Baby Gear: Eighteen Months In

Eating:

- We weaned Claire from bottles to sippy cups using these tops to our Life Factory bottles. They do leak though, so we only used them when we were sitting with her, like before naps and bed. 

- Once she was weaned, we went back to the Playtex sippy cups we originally used just for water.

- Claire was fascinated by our water bottles, so we got her a Camelbak of her very own.

- She uses these Gerber Graduates forks and spoons to feed herself.

- This Munchkin snack catcher is super handy and gets used pretty much daily.

Summer:

- We have two Charlie Banana reusable swim diapers, which worked out perfectly.

- She's still a little small for it, but this Puddle Jumper life jacket gave Claire some much appreciated freedom in the pool.

- When we were heading outside for a good chunk of time, we lathered up with BabyGanics sunscreen, but if it was a quicker trip we used this California Baby sunscreen stick.

Travel:

 

- We found these disposable bibs and place mats really handy on our summer trips. Now, we can some in the trunk for when we're going out to eat.

- I usually pack a travel-size bottle of dish soap to wash Claire's sippy cups, but for trips we also found it convenient to bring along some disposable cutlery. We try to reuse it when we can though.

Toys:

 

- Claire really enjoys this Plan Toys drum she got as a birthday gift. We also have a xylophone and some various shakers to round out her musical instrument collection.

- Another well used birthday gift has been her Little People Noah's Ark. It always bugged me that Noah's wife wasn't included, until I found her at Goodwill the other day! Her Little People nativity set sees a lot of action as well.

- I really like this Tupperware shape sorter because Claire can't get it open by herself. We originally had the Ikea version, but you could just lift the lid right off. She figured that out pretty much instantaneously and then gave up trying to fit the shapes in their correct spots.

- In terms of play food, we have the Melissa & Doug food groups set and the felt produce from Ikea. We also have this little Ikea cookware set and some dishes I played with as a kid. I'm thinking a toy kitchen will be Claire's big second birthday gift!

- In the past month or so, Claire's started to get into coloring. We have the Crayola "My First" crayons, markers, and watercolors.

Books:

- Right around a year old, Claire became fascinated with lift-the-flap books. "Dear Zoo" and "Where is Baby's Belly Button?" have been some of her favorites.

- She's also developed the patience from a few books that previously bored her, like "Goodnight Moon" and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."

Looking Ahead:



- We're getting Claire a real doll as a big sister gift when Maggie arrives. If I have time, I'd really like to make her a doll carrier to go with it.

- We haven't had to purchase much at all for Maggie's arrival. We're still waiting until she arrives and seeing how long we can get by without it, but I'm sure a double stroller is in our future. Whenever I see someone with the Baby Jogger City Select, I've been asking them how they like it! 

- We plan to keep Maggie in disposables for the first few months, but after that I think we'll invest in some more cloth diapers. We only have twelve right now, so I'm thinking we'll get at least six more and maybe even a dozen.