With the birth of our second son, my wife and I are re-discovering some of the items that made things easier on us. Since we're breaking out some of these things (or re-purchasing them), I thought I'd share some of the must-have items we've found. If you've recently had a baby and can't seem to hang on to your sanity, here is a list of things that helped us out the most.

Happiest Baby on the Block (DVD) - While the book is very useful, reading is the last thing on your mind when you've got a screaming kid that won't sleep or quiet down, no matter what you try. The DVD is a quick watch, and I swear some of the techniques saved our sanity on multiple occasions. While most of the techniques need some practice and minor adjustments, we're still using most of them with our second baby and things are much quieter around our house.

Miracle Blanket - One of the techniques mentioned in the Happiest Baby on the Block was swaddling. While I'm certainly not the most coordinated person on the planet, I'm also not a ham-handed buffoon that can't tie my own shoelaces. Guess what? I can't swaddle a baby worth a shit! Either that, or I only produce little Houdini-spawn who can get out of anything. This little blanket negates any skill or patience from the swaddling equation, and allows you to get your squirmy little bugger swaddled tightly. And they stay that way!

Amby Nest - My wife and I haven't even gotten the second crib out of the shipping box. Because we love our Amby Nest so much, we can't fathom putting the new baby in a crib until he outgrows it. I also like the fact that the footprint of the Amby Nest doesn't take up much more space than a bassinet, so we're able to keep the baby next to our bed, which is wonderful for my wife when it comes time for the 3am feedings.

Rock-a-Bye Baby CDs - When I say that these CDs saved my sanity, it's a huge understatement. With my first son, we had a routine of putting him to bed with soft music playing in the background while we rocked him to sleep. Having been a child-care worker for a few years, my wife swore by the Kenny Loggins CD Return to Pooh Corner. While I am tolerant of almost any kind of music, this CD drove me to the brink in about two weeks time 9I'm really surprised that I made it that long). I got the Pink Floyd version of this series of CDs, and putting my son to bed no longer made me break down in tears at the sheer madness of it all! If you're having a similar experience with any of your sleepy-time CDs, I highly suggest picking up one of these.

Iris Root - If you have a teething child, get one of these. By no means is this a miracle product that takes away all of their pain, but if your child is as fussy of a teether as my first son was, you'll need all the help you can get.

That's all for now. As I remember or think of new things, I'll be posting those things in part 2.