GrammieDays are a big deal around here. They are an intentionally set aside day to bless my daughters with childcare, so they can do anything they need to do in a few hours without Littles. And of course, they are a great day for the Stache and I to build a relationship with the children! We have all sorts of little routines together. So far, storytime, egg collecting, and garden exploring on the farm are all-time favorites!
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By highlighting these essential childcare tools, I neither suggest or promise particular results and intend no pressure towards their purchase. Still, they represent my personal favorites.
Grammie Tools
Munchkin Easy Close XL Metal Baby Gate
Oh my goodness! I can’t even imagine GrammieDay without this gate. It’s my only hope of avoiding complete and utter mayhem!
Ingenuity Power Adapt Portable Swing
How does a mom function without a baby swing? How do they make meals for the rest of the family, or change a siblings diaper? I honestly don’t know! And so I have one here, for survival’s sake. And it’s lovely! [Obviously used moderately, with utmost caution]
Ingenuity Smart and Simple Playard
‘Pack and Play,’ ‘Playard.’ we use the terms interchangeably. No other way to say it, they are an essential tool at our house. In fact, we have two! With eight grandbabies, six years old and younger, having a safe place to lay the littlest ones down, is essential!
The Original White Noise Machine
We live in a little 1600 sq. foot Farm Cottage. When it comes to nap time on GrammieDay, we’re practically on top of each other with various stages of Littles needing layers of naps. Traditionally, we have simply used fans for the purpose of ‘white noise.’ But our girls have introduced us to these handy white noise machines, and they work great! Come winter, those lovely fans we use in the summer, have an undesirable chill effect that doesn’t help anybody.
The First Years Take&Toss Spill-Proof Sippy Cups, 10 ounces, 4 Count
These cups are super inexpensive. Aside from a few chew marks, they have been indestructible for a few years now. Each child knows exactly which color is ‘theirs.’ It wasn’t a pretty sight around here the day Grammie got randomly creative, -and put unmatching lids on the cups! That surely hasn’t happened again.
Sectioned Child Plates
As a mom, I never bothered much with child dishes. I had just one or two child-specific plates and bowls that were gifted to us, a sippy cup and a couple child forks. And we got by.
But you know, being a Grammie is a bit different. I’m not so focused on essentials as I am on giving an experience. It’s simple fun to serve the kids here on GrammieDays with plates that are obviously for them. They enjoy discovering what I have served in each section. Recently, ketchup has become a big thing with the preschoolers, so I appreciate that small section. It’s just fun.
Banana Teether
This thing is just the best! My daughter received one as a Shower gift when she had her baby. I had never seen anything like it before. It’s an awesome little teether but also a training toothbrush!
I love that the ‘banana’ is flexible and short, as well as it naturally widens so it can’t be a swallowing hazard. But further, I’m pretty freaky about babies potentially falling with long objects in their mouths, – like regular toothbrushes, pencils, pens, and eating utensils. I’ve heard a few too many horror stories, not to be cautious about those things.
Emergency Back-ups. Need I say more?
Initially, I resisted the idea of keeping my own baby supplies. And I still don’t have a lot on hand. But the day came that one of our girls forgot to restock the most essential tool in her diaper bag, – WIPES! Let me tell you, wet paper towels are no fun for babies or Grammies. I now keep an ’emergency’ stash of my own.
Baby Wipes
Given that there’s no way to know whose little face or bummie will need sensitive skin wipes, I just go with the ‘sensitive.’
Diapers
NUK Simply Natural Baby Bottle, Clear, 9oz 2pk
Bottle Brush
I don’t have one of these yet, but I kick myself often because I don’t. Seriously!
Mam Pacifier 0-6 Months
Mam Pacifier 6+ Months
Pull-Ups Night Time Training Pants
Halo 100% Cotton Sleep Sack
Some of you “seasoned” mama’s will remember those baby nightgowns with the tie strings at the bottom? I always disliked them and weeded them out of our baby supplies as quickly as they snuck in. But the new sleep sacks available for our daughters, -are amazing!
Of course, there is the assumed traditional use of keeping baby covered overnight. Additionally, this new invention is a miracle for “monkeys.” We have early climbers in our bunch. They love nothing better than to climb out of their crib, especially at nap time, -at Grammie’s house.
Enter size Large and Extra Large, sleep sacks! Climbers safely hindered, a little bit longer. You’ll need a locking diaper safety pin to keep capable fingers from unzipping the sack, or simply put the gown on backward, so the child can’t get to the zipper at all.
Board Books for Littles
Thus far, with eight grandbabies six years old and under, there isn’t a Grammie Day or family gathering that doesn’t involve a baby (or babIES!) and a book on my lap. I love it! I love that the babies know right where their books are and whose lap they can count on for a story at Grammie’s house.
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (Classic Board Books) by Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen
Sheep Lost by Catherine Black and Anne Catharine Blake
Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
Moo, Baa, La La La! by Sandra Boynton
The Hungry Pig a Fun Works, Wacky Farm Book
Apparently, this one is only available as a used book, unless you want to pay through the nose for it. It is one of the first books our babies grab and great fun to read aloud.
The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR, by Don and Audrey Wood
Little Blue Truck
No GrammieDay would be complete without the Little Blue Truck!
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