Have a baby shower coming up?

Now that the girls are nearing the one year mark (yay!), I wanted to look back at all the ways that our lives were made even the slightest bit easier. Maybe you'll use this information for yourself or someone you love, or maybe you'll just be astounded at the things they make for kids these days because you survived with a swaddling blanket and a toy rock. Either way.

(Note: Some of the best gifts we got were formula, diapers and wipes. No one ever doesn't want or use these!)

Here are some items that made me seriously grateful. The pictures are "borrowed" and might not match the exact item we had, but you get the idea.

Bouncer
This was great for when the girls slept in the front room because the tilted angle helped their reflux and if we had our hands full with one girl, we could rock her sister using our foot.

Playmat
The girls spent a lot of awake-time on their playmate in the early months. The bright colors and dangling toys captured their attention and allowed us to step away for things like eating, drinking, and using the bathroom. (You know, to pamper ourselves.) We wouldn't need to feel guilty about not entertaining them and we knew that they were safe.
Giant mugs
I think they're actually ceramic beer steins, but, whatever. We had two of these that we filled with hot water and used to heat up the girls' bottles. It only took about 2 minutes, and they fit the bottles perfectly with room for the hot water, maximizing efficiency, which we all know is a plus in Britt-world.
Baby changing pad
We set this foam pad on top of their dresser to make a changing table that can be their regular dresser later in life. It was soft and cozy and the cover was washable. Perfect.
Multi-purpose car seats
These car seats are life savers (literally). We could leave the bases installed in our car and bring the car seats inside, which meant we didn't have to disturb the girls or take the extra time to get them in and out of the seats repeatedly, especially in bad weather. The seats just clicked in to the base! Best of all, their stroller was compatible also, so we could take the car seats out of the car and snap them right in to the stroller without disturbing the kiddos. And when the girls were younger we put them to sleep in their car seats in a dark, quiet place if we were out visiting people.
Duo-glider stroller
It was hard to find a stroller that 1) Was a double and 2) Could snap in two car seats, but the Graco worked well for us. Most double strollers seemed to be designed for kids of two different ages, but this one accepted two car seats so it was worthwhile to have the whole system. The front-back seats are great for shopping since the side-to-side strollers don't work in narrow aisles. There are definitely some things I'd change about this design, but it met the basic requirements (see the beginning of this paragraph).
The Bundle-Me
Along with the car seats, we loved the Bundle-Me: a poly-fleece lined cover that fit perfectly in the seat and kept the girls warm without having to use a bulky jacket or a blanket that could be thrown off or lost. We could also zip off the top part and just leave the bottom cushy portion for extra comfort if it got too warm. A winner, especially since the girls were so sensitive to temperature for those first few months until they put on some insulating fat.

Butt Paste
Yes, it's a funny name, but a great product. If I had severe diaper rash I would use Ilex, but for everyday stuff, the Boudreaux's Butt Paste was great. It was easy to get out of the tube, stuck to the butt instead of our fingers, and was easy to wash off. It was also great at relieving diaper rash, which I guess is also important.

Car mirror
When you have a rear-facing baby, it's hard to know if the screams are from tiredness vs. a real problem, or if quiet is from sleeping vs. contentment, so these convex mirrors are super handy and we'll keep using them until the girls face front.
Gerber NUK Pacifier
We tried a lot of pacifiers (binky) when the girls got home because they were so little and undeveloped that their sucking reflex wouldn't be strong enough for most of them. We finally found that these worked best for the girls and really helped soothe them. There is a ledge at the end of the nipple that fit behind their gums and made it easier to keep in and thus, made less bending over, picking up and reinserting for mommy and daddy.
Pacifier keeper
We attached these to either the car seat or the girls' clothes and we never had to worry about a dropped or lost pacifier. (Although I still seem to be missing about 8... hmmmm.) It has Velcro at one end so it can be attached to any style of pacifier.

Baby Tad singing frog
We discovered the amazing use of this little guy several months in and it was miraculous. If you push on Tad's hand when it's in nighttime mode, it will play music for 5 or 10 minutes along with a glowing light in the sunshine on his chest. The light and music soothes the girls and distracts them from the fact that we've left the room. They fall asleep with a lot less argument when we use Tad. I supposed any toy that sings for a set period of time would work, but this is the one that Sean's brother gave us and can't do without it now!

Baby carrier
I used a Moby wrap a few times, but it was a little limited once both girls realized they didn't like to be swaddled and fought against anything the kept them from moving around. I wasn't too picky about the carriers we used since we got them free, but the Baby Bjorn seemed to work well. The best part about a carrier is that I could do other things with hands when I had a girl in it - like making 20 bottles at once, brushing my teeth, or picking up her other sister to soothe them both at once. Now I use it at the grocery store! One girl sits in the cart and the other is in the carrier facing out. They both can grab the cart handle and play together and I have my hands free to shop.

Bendy ball
This was hands-down one of the girls' favorite toys. It's colorful, rattled, and was very hand-held. They fought over it. And Charlotte usually won.
Exersaucer
Once the girls were old enough to hold their bodies upright, these exersauers were outstanding!! It kept them reliably in one place and completely entertained and they could see everything happening around them. The Exersaucers also built their leg strength and I credit it for their ability to stand and turn so early. The collapsible feature of one of them made it easy to take to grandma and grandpa's, too.
Snap-crotch long-sleeved onesies
Any top without a snap crotch just rides up to their armpits, and the long sleeves were necessary to keep them warm! These were very hard to find in preemie or even newborn sizes. Maybe it's because the girls were born in June?

Sleep sacks
These come in a lot of different brands and styles, but I really liked the ones with a zipper that started at the bottom and zipped up. Who wants to try to figure out the dual tabs of a zipper in the middle of the night? Since blankets don't stay on well, and you're technically not supposed to use them, these sleep sacks were warm and cozy. Plus, they add an element of constraint which still makes them feel more secure and helps them fall asleep faster.

Safeway.com
Having our groceries delivered was incredible. You can get just about everything you need and they even bring it inside. They even pick out really good produce. Such a time saver!

Nanntastic Cindy!!
I can't even list all of the amazing features of this one! She helps keep me sane, which is just about the best thing ever. (For me and everyone else around me!)

And that's what I can think of off the top of my head. Maybe Sean will weigh in with anything I've left off?