Lets train

It's time for another post about Mel's Must Have Baby Products.
I started this series because have gotten several emails from readers/friends who are pregnant with their first babies  (or just had their first babies) and they wanted my advice on baby items.
 

Luke is our 3rd (and final) baby and since he was born almost 4 years after Claire, I had given away ALL our baby stuff.  ALL of it.
I wanted to be mindful of what I got for Luke knowing that it would only be used for him & then given away/donated. I only wanted to get the absolute necessary things to avoid lots of clutter in my house. I just can't handle clutter.

Here are my 6-9 month must haves:

 

Bibs! 6-9 months is when most babies have their first foods and so bibs are a necessity. I love these bibs from PBK.  They are easy to clean & have a pocket to catch the food that doesn't go in his mouth. I call them the cherrio collector!

Also around 6-9 months is when babies start sitting up on their own and taking a bath in the regular bath tub. We love these bath toys, in fact, the girls STILL use this net in the bathtub. They think it is so fun. I have to remind them that it's Luke's now.

I start giving my kids sippy cups around 7-8 months so that by the time they are 11-12 months old they are totally done with the bottle. I like these sippy cups because they are easy for babies to learn on & they don't leak (that much) I have found that all beginner sippy cups leak a little bit, but these were the least leaky & Luke is a sippy cup master now. No more bottles...ever!!!

Next is one of my favorite & most versatile baby items. This travel high chair. We got this one when we had Kate. It is perfect to keep in your trunk. We have used it when we go to friends for dinner, I use it for when our friends (or Jack) come over to our house and we need an extra high chair. I bring it with us to Tahoe and on other vacations. It folds up & stores easily...and the tray is dishwasher safe. Best $25 spent! Go get one!

A thermometer. For some strange reason, we never got a thermometer when we had Kate or Claire. We just used the ghetto one that we got when we came home from the hospital. After almost 7 years, it was on the fritz, so I finally got one for Luke that was digtial & all you have to do is swipe it across the forehead. Life changing! Ha! We love it!

Glo worm!!! We had a pink one for the girls and I got the blue one for Luke. We stick it in his crib at night and naptime and he loves it. It lights up and plays lulabys. Luckily, it survived the Poop-a-poolza! ;)

Shopping Cart Cover/High Chair Cover. I am a germ a phobe, so these are necessary, in my opinion! 

So many cute designs and they add comfort to the shopping cart & high chair at restaurants.

Pedipeds are my absolute FAVORITE shoes for babies. I don't really have my kids wear shoes until 6 months or when they start crawling and pedipeds are by far the cutest and the best for their feet. When I had Kate I bought her 6 pairs of pedipeds...can you say overboard?!?! They were just so cute. Luckily, they are good quality shoes and I was able to use them for Claire (in fact, I still have them, so if Luke would have been a girl, they would have lasted for 3 kids) I showed self control with Luke and I have only purchased 1 pair of Pedipeds for him so far. They are perfect for begnining walkers because they have soft soles. Another good shoe for early walkers is Robeez, but they were too wide for my kids (my kids have narrow feet) So, we are a pediped family :)

Ages 6-9 months is one of my favorite stages because their little personalities are staring to show & they start "playing" with toys. Luke's nursery is a Sports theme, so I got these cute plush sports balls to put in his toy basket. At about 7 months he really started playing with them. They are so soft & he loves to roll them around. And, the girls love to throw them at him (and eachother) but they are so soft, they don't hurt. Love them.

Kate got this gumball machine toy for her first Christmas and it is SO cute. The girls loved playing with it and Luke loves it also. It is perfect for a baby who can sit on their own & play with toys. Love, love, love this gumball machine.

Another favorite is the stand up activity table. Luke loves the piano part. Keeps them busy for soooo long. Perfect for when they are learning to pull to a stand.

The classic little tykes swing. We have the red one. We had one for the girls at our old house & hung it from the tree in our front yard. For Luke, we put it on our swing set. He LOVES to swing. This swing is a classic.

Strollers:

Luke is still in his infant seat, so I use the Snap n Go if we are in a hurry or if he is asleep in his car seat.  But, now that he is older, he likes to be able to sit up & see stuff while in the stroller, so I use this stroller that I got when I had Kate. I love it. 

Maclaren Single Stroller

It is light weight,  easy to fold up and runs super smooth. Not bulky and folds up small. It has lasted through the wear & tear of 3 kids and still runs smoothly!

When you have more than 1 kid, a double stroller is also key.

I also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my double Bob. We have the navy one. It come in navy or orange. I got it when Claire was a baby. 

We love to walk downtown to the Farmers Market or to the Bagel Shop or Starbucks & this stroller rocks.

BOB Revolution Duallie Stroller

What I really love about it is that even though it is a Double Stroller, it fits all 3 of my kids.

Claire & Luke sit in the seats & then if Kate gets tired, she hops on the foot rest area. This is what we brought when we went to Disneyland for 3 days and it worked out perfectly! For a double stroller it is so smooth and not heavy. We have had ours for over 4 years and it is still in great shape because they are made so well.

Any must have items for 6-9 months that I left out?

Hope you are finding these posts helpful!