barely a baby anymore

If you scroll way down to the bottom of this page, you'll see that there's a little ticker keeping track of Jacob's age. Today it says 11 months, three weeks and five days. Gulp. On Sunday, he'll be one year old. Why do I get choked up when I type that? I might be losing my mind.

Anyway, as we head into the final countdown to this very exciting day, I thought I'd share some of our baby faves of the past year. Things we love, things Jacob loves and the practical things that none of us could do without.

The Miracle Blanket. Truly a miracle. Jacob was always too strong to stay in even the tightest swaddle blanket, but the miracle blanket kept him contained, preventing him from flailing his arms and waking himself up.

Playtex VentAire Bottles. These are our lifesavers because they're the only bottles Jacob would tolerate. We tried many brands before settling on these ones and it's been smooth sailing since.

The Best Nursing Pillow Ever. I'm sad to say that I don't know the brand, since it has no tags, but it was purchased at the Cape Breton Baby Company and it is awesome.

Safety First Kirby Inflatable Tub. We originally had one of those big, moulded white tubs that are sold at any baby outlet, which worked great, but once Jacob was too long for it, we had to spend the time and waste the water to fill our tub up three inches for him to bathe. Plus, his little nekked butt slipped around everywhere. This inflatable alternative is great. It keeps him from standing up, he's more comfortable and safe, plus it doubles as a kiddie pool outside in the summer. Next time, we agree that we'll use this tub from day one. Also, between babies, we can deflate it and fold it up and out of sight.

Fisher Price My Little Lamb Cradle 'n' Swing. This swing was awesome. Jacob loved to sway side to side or back and forth. He could be in it freely or swaddled. It was great for naps in the early days, or to be able to put him down comfortable for relaxed awake time. It's one of the big things we don't mind storing because we'll know we'll use it plenty next time.

And because this really got me thinking, here are a few things we never used:

Baby towels. You can get the boy dried off much more efficiently by wrapping him up in a big, adult-sized bath towel.

Baby bathrobe. A big sorry to the wonderful person who bought it for us, but it was just something we didn't have much use for. And I think that person will agree that we'd rather see a nekked baby bum crawling around the house anyway.

Pee-Pee Teepee. While these things are super cute and pretty hilarious, they're really not useful for keeping that powerful stream under wraps. If you're going to get sprayed, you might as well grab that big bath towel for cover.

And since I'm still going, how about some things that are just so-so. We use it, but it's not awesome, and we might ditch it before the next baby comes:

Diaper Genie. Yes, it keeps the stink contained, but really, you could put them in a regular garbage can and take it out once a day. It's not a huge chore. Emptying and changing the bag system in the Diaper Genie is more of a pain, plus the inserts cost extra moolah.

An actual diaper bag. These bags are kind of a right of passage for new Mums. I get that. I had one and I loved it. Now though, I prefer to carry one of my own bags, most of which are plenty big enough for a few spare items like a couple diapers, small wipes case, a sippy cup and a baggie of snacks.

The Bumbo. We did like it, but Jacob was too big for it really early in life. Once he was semi-mobile, he had no interest in being confined in it, either. It's also awkward to transport or store. We'll hang on to it, for sure, but it's not something I'm really in love with.

OK, folks. Spill it. Baby stuff loves? Baby stuff hates? And ... go.