This 'Toy Story' Milestone Blanket Lets Andy's Toys Watch Your Babe Grow Up

Looking for a cute, original way to mark your baby's development? Well, perhaps you'd be into this Toy Story milestone blanket from the TwelveFlowers shop on Etsy. Made of fleece (or sherpa, jersey, or minky), you can place your little one in the middle of this circle formed by very cute renderings of Woody and Buzz and all of their pals. Just mark the appropriate month on the nearby numbers, and you are ready to snap a pic and show the world how big your little human is getting.

The blankies come in a variety of sizes, and can be personalized with your sweet bebe's name. It's also machine washable, in case baby decides photoshoots are the ideal time for spitting up mashed peas. And if Toy Story isn't your thing, TwelveFlowers offers a bunch of different versions, like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pokemon, and Lion King.

These blankets do look super soft and cozy, and much less labor intensive than measuring a baby in hot dogs or roast chickens. Though I applaud the genius couple that pulled this off. (Really, I'm just impressed that people with a baby had the energy to roast a chicken. Now, the people who measured their baby in takeaway pizzas - that I can understand.)

But parents do take note: you might want to err on the side of ordering the largest version of this sucker. The photos posted by reviewers show some big 'ol babies who are already starting to cover the characters at only the one-month mark. It's an easy mistake to make, I think. When our kids are born they seem so teeny, and we have a hard time fathoming how quickly they will grow. And that one day they will be flailing beasts who will throw their milestone blanket into the toilet whilst shouting more pancakes now! And the Toy Story blanket really puts all of that into focus. What's more nostalgic and more kids-grow-up-so-fast than a milestone blanket featuring toys who feel like their lives lose all meaning when their kid grows up? Sob.

If a milestone blankie isn't quite what you had in mind, I encourage you to follow in the footsteps of the hot dog people and brainstorm your own unique milestone markers. Like maybe take a photo of your child lying next to a single Cheez-it every month. Or beside this pillow featuring Dwayne Johnston in a turtleneck. The options are endless, really.

Actually this just gave me an idea. Maybe I could take my own photo on this blanket, and count down backwards with the numbers. Then I could send it to my husband every month, to let him know he is that many days closer to a divorce if he doesn't start closing the bathroom cabinets in the morning. Must put a pin in that... But! If these sweet little blankets are in fact totally your jam, you'll be happy to hear they're available within a wide price range, all the way from $36.50 up to $73.50.

It's kind of funny, really, when you think of how the parents of today are so into capturing our child's every new phase of development. I know I took about a billion photos of my son every time he turned a month older. Though when I think back on my own childhood, I'm pretty sure my size was noted only in relation to whether or not I was now large enough to look after my next youngest sibling.