To save you time and money I have gathered a list of our most used and loved 6-12 month old baby essentials.
Our first daughter started rolling around at 3 months old, crawling at 8 months, and walking with help at 11 months. We purchased a play yard as soon as she was able to sit up and roll around. We loved the Skip Hop Expandable Enclosure because it allows visibility between parent & child while keeping your baby contained. Our daughter loves the detachable clip-on play surface. It has encouraged her to stand on her own.
Our second daughter started walking on her own at 10 months. She didn’t like to be confined to the placard so we put up baby gates instead. This way we could keep her safe and I could cook and clean while still being able to watch her.
Play Mat
If you have hard floors and your play yard doesn’t come with a floor mat I highly recommend purchasing a play mat. We purchased the Skip Hop Double Play Reversible Playmat when my daughter started rolling over around 4 months old. This reversible playmat flips from a colorful kid-friendly pattern to a modern décor print for two looks in one.
It’s PVC-free and provides a large cushioned play space that works equally well in the living room or playroom.
We keep our playmat in the living room because it gives our baby a safe place to play over the hard floors. This playmat is very easy to clean. I wipe it down with a water wipe or damp rag for a quick cleaning. For a deeper cleaning, you can use baby-safe sanitizing wipes.
Toothbrush
By 6 months your baby may have their first teeth. Our first baby’s first teeth came at about 4 months. She had 8 teeth by 8 months old. Our second baby got her first 4 teeth around the same time at about 8 months. As soon as your baby’s first tooth erupts you may begin brushing it with an infant toothbrush using coconut oil or flouride-free baby toothpaste.
Teething Toys
When your baby’s teeth erupt they may feel pain and want to chew on hard objects. Teething toys may help soothe your babys gums during this time.
Signs of teething include excessive drool, biting, and high temperature. You can rub your baby gums with a clean finger to check for new teeth.
There are many teething toys on the market but Manny of them are unsafe. I purchased several popular tethers for our first daughter and she almost choked a couple of them and some of them even came apart.
The best way to soothe our teething baby’s gums was to let them chew on popsicles. You can blend your baby’s favorite fruit with water, milk, or juice or even use breastmilk and put it in a silicone popsicle mold in the freezer. Make sure you do not leave them unattended while they are eating it.
Feeding Gear
We began feeding our girls solids at 6 months old when they were showing signs of readiness. We did Baby-Led Weaning and found many useful tools to make mealtime less messy and less stressful.
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