I happen to have two $100 gift certificates for baby stores I need to use up by mid-November. Any must-have baby gear/gadget suggestions for kiddos 6+ months old? I have all the basic baby necessities to get us through the next few months (pack n' play, stroller, high chair, etc.) but what will I need next?
My current thought is to purchase a convertible car seat as we'll need one in the next year. Recommendations on which one is the best? I've heart Britax is the way to go. Thoughts? Any particular model?
I'm also planning to make my own baby food. I have the Beaba Baby Cook. Are there any freezer trays or food storage containers / feeding utensils I must have?
Or something else I should buy?
Tell me what you think. Ready, GO!
We have the First Year's True Fit because I wanted a higher shell to rear face longer (they'll outgrow height before weight) but now I know I have a tiny peanut who will likely physically be able to rearface until she's like 5 :) It is a great seat though and is cheaper than Britax. It was recommended by a certified carseat tech.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a monitor? Our video monitor is possibly the best "baby gadget" we have and is INVALUABLE after they start moving to know what the heck they are up to in there. I think it'll be even more necessary in toddler bed time...
We made all our own baby food and just used a normal food processor (much bigger than the baby food makers) and normal ice cube trays. No special equipment needed. You could get some bowls, utensils, sippy cups, bibs, etc...
We actually have the Radian convertible carseat. It's a very thin model so you can easily fit three car seats across your back seat - something I'm not sure if we'll need to do given the spacing of our future kids, but I thought it was a good idea. I also did tons of research and thought it looked like the safest model and one of the tallest to rear face longer.
ReplyDeleteAs far as gadgets, we like toys :) I don't know what you have, but we really like the bumbo seat and also the leap frog toy - the square one that you can put legs on and they can walk around like a table. Not sure if that "counts" for baby gear, but it was one of Allie's favorites for several months!
For baby food, not sure what you're planning to do, I didn't make much of my own, but we didn't do purees for longer than about a month or so. We did more baby-led weaning - so if you're thinking of going that route, the beaba might be a hefty expense for not a long usage. Just my .02 :)
Arg, first comment got deleted. A car seat might cost you the $200 (or more). We have a Britax Marathon. It's good, but so big. Huge pain while traveling. BUt my kids are so large and in charge that I guess it's good? I need to get one for Oliver really soon (22 lb limit and we are only 4 lbs away) so I need to do some research.
ReplyDeleteI'm with erin that a video monitor is nice when you have a toddler.
Also - I agree that a special baby food processor might not be a good investment. I did all my purees with my immersion blender and regular blender. I might buy a regular food processor - just to have and also for Oliver's food. I did like having the special ice-cube trays with lids for baby food.
Have fun shoppping!
I would say our top 3 favorite must have items are:
ReplyDelete1. Ergo baby carrier
2. Push Car
3. Car seat
We aren't big on toys at this point. Lauren's favorite thing to play with is a pencil box. She also likes drawing with pencil and paper.
Thanks for the suggestions! Very helpful.
ReplyDeleteJust in case any of you are interested (because I know a few of you are/will be in the market for a convertible car seat in the near future) here are some of the suggestions that were emailed to me directly:
Britax Advocate 70 CS
Britax Marathon 70
Britax Boulevard 70