Things I Love: 9-12 Months Edition

The 9-12 month stage ... oh, it's a fun one! Tory developed such a lively personality in the span of a few months. Her preferences and schedule changed quite a bit, too. I'm always trying new products and baby gadgets to make life a little easier. I think I've found the perfect bib or sippy cup until I stumble upon a product even more functional. With so many baby items out there, I wanted to jot down a few of our favorite things during this baby stage.

Items we continued to use/like in the 9-12 month range:
Nuby No-Spill Super Spout Sippy Cup
Sleep Sheep
Adan + Anais Sleep Sack
OxyClean Baby

New to us items for this age which quickly became our fav's:

- Useful-
Britax Boulevard Convertible Car Seat
Around 10 months, we transitioned Tory to a convertible car seat. I did some online research and asked around to see which car seat all of my mommy friends had purchased. There were mixed reviews - most people said they were happy with Britax but other didn't think a big, bulky, expensive car seat was necessary. I read a review online somewhere (Amazon maybe?) where a lady said she's been in a severe car accident and her two boys walked away without a scratch thanks to the Britax Boulevard. SOLD. We bought that car seat the very next day. My verdict? I love it. It's absolutely worth the money. I can tell how solid and supportive it is just by touching it. The material's soft and comfortable and all the straps and clicks function like they're suppose to. A few days after we bought it I thought to myself, "this would be better if there were Velcro here to hold the straps" and lo and behold, there they were! Perfect. The Boulevard is big and somewhat heavy (28 pounds) but it's obviously safe. Best of all, Tory loves it (and she's the biggest car seat critic around). Regularly, she falls asleep minutes after she's strapped into her seat.

We also purchased this Evenflo Tribute Convertible Car Seat as a back-up for the nanny to use and for traveling. It's alright; definitely less supportive when compared to the Britax Boulevard and more cheaply made. It works fine for the nanny's occasional trips to the library with Tory or when we travel through the airport. It's lightweight at 13 pounds (half the weight of Britax) and buckles into vehicles easily.

We also purchased this JL Childress Car Seat Cover and it's works great for lugging around either car seat. It fits both car seats and is comfortably worn like a backpack. No complaints about this at all. A must-have if you're planning to travel with a car seat and don't want it to be dirty and damaged by baggage handlers.

Tommee Tippee Explora Bibs
A-mazing! On a whim, I threw these bibs in my cart one day at Target and I am in love. I dreaded meal times like math homework because Tory was seriously such a messy eater. I spent 15 minutes deconstructing her high chair and wiping it down 3-4 times a day and it was getting ridiculous. Once I started using these bibs, messy meal times were drastically reduced. Tory doesn't mind wearing the Explora bibs at all (she ripped the Bumpkins bibs off in two seconds flat) and these bibs catch 99% of the food she drops. In fact, they're so good at catching crumbs, Tory often says "oh!" and re-eats the food she dropped in the little bib flap! I like the button-hole latch at the back as well (vs. Bumpkin's Velcro) because she can't pull them off either.

Baby Bath Sponge
Around 9 months of age, Tory outgrew her baby bath tub and I started giving her baths in the regular tub. She was still learning her balance and definitely wasn't comfortable sitting in the tub alone. I heard people talk about those bath seats but as wiggly as she is, I imagined her popping right out of that. My mom sent me a baby bath sponge and it worked perfectly for our needs. I think it's intended for small infants to lay on, but I used it to give Tory something to sit on and provide traction in the water. It allowed her to explore and learn to balance in a bathtub environment while giving her some stability at the same time. Although she doesn't need it as much now, I still put it in the bathtub with her to lay and crawl around on. Cheap, easy solution to the slippery baby learning-how-to-function-in-a-bathtub stage.

Old Navy Sun Hat
Of course I can't find the link on their website any longer, but it's still worth mentioning. The Easter Bunny bought this sun hat for Tory with a matching pair of little baby flip flops. The sandals were crap because, duh, shoes on crawling babies are kind of awkward (lesson learned). However, this sun hat was perfect for Tory because it actually stayed on her head. The bill was short enough that she it shaded her face without hanging over her eyes in a floppy way and most of the time she forgot she was even wearing it. That's the best kind of baby hat in my book.

-Favorite Toys/Gifts -
Poppity Pop Dino Toy
Goofy name. Great toy. Around 11 months, the nanny picked up this toy at Target for Tory and she loves it. Mostly she carries around the balls and is completely amazed by watching them shoot out the dino's mouth. I like how the same balls are used with multiple Fisher Price toys.

Baby Dolls
Tory's not attached to a blanket, pacifier or stuffed animal but she adores her baby dolls. She has two babies and carries them all over the house with her. Yesterday, she had one stuffed in a trick-or-treating pail. It may have been the cutest thing ever. I'm amazed by her natural instincts to love them, hug and kiss them and even put them in her toys and push them around. What a little mommy girl she's become.

Touch and Feel Books
Tory's a little book worm, she has been from an early age. I like to think it's because she's a baby genius but likely it's the one-on-one attention she gets when we read her stories. Anyway, during this age (and still today), her favorite books were touch and feel ones. Specifically, she likes On The Farm because she's obsessed with farm animals and Curious George at the Zoo.

Sesame Street Stacking Cups
Cups of all kinds were a big hit with Tory during 9-12 months of age, especially these Sesame Street Stacking Cups. It was right around the time she starting drinking from a cup and I'd see her pretend to drink from these all the time. She never really learned to nest them into one another, or stack them for that matter, but she carried them around with her constantly.

Hope this helps share a few of our tried-and-true favorite things. I think I'll seriously refer back to these lists for every baby gift I ever buy because who doesn't love getting things that really work.