Welllll hello, friends!  This is a post I have been meaning to write for awhile.  I’ve kind of grouped the 6-9 month and 9-12 month essentials because although there is a big gap in these ages, things got busy around here–Life Lately post coming soon!–so I’ve grouped them.  But I will do my best to kind of breakdown when she loved these things and when she kind of started phasing out of them.

Bathtime

1.  We ended up switching from the infant tub to a Large storage tub that we got at a baby shower.  We felt silly at first, but honestly, only having to fill that (and she fits perfectly in it) makes bathtime quick and painless.  And it keeps her toys close so we don’t have to worry about her trying to walk or crawl in the tub to go get the toy she wants.  Win-win.
2. We also got this cute little whale for over the faucet (which she now likes to play with) because I was getting too nervous she would bonk her head on the faucet when she kept trying to stand up!
3. We still use Tubby Todd shampoo and Babyganics bubble bath.
4. We’ve used a variety of bath specific toys, but also thrown some of her favorites that are ok getting wet in with her.
5. We also still use this bath scoop and love it!

Diapering

1. Other than diapering becoming a workout for us, not much has changed.
2. We also still use and love this healing balm and diaper cream!

Play

1. Buckets.  Lots and lots of buckets.  She loves to just take things in and out of them.  We have probably 50 buckets, bins, and other storage containers around the house.  For your sanity, make them cute.
2. Books.  She LOVES this one because there are arf arfs (dogs) in them.  I love these books because they have all of the things she uses and sees everyday so it feels like we are super parents by reading it to her.  We take those moments when we can get ’em!
3. Blankets.  Eleanor is obsessed with them.  In addition to Aden + Anais swaddles, Eleanor loves this blanket.  She literally cannot go from one room to the next without ALL of them.  We are gonna need more blankets for the next babe if she’s anything like Eleanor.  I have my eyes on this one!
4. Babies.  Oh my.  It was her first word and we are honestly not sure at this point if she will learn any others.  First thing she does when she wakes up is say bay bay and look around for one of her seven babies.  We also now have to put them to bed when she goes to bed.  It’s cute.  Promise.
5. While she doesn’t really use a walker anymore, it was key in the 6-9 month and a little beyond growth.  She started to stand and teeter around 8 months, but with the help of a walker and her determination, she was walking by 9 months.
6. Recently, Eleanor has been super into our cell phones and really anything she sees us using.  I try to limit when I am on it around her, but at the end of the day, it’s how I take her picture, call people, tell time–really just unavoidable to keep out of her sight.  Plus, there are other people like her sitter who use them too.  It’s just a fact of life.  That being said, she wants it and for whatever reason, I have not seen any that really actually look like the cell phones that we have.  I did find this one that makes similar sounds and it does the trick.  Now she loves putting it in a purse I gave her to play with.  We are in trouble.  Big trouble.
7. One last thing I thought I would throw on here are her clothes.  While they aren’t toys per se, she does love going and getting things off her clothing rack (and destroying everything else on there in the process) and bringing them to me to put on.  Socks, hair bows, shoes, her tutu, rain boots, sunglasses, etc…By the end of the day she is quite accessorized.  She’s trying really hard to put on her own clothes and it’s kind of the cutest ever.

Sleep

1. We still use and love our sound machine and nursery heater.
2. Eleanor only gets her pacifier when she’s sleeping, desperation in the car, or when things are rough (like right now she is getting 3 molars at once and still isn’t feeling well) she can have it a little more often.  We are hoping to phase it out by the time baby #2 arrives!  She is already pretty good about giving it up when we ask, but usually she just puts it away herself when she wakes up!

Eating

1. We are off the bottles and on to sippy cups.  Eleanor likes these transitional sippy cups because they still have the soft top!  She also like to drink out of a straw…the hard top sippy cups, not so much.
2. We still also use this Boon Drying Rack.  Still have no idea what people did before it was invented.
3. We gave her this toothbrush as a replacement for the paci when she was awake and it actually worked pretty well!  And it served as a teether and it cleaned her teeth.  Done.  Now she is using a real toothbrush and is absolutely obsessed with brushing her teeth.
4. For snacks, she loved these teethers, puffs, yogurt melts, and pouches!  Snacks were definitely something that started adding up so I really watched for sales at Target and Amazon…once you hit that 4 month mark, I would try to stock up if you see sales!!

I think those are pretty much our favorites in a nut shell!  It’s been a wild year and we have learned so much, but still are unsure of so many things.  With baby #2 on the way, we have been looking back and seeing what actually worked and didn’t and trying to assess how we want to attack the next round of parenting, but honestly every single baby is different and that’s what makes the journey so fun, learning and growing with your child.  Hopefully there are some things on this list (and here’s the 0-3 month and 3-6 months essentials) that hopefully you can use to help make the journey a little smoother 🙂

What are your must haves?  Anything you would add to this list??

Hope you all have a great day!
Erin