10 Baby Essentials For 6-12 Months (Wish I'd Added These To Baby Registry!) - Now that my baby is 8 months, I thought I'd summarize what you actually need for this age. And, I wish I had added all of these to my Amazon Baby Registry so that I can get 15% on these. Or get help from family and friends to help me buy these items.
If you are a new mom, trying to understand what you need for your baby, then it will be wise for you to consider adding these items to your baby registry!
And trust me, this age comes really FAST. When you are just in thepostpartum stage, it feels like this stage will never come. I'm not even sure how this stage just came so quickly. Maybe it's also because it's my second baby?
I'm busy putting away the small clothes he doesn't fit anymore and stocking with bigger sizes.
I feel like this is the stage when your baby becomes a real baby. Your baby becomes more interactive and mobile. But still squishy and tiny. And you can still carry the baby around with ease. As they become bigger, you will experience that your baby is becoming too heavy for you to carry for a long time. I can't even carry my 5 year old nowadays and I just give him a hug on the ground. So you gotta enjoy this stage where your baby is light enough to carry around for a long time!
As this age, you can expect your baby to do the following:
- They take 3 naps a day (maybe transition to 2 during this time)
- They start eating solids!
- They become mobile - roll over, crawl, pull up, sit, or even walk
With all these changes, you will need so many more things to help you get through this stage of your baby's life!
So here's a list of 10 Baby Essentials You Need For 6-12 Months
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10 Baby Essentials For 6-12 Months (Wish I'd Added These To Baby Registry!)
1. BABY PLAYPEN - Baby Essentials 6-12 Months
We are now actively searching for a baby playpen for our house. I just used gates for my first one but with my second, I definitely am needing a playpen to get anything done. He also started crawling and pulling himself up to furniture. He's already had few falls that made him cry. So this is absolutely a must as 6-12 month essentials if you want some sanity for yourself and want some freedom to do housework or go to bathroom while your baby is safely playing.
2. BABY WALKER - must have baby items 6-12 months
This is our favorite walker for both of our kids. I've used some other versions but I like this the best since it allows the baby to walk easily without anything blocking their legs. You see how there is space between the legs and the front part? Some walkers don't really come with that and it becomes a little awkward to walk on those. But this one is so well designed! I also love the fact that the front toy part comes out and can be played on the floor separately.
3. SLEEPING BAG FOR WALKERS - baby must haves 6-12 months
After my son stopped swaddling, he was put on a sleeping bag for sleep. I always put him in a crib for sleeping (I sleep trained him from day 1 to sleep in a crib), so having a sleeping bag is a must. For babies that are not pulling themselves up in a crib, I think using Aiden and Anais sleeping bag works really great. I love their designs and the softness.
Now that he is pulling himself up in the crib, I am transitioning him into a sleepsack with feet. I love the cute prints and the softness of these. I normally keep the nursery pretty warm (around 72/73 degrees) even during the winter and these work really well in keeping the baby warm.
4. HIGHCHAIR - 6-12 month baby necessities
If you haven't put a highchair on your baby registry, then you definitely should. I looove the stokke highchair since you can use it from when the baby is about 6 months to 5 years old. My older one still uses this since our regular chair is slightly low for him. It's a little bit on the pricey side but if you think about how long you will be using this chair, it's a no brainer.
5. Bibs and lots of bibs - essentials for baby 6-12 months
As you start feeding your baby solids, you will need lots of bibs! My favorite is Aiden and Anais burp bibs. If you have already added these to your baby registry, then you are good to go. Consider adding few more of these to the baby registry if you don't want to be doing laundry every day due to not having any clean bibs!
I've never been a fan of those silicone bibs since both my babies hated them. It was a battle to keep them on than those bibs helping me with the mess. I have also used these bibs from Bumpkin that work well if you are worried about the Aiden and Anais bib getting wet and making your baby's clothes soiled underneath.
6. Utensils - Baby Feeding essentials
I love OXO's spoons. I have these silicone spoons which normally becomes a toy to my son. I find that the silicone spoons don't scoop up the food that well and only holds a very small amount. I know babies can't eat much in one spoon feed, but OXO's is so much better in controlling how much food gets put on there. I'm a fan!
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7. SIPPY CUP - feeding essentials for baby
When I had my first one, I had gone through so many sippy cups!!! I now just use this one from Munchkin which I love. The straw has weights so even when the baby is holding it sideways trying to drink water, it sill pick up the water and let your baby drink. I've used these sippy cups well after my first one was 1 year old so I know it's definitely worth having these around.
The trainer cup never really worked for us since he never learned how to drink from these cups. It's so much easier to just teach from a regular cup.
8. BABY ACTIVITY CENTER - must have baby items 6-12 months
I think for babies 0 months to 5 months, you will need a bouncer that will keep your baby happy, like this one from Bjorn. I talked about how I love this in this post here (21 Things I wish I'd Added To My Registry) But once my little one started becoming more mobile, he would try to lift his head up from the bouncer and didn't really enjoy just sitting on it. I considered buying either a chair that could help him practice sitting or the activity center that will also entertain him. I ended up buying the activity center and my baby absolutely love it. And without a playpen, this is the only thing I know will keep him safe, while I'm going to bathroom or cooking. He also practiced standing up with this and is now non-stop pulling up everywhere.
9. TEETHER
My 8 month old has 8 teeths now. I feel like he has been teething constantly for few months. Every time I feel like he's done with getting one tooth out, I see another one starting to appear. And this is the stage when the baby starts to put everything in his/her mouth so anything really becomes a chew toy. My favorites are definitely these banana teethers and the elephant ones.
I've used sophie the giraffe in the past until I realized that when I washed them, there was gross water coming out from the hole since the water that went into the hole never properly dried. I never used them since. Also, these teethers from Loulou Lollipop are really cute but he wasn't as into it as the bananas or the elephant one.
10. ERGO 360 CARRIER
We are now able to wear it front facing, sideways, and on the back. If you don't have a carrier that has your baby front facing, then this is the one. He enjoys looking around while I wear him front facing with my ergo. And also, I've worn him on my back few times when he's fussy and I need to get some stuff done around the house. I definitely use this every day and if you don't have one, I highly recommend it! I'm also considering purchasing this carrier that lets the baby sit on it. I always carry my baby on one side and I've had to go through physical therapy with my first one to fix my shoulder after 2 years of carrying him on one side. I would love to use something that supports so that I'm not using too much of my shoulder/arm to carry him around.
11. BABY SHOES (ADDED AS I LOOK BACK NOW THAT HE'S 18 MONTHS OLD!)
If you have an early walker, then this is the time for you get shoes!! I remember when I had my first son (long time ago now!), I got super cute baby shoes as gifts. But.....in all honestly, it is such a waste of money to buy any baby shoes that are too small because your baby won't fit in them by the time they are ACTUALLY ready to walk!!
So, if you ever want to get prepped for this super cute stage, I suggest you get the soft sole ones like these and wait until your baby is kind of ready to wear them...because too small or too big, these shoes WILL go to waste.
I love these Robeez soft sole shoes since they are easy to put on and off and perfect for your little one when they are starting to walk. I've never personally bought from Freshly Picked since I always thought the design is a little bit more girly for boys, but they are also a great option if you have girls.
And if you are ready to move onto 'actual' shoes for your little one, then I highly recommend See Kai Run shoes. They are easy to put on and off (very important with wiggly ones) and they last a LONG time. If you plan on having more than your current baby, then these shoes can be passed on to siblings for sure...which is exactly what I did!
I hope you enjoyed my 10 Baby Essentials You Need For 6-12 Months!!! Share with me in the comment below any other items you felt was absolutely necessary for your baby!