actually we want YOUR favorite children's book. write a nice note inside the front cover. We particularly love classic children's books in multiple languages (preferably Arabic, Irish, or French). as a preschool teacher, i already have a ton of children's books. so we'll keep the one with the note in the front, and donate my old copy.

for some reason, i'm incapable of gauging temperature. this is a lifesaver! it reads the temperature every few seconds, and has an alarm if the water isn't safe. For the first few months we will be bathing in the sink, so we're not registering for those tub things, or any water toys. maybe in a year or so.

best baby massage oil (or cooking oil/butter/shortening substitute) holy usefulness!

best high chair EVER! i loved those tiny chairs that you attach right to the table, i just prefer connecting it to a chair, it feels safer. i also know that we won't always eat at the table. this comes apart, is dishwasher safe, folds up easily for travel, and it's inexpensive! i prefer the red/white over the blue/green because it blends better with our stuff. i see no reason for a big high chair.

instead of having a bunch of bibs, we'll just clip these to washcloths, napkins, towels, etc...

I'm all about promoting independence as soon as possible.

oddly enough, these make the greatest baby spoons. They're perfect baby mouth size. I like using them for myself sometimes, because they cause me to eat less.

we only want a few of these, like I said we're going to try to be diaper-free. Hopefully, when we can also use them as multi-purpose wipes, burp cloths, changing pad liners, or crib spit-up pads...instead of diapers. Later on, they will also make great household cleaning cloths.

It's in pink because I'm not sure how Jamal will feel about babywearing, so I'll be the only one wearing it. He'll probably just want to buy a Baby Bjorn or something. For me, however, babywearing is the way to go. If he decides to give it a go, we can get the Moby in a "man color" for him.

good car seats are expensive! luckily this one is useable for a long time. It's huge and not very portable, which is fine by me. I don't want to have to buy more than one car seat.

the one baby item I want to have, but hope we never have to use. I'm certified in infant, child and adult first aid and CPR and whatnot, but I've been in an actual emergency situation before, and because you're freaking out when it happens, it really helps to have something there to remind you what to do. This one can be clipped on a stroller or bag.

at some point we'll have to give the kid disgusting medicine, this will make it easier.

oh, how i love cupcakes...and anything with cupcakes on it. We're going to want a few of these. the boppy is a pillow, and you wouldn't use a naked pillow, just because the case is in the wash.

I don't know if we'll need a baby gate or not, it depends on where we live. However, if we need a baby gate, this is the very best one.

For the most part, we're going to try to be "battery-free until age three" but this was the best looking teddy bear i could find; then i noticed it's also an MP3 player. bonus! We'll probably just leave the batteries out, until we play lullabies at bedtime.

i wish all toys were natural & unpainted.

simple wooden rattles are the best.