Baby Season (31 Days: Day 17)

Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon?  Not only am I finding that new babies seem to come in waves (the SEVEN that were born in my neighborhood last year are now coming up on their 1st birthdays!), but Fall also seems to have more than it's share of birthdays and new babies.  I have sent out at least two (long distance) baby shower gifts this month and have had a huge bump in sales on the pregnancy/new baby countdown blocks in my shop.  So I thought I'd share a few of my current favorite baby gift items, aside from my crochet hats, of course.

The first is a car seat tent.  I discovered this idea after both of my kids were too old for the infant seat, but oh how nice it would have been to use one of these instead of the blanket thrown over the handle that always fell off or got in the way.

Velcro straps hold it in place and don't get in the way of the carrying handle.

And I always add a strap with double clips so that the cover can also be turned into a nursing cover - you just put the strap around your neck and clip it to one side of the cover, giving yourself and the baby privacy for nursing and the security of knowing the blanket isn't going to be kicked off by a restless infant.  With the added benefit of being already attached to the carseat so no worrying about not having an extra blanket on hand.  Yup - I totally wish I had had one when my kids were babies and I make sure all of my pregnant friends have one.

Right now I have a stock pile of them - the pink/brown/green floral and this beautiful grey/teal argyle print for boys.  I'm so in love with the fabric.  But I can't figure out a single project for myself where I can utilize it yet...

And my other Go To gift is a set of countdown blocks.  I know you've seen these countdowns for holidays like Christmas, right?  So I was so proud of myself when the idea popped into my head to make a set for counting down to a due date.  Fun right?

I've done them in a number of fun colors and pattern variations, the most recent being this pastel combo with lots of greens and yellows.

So, what is your favorite baby gift to give/get?