Critical Baby Gear/Gizmos/Thingamajigs: 6 to 9 Months

August | September | October

Wow. Never in my life have the months flown by so quickly. Well here you go. During these months Calvin started solid foods, when on various trips, moved into his crib in his own room, started crawling, was introduced to other kids for the first time, and bonked his head too many times to count while climbing on anything and everything.

SLEEP AND COMFORT

• Peapod Infant Travel Bed – we took Calvin tent camping for the first time when he was about 7 months old. Calvin is a very active baby, so having a safe place for him to sleep in our tent with us was crucial. This worked wonders. It would also be amazing to take on vacation rather than hauling a Pack N Play on a flight or to grandma’s house for a nap. Highly recommend. Check out my full review here. (It is not recommended to use the Peapod before the age of one due to the risk of suffocation. Use at your own risk.)
• Blackout Curtains – I have these curtains in navy blue hanging in Calvin’s nursery and they work great for blocking out outside light during the day and the night. They’re nice and thick, but if you want true blacking out, be sure to choose a darker color. I have the lime green ones in my kitchen and they aren’t quite as efficient at light blocking as the dark blue ones are.
• KyteBaby Sleep Bag – once Calvin outgrew his first Zipadee-Zip, we decided to switch to a classic sleep sack, rather than getting the next size of Zipadee-Zip. Calvin uses a pacifier to sleep, so having his hands free to grab it and put it back in his own mouth has been great! We chose a Kyte Baby sleep sack for Calvin and it is so nice. The material is incredibly soft, the 1.0 TOG is perfect for cooler temperatures, and it will fit Calvin into toddlerhood! I highly recommend this sack. (I also plan on getting a 2.5 TOG one for the winter, since we live in a chilly basement apartment).

FEEDING

• Mountain Buggy High Chair – we don’t have a dining room or even a kitchen table in our little apartment. We eat all of our meals from bar stools at the island in our kitchen, so when we were considering high chairs we needed to find one that would work at bar height. Instead we found this travel chair that clips right to the island and Calvin loves sitting at the ‘table’ with us. We also take it with us to restaurants and other people’s houses and it works fabulously! Check out my full review!
• Ezpz Tiny Cup – we introduced this little cup to Cal when he started solid foods at the suggestion of the Feeding Littles account on Instagram. The idea is to introduce early so he can learn to drink from it and develop his oral muscles more effectively. I love this tiny cup.
• Ezpz Tiny Bowl – Calvin likes to grab anything in his reach and swipe it back and forth on the counter in front of him. This bowl is big enough for his food, but he can’t move it at all. I can let him self feed without worrying about him throwing an entire bowl of peas on the floor.
• Suction Bowls – along with the Ezpz bowl, these are the ones that I use and really like. They are much cheaper but the suction bottom works really well. Just make sure you don’t stack them together and get them stuck.
• GOOtensils – even though we aren’t going full BLW, I do like Calvin to try and feed himself. These ‘spoons’ are really easy to load with mash and puree and to hand to Calvin. He knows to stick it in his mouth and suck the goodness off of it, so I say that’s a win.
• Bumkins Chewtensils – we also use these for self feeding. Calvin mostly likes to suck on the handles, but they’re soft and short, so he actually can scoop some food himself and chew on them to his heart’s content.
• Bapron – the first bib we tried was one of those silicone bibs with the cup at the bottom to catch dropped food. Cal was so distracted trying to pull it off that he barely ate any banana (a favorite). Then we tried the Bapron and I love it. Soft, packable, easy to clean, cute designs, and not a distraction for Calvin! They fit into toddlerhood as well.

HELPFUL AND CONVENIENT

• Noggle – we drive a hatchback with five seats, so the back row doesn’t have it’s own A/C vents. This contraption is a hose that attaches to one of your front vents, then snakes back to your kid in the back and feeds them the vented air. This works with air cooling and with heating and we love it. Calvin used to get so hot and sweaty in the back seat, but this solved those issues.
• Layers – as summer turned to fall and the temperature steadily dropped, I had to start dressing Calvin in more layers. Layers are your best friend with a baby, for warmth and for messes. Got their top layer dirty? Take it off. Got their base layer onesie covered in food? Throw a shirt or jacket over top. Layers are also the cheapest and most versatile way to keep baby warm. Good socks, long pants, long sleeved onesies, shirts, sweaters, and jackets are the best for this time.

TOYS AND ENTERTAINMENT

• Small Items in a Container – right around seven months, Calvin discovered that he loves to empty containers. Buckets, baskets, bowls, tubs, bags…anything he can get his hands on. One of his favorite things to do is sit in his high chair with a bowl suctioned to the counter in front of him and filled with small toys and household items (pacifier, spoon, rubber duck, finger puppet, etc.) and to take all of the items out one by one.
• Dollar Store Rubber Duck – Cal got this little rubber duck in a grab bag from his great-great-grandma. It has ears like an Easter bunny and HE LOVES THAT STUPID THING SO MUCH. It’s great for him to suck on, practicing picking up and passing between his hands, and so easy to clean. Highly recommend. (We ended up buying a couple more ducks and a couple of frogs from our local dollar store because he loves them so much).
• Lovevery Playkits – some mystery person gifted Calvin the 7-8 Month Inspector Playkit from Lovevery and he loves every single item that came in that box. I had been eyeing the playkits for a while, but couldn’t swallow the price tag. After we received one as a gift, we loved it so much that we signed up for their playkit subscription service.

I guess it’s time to start on the next installment. The scary part about that one is that it will be published when Calvin turns ONE. I can’t even believe it. The time flies so fast mamas. Remember to treasure it.