Baby Stuff Recommendations: Months 3 – 8

Aloha!

Well, we successfully survived our first day of daycare — one of us thrived, actually (spoiler alert: it was not me.) Penny had a blast at daycare and didn’t care one toot that I wasn’t around. I was the one sobbing as I exited the building and suddenly questioning all of my life choices, haha…ha.

The daycare was amazing about sending me photos and updating me about her all day (I have access to the app they use to track all of her eats, sleeps, and diapers), and they told me she did great. She only napped once, for about 40 minutes, so by the time I picked her up she had been awake for FIVE HOURS. But honestly I didn’t really expect her to sleep at all since her at-home sleep environment is so different from the daycare one, and she was still in great spirits when I went and got her, so I’d say it’s a win! Now we get to see how today goes…!

Anyway, Penny being occupado for so much of the day did, in fact, allow me to be incredibly productive with work. It even gave me a chance to reflect on the fact that it’s probably long overdue to write a new post on all those baby things that have taken over our house and our life. All of my recommendations from my newborn through 3 months post still stand, but obviously with the advent of eating food, transitioning to her crib, and her just generally getting more mobile and interested in playing, there’s quite a lot of new ground to cover.

(Please note this post contains affiliate links.)

SLEEP

Halo Sleepsack: Penny is a fantastic sleeper these days, and we are feel so lucky and so grateful that she is! She usually goes down around 7 PM each night and wakes between 6:30 and 7 AM each morning. As she’s grown, she’s gone from sleeping in her DockATot, to sleeping in her Magic Sleepsuit, and now is in her crib with only a wearable blanket. Her room (and the entire downstairs of our house) can get really cold, so I think she’ll be sleeping in a sleepsack for the foreseeable future. We have both cotton and fleece ones.

Hatch Baby Rest Night Light and Sound Machine: I included this in the last list, but it bears repeating because I LOVE our Hatch Rest sound machine. It can go all night or be set on a timer — your choice — and is controllable via an app on your phone (as well as physically on the machine itself). Plus, Hatch’s customer service is really, really awesome.

EAT

 Evenflo Convertible High Chair: I wasn’t so sure about this high chair initially, actually, as it doesn’t really have many frills, and doesn’t even seem all that comfy tbh. But as Penny has started to use it multiple times every day, I’m liking it more and more. It’s really easy to clean (thank goodness, because she is MESSY these days!), and can be used as either a full-height or floor-level high chair! And when Penny is a little older, we’ll be able to remove the tray and she can use it as a little toddler chair and table as well.

 Skip Hop Portable Placemat: Now that Penny is interested in eating what we eat when we take her out to restaurants, feeding her at the table is kind of non-negotiable. And while I’m not that much of a germaphobe, I’ve never loved her eating directly off of the table, so I picked up a little portable placemat for us to bring with us instead. It’s made of silicone so it doesn’t slide around and rolls up into a little bundle so I can easily keep it in my diaper bag.

 Munchkin Weighted Straw Sippy Cup: Penny is really good at drinking out of this straw sippy cup, which has a weight on the inside of the straw so she can get liquid no matter what angle she’s holding the cup at. Genius!

Munchkin Stay-Put Suction Bowl: This comes in a set of three different sized bowls, and have worked really well to serve Penny her solids. They clean very easily and can suction to the table — which isn’t really something we need right now but as she starts to feed herself I think it’ll help us a lot.

Munchkin Soft-Tip Infant Spoons: These are our favorite baby spoons — they are soft on her palate and small enough for her to eat off of easily, but long-handled so they’re easy for grown-ups to use. (I also have this OXO On-The-Go Spoon that has a case for my diaper bag.)

 Babymoov Storage Containers: I like these baby food containers to store Penny’s homemade baby food, as they’re freezer-safe, microwave-safe, and dishwasher-safe. They have measuring indications on the side, and also have a great space on top for labels, which is now more important than ever as I’m sending food to Penny’s daycare for her.

CLEAN

 Puj Grippy Nonslip Stickers: Penny has officially graduated to the big tub for bathtime, so I got these stickers for the bottom of the tub so her little booty doesn’t have her slipping all over. They have a nice texture to them, are big, and also look pretty good.

Munchkin Knee Rest: I also got this little cushion to save my knees when I’m kneeling next to the bath helping her — LIFESAVER. I like that this one is small (her bathroom is tiny), and also has a strap on the back to hang it up when not in use.

Hudson Baby Hooded Towel: These towels are great because they’re actually big! Other baby towels I have were too small and she outgrew them quickly, but these I think she’ll be able to use into toddlerhood.

PLAY

Fisher Price Crawl-Around-Car: Penny first experienced this at a friend’s house and loved it so much that I knew she needed one of her own. She LOVES it. She’ll sit in there for like 45 minutes just playing all on her own. The reviews online lead me to believe that she’ll enjoy playing pretend with this car even into toddlerhood, so I figured it would be a good investment.

V Tech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker: As long as you don’t mind Old Macdonald being stuck in your head for the next 53 billion years, this thing is great. Penny has loved sitting up and playing with it from day one, and when she finally starts pulling herself up and cruising, it’ll be the perfect height.

Indestructibles: Penny has always liked being read to, but just started to enjoy playing with books. These Indestructibles are great because they’re made of reinforced paper, so they’re, well, indestructible! Babies can chew on them, pull at them, rip at them, and they stay in great shape. There are lots of different books all under the Indestructibles heading, so I imagine everyone can find one that their baby likes.

 Skip Hop Jumpscape: Penny loves to jump, jump, jump! And this is great way (and a great-looking way!) for her to do that. This jumper is pretty pricey (especially considering when we have both that and the activity center, lol), but she gets a ton of use out of them. (We also got the very affordable and portable Graco Bumper Jumper for my parents’ house.)

Skip Hop Activity Center: We have two levels of our house with living areas, so we keep the jumper in one and the activity center in the other. She plays with both equally, but as she learns how to walk and cruise, I imagine the Activity Center will get even more use.

Baby Einstein Octoplush Toy: This little plushie thing plays classical music when you squeeze its body, and each of its legs represents a different color. It didn’t get a lot of use until recently, but now that Penny can grab and squeeze it on her own, she loves it! I also really like that it’s a multi-lingual toy — you can change the setting so that it says the colors in English, Spanish, or French.

 Comotomo Teether: This tiny little orange thing was Penny’s best friend for seriously like a month straight. Something about the softness of the silicone or the way the little nubs on the end resemble fingers, maybe? She loved it! It gets a bit less use now but it was totally worth it.

The First Years Stack Up Cups: I don’t know what it is about these simple cups but Penny absolutely loves them! (As does her cousin Alex, and most babies, I hear!) They’re super simple and bring lots of enjoyment, plus they’re inexpensive, so they’re basically the perfect toy.

Sophie the Giraffe Teether: I thought that Sophie was just a really overpriced, trendy teething toy… and it kind of is. But Penny l-o-v-e-s it for whatever reason, and so I’m really grateful that my sister let me steal hers. Something about the material it’s made from and the shape of the legs and head are just the perfect combo for Penny’s teething needs!

MISC

 Mati Mati Bandana Drool Bibs: Penny is a DROOL MONSTER, especially when teething, and so bibs are a just another accessory for her. Since Penny could easily go through upwards of 5 bibs a day, we have a tonnnn. Bandana-style bibs are my preference since they stay in place better than the traditional kind, and Mati Mati brand ones specifically are my fave. They’re super absorbent (without ever soaking through to her top) and are really cute to boot! I also picked up a set of bibs that have teethers attached to the end of them, which Penny really loves.

 Infantino Zip Travel Carrier: I have the Lillebaby Complete carrier as well, which is very comfortable and more versatile, but it’s large and in charge, so I’m really glad I picked up the Infantino Zip. It zips down into a tiny little pouch which easily fits in my diaper bag, or that I can keep in the car. It was really great to have on hand when I flew with her last month, and I also used it at the park last weekend.

 Freshly Picked Diaper Bag: I get TONS of compliments on my Freshly Picked diaper bag, most commonly folks saying that it doesn’t look like a diaper bag at all! It’s got a crapton of room, easily fitting all of Penny’s stuff plus my laptop and personal items.  It has backpack straps and also comes with a detachable crossbody/shoulder strap, and I use it as my work bag as well.

And speaking of Freshly Picked, I’m a huge, huge, huge fan of their baby moccasins. They release them in the cuuuutest colors and prints, and they stay on Penny’s feet despite all of her kicking and cricketing. They’re the best! And 100% my addiction, lol.

Anyway, that covers everything I can think of right now. I’ll probably add to this list as I think of additional things — we’ve got soooo much baby stuff, I know there are more things we’ve tried and loved, I’m just blanking. And, as always, if you have questions about any of this stuff too, leave ’em in the comments!