The ultimate toy

I have several of these around my house and in my car and in my purse. I just discovered this a few weeks ago, but this is the ONE item that calms Lila down if she's fussing. It's the go to item and always, ALWAYS works like a charm. I never leave home without one.

The water bottle!

It doesn't matter if it's full or half empty (or half full for the optimistic ones). If it's empty, I noticed she doesn't play with it as long. With the whole plastic scare, I'm cautious about her playing with it too long. If she held it and shook it, it's one thing. But she has to constantly bite on the bottom of the bottle or the cap as if it's food. Wouldn't it be great for someone to invent a water bottle that's actually a toy? I've given the straw cup to her but it's not the same. It's def saved me several times from having the ultimate melt down in the car. Usually I'm fine if she's crying, but the wailing scares me and I get all riled up and tend to speed to my next location. I write this because of my experience yesterday afternoon.

We both got the preservative free flu shots (big sis told me about the thimerosal free ones) yesterday. I'm so glad my ped allowed me to get it as well. I'm such a lagger when it comes to getting shots because of the FEAR! I'm so friggin sensitive when it comes to needles. I got my shot first and had to hold Lila's leg cause I was scared. Really, I cannot stand needles for the life of me. The nurse told me my muscles kept twitching and to calm down. Next up was Lila, and she held up well. Aside from the initial cry, she seemed fine UNTIL we got in the car.

All heck broke loose. Suddenly she just started wailing uncontrollably. I didn't know what to do because I was still a good 10 minutes away. I was thinking about stopping to check on her, but I wasn't catching any lights so I figured I could make it home in like 5 minutes instead. I saw the water bottle in my purse, grabbed it, reached behind the car seat to hand it to her, and instantly she stopped. It was like magic!!!

We arrived home in piece. She was still playing with it even while I was taking off her seatbelt. Kids!