When you have a newborn, you start out with a lot of stuff. For one thing, newborns require a lot of stuff, even for a quick trip out of the house. But a main reason you find yourself drowning in a sea of infant doodads is that you don't quite know what they're going to respond to because every baby is different. Even between my two children I found there were items that were crucial for one and inconsequential for the other. By the time my kids were toddlers, I found the toddler essentials that have saved my ass. And while those items will certainly be different from child to child, I'll share them with you in the hope that maybe, just maybe, I can help a fellow parent out. You're welcome, guys.
Now some of the things on my list are items that I know for a fact will garner me judgment from some people for whatever reason. To that I say: OK. If judging is what gets you through your day, that's cool. Kind of obnoxious, but cool. The list I've compiled is the stuff that gets me through the end of each day and bright eyed and bushy tailed for the next. (Well, relatively.) Toddlers are tough. Pound for pound, they're way trickier than most adults so, sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do to get them to preschool and kindergarten. And so, in the spirit of "whatever it takes," might I suggest the following from my humble experience...
Vinegar
Living with a toddler means living with a mess, and I have yet to find a mess — organic or not — that is not either ameliorated or cured through the application of vinegar. That stuff is magic and must have been given to us by sour little fairies or something, because damn. Perhaps the most common suggestion to any question in my home is, "Did you try vinegar?"
A Sibling
Having two kids is not always easy (it usually isn't), but I swear there are days where I would be lost without my older child there to help my toddler, whether he means to or not. He plays with her, he can keep an eye on her while I go to another room for a few minutes, and sometimes he can serve as a toddler translator, like when my daughter wants a very specific episode of a TV show and there are, like, 75 to choose from and I have no idea what "pink-and-purple Sofia" means. Not only will he know exactly what she's talking about, but he will find the episode and set it up for her. I'm not saying you should have a child just to help you with a toddler. I'm just saying they're handy if you happen to have one lying around.
What's in the cup? Coffee for a morning pick me up? Tea for an afternoon breather? Coconut water for a boost of energy? Chocolate milk for some indulgent self love? Wine because it's 5 p.m. and finally socially acceptable? A cocktail because mommy can't even?
The answer could be any of these. They are all crucial elixirs when it comes to raising your toddler. So here's to you — cheers!