Straw Cups
Since Henry only drank from a bottle a handful of times during his first year, he didn’t quite get the concept of a traditional sippy cup and having to tip it back to get the liquid to come out. So when we started giving him water and then transitioning him to milk after a year, he did best with straw cups. We have a bunch of different straw cups, but I like these ones best because they’re super easy to clean, they’re insulated (so great for keeping milk cold on the go!) and I think the patterns are really cute. But we also have a bunch of these too, and I love that straw flips down making them easy to travel with.
Cool Mist Humidifier
Henry has battled a few colds/viruses over the past couple of months, so we got a humidifier for his room to help with his congestion. I don’t really know how much of a difference it’s made, but I think it’s helped?
Activity Cube
Cam and I ordered this toy for Henry “from Santa” and we thought it was going to be way bigger than it is. It’s seriously a third of the size we thought it was going to be. But Henry seriously loves it! It’s kind of annoying but it’s also pretty cool and Henry plays with it every day 🙂
VTech Dump Truck
So I really didn’t want Henry to have too many toys with batteries and prefer for him to have either wood toys or things like these plastic Green Toys. But guess what toys he loves? The ones that light up and make noise of course 🙂 And I’m fine with having a few of them, since he does like them so much. He is obsessed with anything with wheels and this dump truck he got for Christmas is a definite favorite.
Tuffo Muddy Buddy
Living in Oregon, a rain suit like this is a must! So many of the kiddos in Hike It Baby have either this suit or a similar one, and it is perfect for toddlers. Even when I just take Henry to the park when it’s not raining but the ground is muddy, his clothes get so gross when he falls on the ground. This suit is great for keeping clothes dry and it’s so stinking cute 🙂
Leather Moccasins
Day to day, Henry wears moccs most often because they’re easy to get on, perfect for early walkers, and just plain adorable! I posted about these on Instagram, but they’re great quality moccs for a very reasonable price! (And this shop has lots of other cute designs too!)
Baby Bogs
I feel like every kid in Portland has these boots and for good reason, they’re great! They go down to really small sizes, they have super cute patterns, they’re easy to get on and off, they’re waterproof, and warm enough to wear in the snow. I’d definitely recommend them!
Summer Infant 3DFlip Stroller
I shared a little about this stroller in my toddler travel post (as well as recently on Instagram) but it’s definitely been a favorite so I wanted to include it on this list as well. It’s an umbrella-type stroller that’s lightweight and perfect for travel. We’ve taken it all over the past year, including on our trip to Europe! The thing that makes it so great is that you can face baby out as well as in towards you, which is pretty unique for an umbrella-type stroller. It reclines really far and Henry naps super well in it, which is awesome for when we’re out and about on a trip! It’s definitely not as sturdy as a more expensive stroller like our BOB, but it definitely does the job and I like that it’s not crazy expensive to replace in the event that the airline breaks it while traveling. So if you don’t want to lug your bigger, more expensive stroller on a trip and you’re looking for a great lightweight stroller for travel (or everyday!), the 3DFlip is seriously a great option! (Disclosure: This stroller was sent to me to review by Summer Infant, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own! Plus, if you look through my Instagram, you’ll see just how much we’ve used this stroller the past year!)
Maxi Cosi Pria 85 Convertible Car Seat
We just switched Henry to his car seat not too long ago, but so far so good! It’s definitely pretty big and bulky, but Henry seems super comfortable and I like that it’s all black.
Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere Chair
So I used to think these chairs were kind of silly and that they were a big waste of money, but I was wrong. Henry got one for Christmas and he loves to sit in it! He climbs in and out of it all day long and looks so adorably proud sitting in it, and the fact that his name is embroidered on it is just the icing on the cake 🙂 Definitely worth it if you’re considering one!
Play Tunnel
Another Christmas gift we’ve gotten a lot of use out of, Henry loves crawling through this thing! I know there are a ton of different tunnels out there and they all serve the same general purpose, but I just thought this one from IKEA was cute because it’s simple, plus it’s a great value.
Goodnight Moon
Henry loves books and we read every single day. He’s big into board books and we’ve got a bunch of favorites (too many to list here, but maybe I’ll do a separate post on that?) but Goodnight Moon is a standout. We read it basically every single night and there’s just something about it that’s makes it such a classic. (My mom also got these for Henry when I was in Michigan last month and I love them!)
Wonder Wheel Toy
When I saw Henry is obsessed with wheels, I’m dead serious. Literally ANYTHING that has a wheel, he goes straight for it and just wants to spin the wheel over and over and over. That’s why this toy is perfect, and it works great on his high chair or for travel.
The NoseFrida
Toddlers tend to be germ magnets and there is nothing worse then seeing them all congested. Henry literally hates this thing with a passion, but it does a good job of helping combat all the nasal congestion that comes with all the viruses that babies are always swapping back and forth.
Ok, so all that stuff is great, but hands down, there is one thing that we did around 9 months that is my most favorite of all the things. Around that time is when Henry started crawling and really getting into everything all the time. I felt like I was going to lose my mind because I literally could never have him out of my sight, lest he pull something down on top of himself/get into something he wasn’t supposed to/or just cause general mayhem or physical injury. We realized pretty quickly that we needed to have a safe space where he could play with his toys and also be contained. (Contained being the key word) We decided to move the table out of breakfast nook, throw down some foam tiles, put up a baby gate, and make it his play area!
We don’t have all his toys in there, but we have quite a few of them and it double as a great place to store them to keep them from taking over our house! The foam tiles are perfect for covering up the ceramic floor to give him a comfortable place to play and he really seems to love it! I’ll put him in there when I’m trying to do something like cook dinner or unload the dishwasher and it’s awesome because he’s in the kitchen with with me, but he’s not underfoot. The space is big enough that he feels like he has room to move around and so I can let him play in there while I go do laundry or take a shower or anything where I need him to entertain himself for a few minutes, while also knowing that he’s safe. He really seems to like it a lot and he’ll play happily in there for quite awhile!
Last week, Cam was out of town for work and I was feeling a little worn out. I put Henry in his play area and laid on the couch; he entertained himself so well and it gave me a nice break which was amazing. I realize not everyone’s house is set up like ours with a little breakfast nook, but if you’re pregnant or have a baby that’s not crawling yet (or have an older baby/toddler and are pulling your hair our), my biggest suggestion is to find somewhere in your house that you can make something like this work. It doesn’t have to be huge, you just need to be able to create some sort of contained space where you can let your baby play independently. It seriously makes all the difference in the world to be able to stick Henry in there and get something done without worrying about him getting into Lola’s water dish or knocking over the trash can. And the fact that he loves playing in there means that it’s not like he feels like he’s being punished or contained. It’s made such a difference in our sanity these past few months, so I just had to share!
Hope everyone has a great weekend and a lovely Valentine’s Day!
