling - play dates - church - the PeaPod is wonderful. If I had to choose between a Pac 'n' Play and the PeaPod, I would take the PeaPod. It's like a mini-tent that folds into a tiny circle and weighs just a few pounds (unless you like the lug around the Pac 'n' Play like I used to haul my Bass Clarinet onto the bus in Junior High). Be warned: it pops open rather violently, and if you are at all directionally challenged (not compass direction - like, following directions), it can be tricky to fold.

9. Gerber GPA Free NUK Cups and Playex First Sipsters and Munchkin Snack Cups

Best sippy cups that I have used! Minimal spillage, though the Playtex sippies wear out once the little bundle has teeth. The snack cups are fantastic for administering a rushed breakfast without dislocating a shoulder.

10. Evenflo BPA Free Purely Comfi Bottles

Both my kids have loved these. They are BPA Free, reduce air intake, work if you're pumping or using formula, and are inexpensive (unlike some other bottles that will cost you more than the kid). I don't like the nipples that come with them - go with Dr. Brown ones.

There you go! Any other thoughts...?

Leila

Modern Education

It's been awhile, and so I decided to not only post, but to update my blog a bit. Someone around here needs a make-over, and I have a few pounds to go before I'm getting new clothes, so instead the blog is getting a spring wardrobe.

So much has changed over the past few months I was tempted to just start a whole new blog, but now that seems unnecessary. It's easy in the changes of life to chuck the old aside, hit refresh, and start over. But that's not the way stories go, and that's not the way God works. He erases our sins, but never the plot, and even the boring, tragic, or day-to-day chapters He makes glorious.

Which has nothing to do with this post. A companion of mine at EvCC left a brilliant journal in my mailbox, and I have been reading it instead of grading essays. I have also been staring out the window at sunshine and musing about teal-colored shoes. Which has nothing to do with this post. The journal is called the Intercollegiate Review, and it's published by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), a conservative and fascinating group of crazy, anti-establishment traditional rebels.

It contains an article entitled "Liberal Learning Confronts the Composition Despots." It's fantastic - and I will mainly link to it, because it says everything I've been thinking much better than I have thought or communicated it. I love one of his opening quotes: "'Education,' in the original sense, is true to its ultimate Latin root word, educere, 'to lead forth,' 'to bring out.' Maturity, which is its goal, thus requires an emergence from or growing out of an undeveloped or incomplete condition: that self-centeredness that seems an innate element of the human condition."

Then, he rightly criticizes the current Education system in America, where "it ought to be clear that we are dealing not with the failure of an educational system but rather with fraud on a grand scale. We cannot 'reform' our system of education because it is not at all a system...but instead a curious and uneven amalgam of job training, indoctrination, and custodial care." He moves on to argue for the necessity of reading and history in true education, which is "not merely an accumulation of information or techniques; it is a comprehensive vision of reality, seeing beyond the immediate horizon while knowing the limits of its perception."

For the past few years, especially, I have watched students enter my class with less - less personal responsibility, critical thinking, and ability to formulate an English sentence. Possessive pronouns are becoming antiquated, apparently, because our schools current curriculum could've never focused on the importence of grammar. We need a return to tradition. We need to start reading books again. We need to teach BOOKS in composition courses. Really, just read the article. It's worth your time. And I need to go grade papers about weather or not Frankensteins monster is a human bean.