Top Baby Items for 6-12 Months

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Much like our Top Baby Items for 0-6 Months, we are going to go through our most used and loved baby items for 6-12 months! If i’ve learnt anything over the first year and a bit of parenting its that there is a never ending list of new items you need to get for your child. Ex. bigger sized clothing items, bigger sized footwear, clothing for all of the seasons as they grow, age appropriate toys, the latest fad of educational toys, etc. We are going to be honest about which items we really think were necessary to get, including which are nice to have brand new and what can easily be used. We will make sure to link all of the items we can as we go. As always, ask us any questions!

First up we have the items we used for feeding: **We both went the route of Baby Led Weaning (BLW) which does slightly change which items you’d need. If you want to hear about why we chose this route, listen to Episode 14**

Before we even get into any linkable items lets just clear the air and say puffs are magical and life saving. If baby is crying in the back seat, puffs. If they are fussy when you put them in the high chair and are preparing their meal, puffs. They are age appropriate and safe for this age group. We highly recommend having puffs at home and car puffs; youll thank us for this hot tip. The first actual baby product that is necessary is a high chair. We both got our used for less than $20. Yes, you heard that right..only $20! We did purchase a few accessories to add but ultimately the high chair itself is very affordable and can easily be found on online groups (facebook marketplace/mom & parenting groups). The highchair is the Ikea High Chair. The reason why we love it so much is first and foremost how easy it is to clean. It is all plastic (no fabric) and therefore can be wiped off, rinsed with a hose or even in the shower. This may seem extreme but in the BLW world it is actually very reasonable. If you have a highchair with any fabric it can be difficult to properly clean and just adds extra steps/time to your already busy day. The accessories we purchased were the foot rest, the inflatable pads (for when baby is on the small side for a snugger fit in the chair) and a silicone placemat that can be taken off to be washed.

Next in the feeding category were the munchkin straw cup. After 6 months old you can slowly start adding water into their daily routine. We both found this cup the easiest for the babies to get used to, the handles make it nice for them to hold, and there is a lid that covers the straw making it fairly leak proof.

We found that one of the used items in terms of actually making food for the babies is a silicone mini muffin tray. Normal sized muffins are too big for a typical baby to eat in a meal (to start) and the silicone just makes it easier to clean up and is non stick. I would make batches of 2-3 dozen and place them in the freezer, taking 1-2 out in the mornings for my little ones breakfast. It was (and still is) one of her favourite things to eat. Karlee and i actually shared an order of the muffin trays since you really only need 1-2 of the trays! So if you have any at home, great, or if you have a friend you can share an order of them with, amazing.

In terms of actually feeding, a double sided spoon is really great at helping the babies learn. Because they are double sided they dont have to worry about which direction the spoon is placed in the food. I never even knew these existed until i started looking in to BLW but they are great! We are only just now (at over 1 year old) starting to get better with a real spoon. There isn’t a specific brand that we think is the best, but here is an example of what we mean for reference! Another items that is very useful are suction bowls and plates. The suction will hopefully prevent yogurt bowls from going flying off the high chair and creating a mess. Again, there isn’t a specific brand that was our favourite and if you can get any hand-me-downs of these thats perfect. An example of some suction bowls I used can be found here.

Next we have sleep:

After 6 months Karlee and i both started using sleep diapers. We had no idea these existed but thanks to our mom group realized how helpful they are! There is no one brand we found better than the others, i would recommend sticking to the brand of diapers that fits best on your child. I normally went on amazon and found whichever brand was on sale at the time. The idea of a night diaper is that it holds more volume of pee and therefore you dont have to do a diaper change in the middle of the night. We normally size up from the regular diaper size we use for the night diapers.

For sleepwear, Karlee and I both used the Woolino Sleepsack and BelanJ Sleepers. Woolino Sleepsacks are fantastic due to their long timeline of use. Typical sleepsacks only last you for a couple of months and it means you constantly have to be purchasing the next age group. This can add up very quickly. The Woolino Sleepsacks are 2-24 months; so even though they have a higher initial price tag they are much longer lasting which makes the price per use MUCH more affordable. They are also made of merino wool which helps regulate the babies temperature. I waited until i saw a sale on their website to purchase and Karlee was able to find some on the facebook mom groups for free (or a steal of a deal). The BelanJ sleepers were amazing because the fabric is bamboo and impossibly soft. Both babies enjoyed wearing them. You can use code TheFriendlyMomsClub15 for 15% off (Promo Code)! For complete honesty, i also really loved the costco sleepers. They are typically around $9 and have double sided zippers. So my little one had a good mixture of super comfy cozy bamboo sleepers and the really affordable costco ones.

Some of the most loves toys:

The supper useful toy for this age group is a walker. Both Karlee and I used ones we got off marketplace for $5-10. They both worked great. A walker has such a long life of use that it can be used throughout the entire 6-12 month timeline. I started using it as a tool to help my little one sit, gradually she moved to sitting on her knees, bringing one knee up, standing with it, and then walking. It was a daily staple in our house for the entire 6-12 moths. As i said, any hand-me-down or marketplace find will do just fine for this. IF you are wanting to buy one and looking for the best option, we both love this SkipHop 4 in 1 walker as it grows with the baby and has multi stages of use.

The other toys we used daily were our Lovevery toys (affiliate link). You can purchase them in their traditional play boxes (they are age specific and are created for their developmental abilities) or you can purchase individual items at Target in the US. We have personally been getting the play boxes from around 4 months old and they are by far the most used smaller toy. They are very durable, practical and aesthetically appealing which is a nice perk. We know they are not the most affordable toys but honestly, for the amount of use they get at our houses they are BY FAR worth it. Probably my favourite purchase i have made so far in this journey.

Another useful toy/container would be the Skip Hop exersaucer. It has multiple functions which makes it very long lasting. It is currently being used in its final stages at my house (in the table / chair function) but we have used from its traditional exersaucer stage! Karlee also used this one for Henry and he loved it as well.

Best items if you are going to travel:

For this age group, some sort of travel high chair is super useful! We had two different styles (between Karlee and I) and both were great. In fact for different trips we actually leant the other the one we had. The first one is a clip on table high chair. The clamps can adjust to clip onto several different thickness of tables and is great for picnic tables, restaurant tables, friends dinning tables, etc. The other style is a mini camping chair with a tray. Other than being super cute it can also be strapped on top of a chair so that it is in lie with a table. This can be used at most tables or on the ground at picnics, the beach, etc.

Other items you may need could be silicone placemats (for cleanliness if you go to a lot of restaurants), pack and play, pack and play mattress, portable cover, portable blackout curtains, wyze camera, and a portable sound machine. These are all very helpful but only if you plan on really travelling. They can be quite expensive to buy them all so i would really pick and choose what you need and see if you have any mom friends that you can share with/borrow from. For myself, we didn’t really travel during this time so we only had the portable high chair, pack and play and the mattress. Karlee on the other hand went on a few trips and got the portable blackout curtains (for hotel windows), wyze portable camera, a portable sound machine and a pack and play cover (more blackout for baby sleep needs).

Items if you will have this age group throughout the spring/summer:

Depending on when your baby is born, you may go through the hot summer months during this age range. Here are just some of the items we used for the sun specifically: full bathing suits with SPF coverage, Jan and Jul sun hats, and the Blue Lizzard sunscreen. The Blue Lizzard sunscreen seems to be good for sensitive skin and extreme hot weather (for those who are looking at tropical destinations – lucky you!).

Another item thats helpful in the summer (but also any other outdoor weather) is a portable outdoor blanket that can fold up easily but it also waterproof (easily wipeable). We got ours at costco but for a similar idea check out this one here. We leave ours in the car year round for any last minute park trips we may do!

Lastly, some items for baby safety:

This may seem early but you just never know when your little one will be on the move! Baby proofing is a bit daunting as it is very important. We found it better to get down on the ground and really see what types of things could be enticing, dangerous, sharp, may tip over, etc. Some items we purchased (all from amazon) were outlet covers, baby gates, cabinet locks, corner covers (countertops, fireplace, bookshelf’s) and furniture anchors. I dont think there is one specific brand that is best, as long as it works for you and your house then thats great. It you need some specific examples of what we did please just ask away!

There are so many amazing brands out there for baby items! We always like to support local when we can, check online parenting groups, facebook marketplace, friends for hand-me-downs, watch for sales, etc before we buy anything brand new. If you can get something similar for free or a much better deal, then its probably going to work just fine for you! Remember that every family lifestyle is very different so you cant always compare what one family needs with another. There will always be different priorities and space in the house that needs to be considered. We hope you found this list helpful!

Take Care!

Jen (& Karlee)

*This blog post contains affiliate links- we may earn a commission if you purchase through our link or promo code.*