Though I have a two-year-old daughter and another baby on the way, I am not one of those mothers who can rattle off opinions to pregnant women about which baby gear is best or what cool new gadget they really must try. I didn’t do a lot of comparison shopping. My daughter was easygoing, and I was perhaps a little lazy or cheap or both – but she got by just fine on hand-me-downs from her cousins, as well as some very nice gifts from guests at my shower. I didn’t register, but their choices for stroller, baby carrier, etc. all worked great.

Having said all that, there is one device that I recommend for all mothers with formula-fed babies: the Powdered Formula Dispenser from Sassy. And, a nice perk, is that it costs a whopping $4.49 at www.babywise.com. When I stopped breastfeeding, all of a sudden it became harder to go out. We had to tote a can of formula with us, then measure it out and mix it up wherever we were. The other option was to pre-mix it, then carry the bottle in a refrigerated bag. A friend suggested this nifty little formula dispenser from Sassy. It is small enough to stuff in any diaper bag and has four compartments where you can put servings of pre-measured formula. When the baby is hungry, rotate the top around, so that the hole on top is above the right compartment, then dump the powder into the bottle. Add water, shake and you are ready to go.

The product information on Baby Wise suggests these containers work well for cereal too. I think I will try that with my next one.