Top Ten Tuesday: On the go with baby

When I'm out and about with the baby I have some items that are tops on my must have list.

-1-

A lightweight stroller.  I've had a thing for strollers since before Madeline was born.  Our garage is testament to that.  We have several nice strollers just sitting in there.  Some are eleven years old and need a new home and others are new.  My favorite stroller ever is the nifty Britax B-Agilethat I got as a review product last year.  I didn't think I'd like it at first, but once I pulled it out of the box and took it for a test drive I was in love.  Katie loves it as much as I do.  Weighing in at 16lbs, this stroller gets top marks for comfort, generous canopy, and maneuverability.

-2-

We dine out pretty frequently and this time around I was hoping to avoid using a travel booster for the baby since I remember it being a horribly cumbersome ordeal with Madeline.  With Ellie we used our Floppy Seat, but we quickly got to the point where it was obvious that you can't use it with every restaurant high chair out there.   So we decided to give our Fisher-Price booster seata try one day many months ago.  Seven months later and it's one of our most used on the go baby products.  This seat is great.  Katie loves it, it's always clean (when I remember to wash off the tray, that is) and it is super easy to set up unlike the booster seats we had ten years ago.

-3-

I get frustrated when we go shopping and the shopping carts don't have seat belts for the baby.  Last winter I was using the floppy seat shopping cart cover, but I found it to be a pain in the rear to use.  I'm not an octopus and putting the cover in the cart while holding the baby just wasn't an easy task.  I ditched the cover and decided to see an alternative solution.  A friend had told me about how she and her husband used a dog collar as a seat belt on an old wooden high chair.  I thought it was odd at first and then I began to think it was a pretty good solution to my shopping cart issue.  So one day at Target we picked up a trendy girly looking dog collar in a size large enough to accommodate a 26 inch neck.  So now when we hit a store that either has a gross seat belt or one that's broken/missing, I pull our nifty dog collar out and buckle Katie in.  A neat thing about the collar is it also has an accessory loop so we can attach a toy with plastic links.

-4-

Bibs that wipe clean and can be stored with minimal bulk make me a happy mom.  Over the years I've tried out lots of feeding bibs and have liked almost none of them.  This past winter I stumbled upon bibs that are not only super thin, but also wipe clean and launder incredibly well.  So Bumkins bibsmake it onto my list of favorite on the go baby items.  They fold up smaller than the disposable Pampers Bibsters that I used to use with Madeline and Ellie and they're reusable.

-5-

I like small light weight toys that can be easily taken with us when we're running errands.  The toys that typically get grabbed are Katie's beloved fruit keysand Princess Sophie.  The Princess Sophie we have came from a set so she doesn't have a clip attachment, but this one does.

-6-

Pacifier clips are a must when we head out the door.  Katie is into playing "I'll drop it on the floor and you pick it up!" so pacifiers that aren't tethered wind up on the floor.  Since we use Mam pacifiers, I use their clips.  I like how they have a velcro loop that can also be used to keep things like Katie's fruit keys from hitting the floor.

-7-

Early on in my adventures in Mommyland I discovered that I hate using a diaper bag, and I didn't like having wipes, diapers and a changing pad as separate items.  So when I discovered diaper changing clutches I was one happy mommy.  My favorite clutch was super basic and is no longer being made, so I now use this onefrom The First Years.  I really like this for the convenience factor, but I have to say I'm not happy that the vinyl on the outside of my clutch has developed holes in it where it folds.  I noticed the quality issue when it had only been in use for less than a month, but in spite of it, it's still on my must have list.

-8-

If we're leaving the house, you can bet a pacifier is coming with us.  I simply don't leave home without at least one.  These are particularly necessary if we'll be at Mass or sitting in a waiting room somewhere.

-9-

I keep a couple of spare baby blankets in the car.  You never know when you'll need one for something.  A flannel baby blanket can double as an emergency cloth diaper should you run out of diapers.  Blankets can become a car seat cover in a pinch if baby has an explosive diaper, and they can even double as a shade for the car window or a nursing cover.  

-10-

As I inch towards toddlerhood with Katie, Cheerios in a snack catcherare now on our list of things I carry.  They're a yummy snack and they keep her happy.

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