Liv turned 18 months old on Monday! The months have flown by awfully fast and I can’t believe that our brand new baby from just last year is now a talking, running, laughing toddler.
Amazing! I’m sure all parents experience this crazy time warp, but it’s really pretty wild.
She’s got her momma’s eyebrows ;).
As a new parent I have loved sharing favorite finds here on the blog in hopes that other mommas and daddys (or grandmas and aunts and sisters) might find them equally useful. Here are links to favorite baby product posts for 0-3 months, 3-6 months and 6-12 months.
Let’s dive right into 12-18 months!
Clockwise from top:
1-2. iBert & Giro Me2 Infant Bike Helmet: This bike seat is by far one of Liv’s favorite activities to do with Kevin. ‘Bike’ was one of her first words and every time she sees a biker pass by these days she eagerly points them out. When she see her iBert in the garage she’s giddy with excitement. I love the concept of being able to see your child as well (instead of having the seat on the back of the bike) though we were big fans of a traditional trailer for the first 9 months and definitely for longer rides these days.
Second on the list must be the infant helmet that protects her little noggin when biking with dad. The title is slightly deceptive as there really aren’t any helmets that fit an infant, but just about the time she was big enough for the iBert was when this guy fit appropriately.
3-6. Toddler feeding supplies: A few suggestions that have made meals a lot easier include soft, large spoons (what toddlers need are a shovel, not the dainty baby spoons that so many stores sell) and we have a set similar to these that we love. Bowls with lids are another plus – I found myself frequently transferring unfinished meals into tupperware containers for the fridge, now I pop a lid onto one of these inexpensive baby bowls and save yogurt, pasta or soup for the next meal with minimal clean up. #5 is quite genius! The company Sili Squeeze has come out with a reusable squeeze containers (similar to those 4oz store bought versions that must be tossed) to be filled up with applesauce, purees, yogurt, etc. I always found the disposable versions to be soo wasteful and never enough. This guy is perfect. Last but not least is the search for a perfect sippy cup. We have gone through every cup in the book during the transition from breastfeeding to cup (where a soft, malleable pour spout is preferred) and nearly all began leaking after 2-3 months of use. It’s no fun watching milk trail across the carpet as your toddler carries a sippy upside down. We are moving on to ‘big girl’ plastic cups and squeeze bottles, but I found Dr. Brown’s Soft Spout Training Cup to be the best when it came to the longest lasting, no-spill solution.
7. Combi Coccoro car seat: I travel quite a bit for work and I was not looking forward to the day that we would be upgrading Liv from her very light weight infant car seat to a toddler version. I did a ton of research before settling on the Coccoro car seat. It’s best in class in terms of safety ratings, the lightest car seat on the market (12 lbs!) and extremely narrow (but reassuringly sturdy). I can easly tote this car seat, Liv and my diaper bag/briefcase down the aisle of an airplane on my own. Another huge bonus is that it fits in the BOB (just like an infant seat) for to and from the airport gates (when traveling solo this is amazing). PS just found this guy on Zulily right now on sale!
8-12. Favorite Toddler Toys: This category is entirely subjective depending on your little one’s loves, but it was also a hard transition for me. When it was time to buy some toddler-esq toys I wasn’t exactly sure what would be developmentally helpful and funfor that 12-18 month age (plus I really didn’t want to fill the house with tons and tons of toys, just a handful in addition to the traditional books, drawing supplies, etc). The winners? Our wooden animal farm shape sorter cart, this Whacky Ball set (a gift from a friend), flapping duck push toy (amazingly popular! another gift from a friend and I actually remember having one of these as a kid) and the original wooden rocking horse that Liv LOVES at this age but that I scooped up on Zulily when Liv was brand new. You can find it here on Overstock now. Last but not least are books. We love Olivia books, animal books, books about farms and dogs and fish… but small board books like these have been a huge hit because they’re easy to tote around, Liv has started to identify and show off characters in the books and she can carry them as she goes. Another gift from a friend and another winner!
My previous lists include must-haves that we still use to this day. I cannot be happier with our OXO Tot Sprout high chair (the company is wonderful too – we’ve had to replace the tray, velcro strips and padding due to LOTS of use and they’ve sent every piece out free), and we still love our Fisher Price portable high chair which we keep full time at Grandmas. Sadly, Liv has outgrown the super-easy-to-travel with Wriggle Wrapper.
Anything by Mishi Design (like this wooden walker & wheelbarrow) is pretty genius. All of the toys ‘grow’ with your child and are pretty easy on the eyes (they fit into that wooden Melissa & Doug category).
Here’s another set of the above links for checking out previous finds! 0-3 months, 3-6 months and 6-12 months :)
