Autumn’s Picks

Once again, life got in the way of writing. It was a really terrible and busy September; we had a death in the family (please, no condolences, thank you though) and are still dealing with the aftermath of that. We took a quick weekend trip down to DC and got to walk A through the Zoo which is free and awesome and I got to see real live pandas!! and she really enjoyed being up close and personal with a primate (I call them all ‘monkeys’ and I know I am wrong; I am trying to be better).

David Wright officially retired from baseball and I cried; we made the decision to take our child to an evening game out in Queens despite it working against all common sense about babies and bedtimes. It worked out okay and I accepted that once upon a time, yes, staying until the last out was a point of pride but now with a small child, it’s OK to put her needs ahead of mine sometimes (HAHAHA… “sometimes”) and leave the game before it ends. Besides, David Wright only played a few innings and we left after he left the game.

David Wright’s last-ever ‘first at-bat of the game’ at Citi Field

But anyway, here we are in October and here I am with another list of consumer goods that my daughter has really enjoyed recently or stuff she has that people have asked me about recently. Her birthday wish list is here – with a bunch of stuff people bought her, a bunch of stuff I added as ideas for things to get her as she grows – but I will be super honest, we’re currently obsessed with sensory play which is more of the home-grown kind (we play with little puffballs, pipecleaners, stickers… all of which I purchase at the dollar store).

playing with puffballs

1. I talked about this cup in a previous Autumn’s Picks, but I want to note that I now use it for milk and she chugs it down. Well, okay, not so much chugs as drinks it happily and easily on her own – I take it out and leave it on her table for her and she will go over to pick it up and drink on her own. Sometimes I prompt her. She usually has a few ounces left at the end of the day but it’s a good start for a child who previously primarily got her fluid intake via nursing.
   
2. This lovely playmat that folds into its own storage bag comes with 9 little characters – crinkly, squeaky, or rattly – and depicts a farm scene. I’ve mentioned that Autumn LOVES animals, so this is ideal to stuff into the diaper bag for her to play with when I need to keep her attention, though 50/50 on whether or not she grabs a character and makes a break for it. I also add this set of animals that clicks together to it – they’re all farm animals – and she loves playing with those, too. Both sets were received as birthday gifts from friends and are by Melissa & Doug – the latter set is especially good for travel as they are easily cleaned using a wipe or even dumping in the sink or tub to wash.
3. Also great for travel – Indestructibles Books! Made of ‘tear-resistant’ ‘soft paper’ that babies supposedly can mash, chew, try to rip, etc., we often find her sitting quietly and ‘reading’ these to herself. They’re awesome – we have only 4 or 5 of them but she loves them, especially – surprise, surprise – the ones that feature lots of pictures of animals.
   
   
4. Get ready for a triple threat! First up, this awesome table that Pop Pop bought Autumn for her birthday with 2 chairs. Super easy to put together without tools (I did it myself), super simple to clean (I wipe it down with Clorox wipes), and pretty inexpensive, A LOVES sitting at her table. She frequently eats lunch there or sits and colors (and by “colors” I mean she takes crayons and swipes them back and forth, surprised when a mark appears because well, she’s 13 months old). Speaking of eating — I often times will forego a plate and just stick down a disposable placemat (link for the ones in the picture; but these are on sale for roughly $9 for the same number, about half price!) for her food because she seems to prefer being able to easily see at a glance what food she has. A bit hard to see in the pic, but she’s also wearing these awesome OXO bibs that roll up easily to stuff in your diaper bag for meals on the go, and have this cup in the front to catch food when your kid drops it, misses their mouth, or spits it out…
5. And finally – something that I didn’t know it existed and now I don’t know why I ever lived without it. Diaper cream to help prevent and/or treat diaper rash is an essential part of any parent’s life. Well, it’s kind of unpleasant smearing it on with your fingers for loads of reasons… did you know you can buy ‘butt spatulas‘ for that very reason??? You’re welcome.

And there you have it, another round of items available on Amazon that have made our lives as parents just a touch better or easier somehow. Hopefully you find them useful as well!

Soon: more posts. I swear. September was just a really tumultuous month.

Until next time~

All links are affiliate links, which means at no added cost to you I may earn a commission from purchase you make (thanks guys!). I received no other compensation for this post nor did I work with any of these companies, this is just a list of stuff my daughter has liked recently!