Peter's Favourite Things

In case you were wondering, dear reader, the following is the Peanut's must-have list for the season (he's going head-to-head with Oprah, except that he won't give you any free stuff).

The Swing 'n Rocker

We bought this 3-in-1 swing-infant seat-toddler rocker by Fisher Price when Peter had already been home for many weeks, but I wish we'd had it from the get-go. It is a motorized swing, the seat for which is easily removable and is the same as the basic Fisher Price Infant-to-Toddler-Rocker, which, in turn, is a little rocking chair for an older baby that has a kick stand-type thing that converts it to an infant seat for a younger babe. When Peter's feeling full of fun, he sits in the infant seat and makes faces at us, puts his hands in his mouth or watches the world go by. When he's a little more precarious, the swing will calm him down and keep him satisfied while we, say, eat dinner. If I had my life to live over, it is one of a very few baby gear items I would purchase.

Here is Peter chillin' in the swing 'n rocker with all his stuff:

The Playard Bassinet

This is the only place (besides the swing 'n rocker ... or somebody's armpit, naturally) the Peanut deigns to sleep. Or play, as the case may be. Bizarrely, although he is nearly impossible to settle down at any other time of day, in the evening all it takes is the Sleep Sheep (set to ocean waves, our favourite white noise selection and thus Peter's), a lullaby, and a kiss goodnight and Master Peter proceeds to send himself to la la land in this bedside bassinet.

The Mobile

Oh, the mobile. It is Peter's best friend, I think. Mark and I do our very best to make Peter smile and talk with our songs, stories, tickles and kisses, but the truth is that nothing gets a reaction from him like his beloved mobile. The particular mobile is the Infant Stim-Mobile by Manhattan Toy. It is a very basic plastic contraption with little cards with simple pictures ranging from black-and-white (for a newborn) to brightly coloured (there are some transitional pictures that are high-contrast with some colour). The idea is that you switch up the cards as your baby gets older. Put Peter under the mobile, and if he's fed and rested he will amuse himself for a half hour or so by running through a "skills drill" of smiling, cooing, eating his hands and kicking his legs vigorously. It is truly magical.

The Tottenham Hotspurs

Thanks to his Gram and Gramps, Peter has all the gear necessary to cheer on the Spurs with his dear Dad ... if only we would let him watch television ...

Dark, Blurry Photos

Sorry, dear reader, I don't know what's wrong with me ... next time I promise to get some better shots (for the record, the swing 'n rocker pic and the first Spurs photo above were both taken by Mark, who, unlike his adoring wife, can apparently operate a camera).