A few things happened when Little Oats hit six months. She was crawling, which meant there was a whole new world of trouble for her to get into. She was starting solid food, which meant there was a whole new world of mess for her to get into. And her personality was developing…which meant there was a whole new world of preferences and opinions that I wasn’t prepared for. That being said, the baby gear we loved from 6-12 months was a fair bit different from our 0-6 month favourites; now we were focused on entertaining and containing Little Oats. Here’s our list of most-loved items:



1. Zipadee-Zip: I talked about this a bit in our swaddle-weaning post. Even now at over a year, Little Oats still loves her Zippy.

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2. Sleep Sheep: This little guy has always been in LO’s room for the white noise factor, but recently, it has also become her best friend. We have the travel size sheep, and he comes with us everywhere. He also goes to daycare as a portable sound machine.

3. Sophie the Giraffe: What is it about this hunk of rubber that kids love so much? Sophie was our most-reached-for toy from months 6-9 (when LO cut 6 teeth in a six week span).

4. Lamaze Princess Sophie: What’s with all the favourite toys being named Sophie? This Lamaze doll has a crinkly skirt, different fabrics and textures, and a ring with fun-shaped beads for chewing on.

5. Nuby Straw Cups: These cups are fantastic. They don’t leak, and they have a ‘one-way’ straw, so there are no caps or lids to fiddle with. Little Oats can grab it and start drinking whenever she would like.

6. Pocket/Pouch bibs: Since we wound up using Baby Led Weaning, the pouch bib has been our best friend. When we forget it, and have to use a regular bib, the majority of Little Oats’ meal ends up ground into her lap. With the pouch, she can just scoop her dropped pieces out and keep on eating.

7. Brica Baby-in-Sight mirror: This became necessary to distinguish between a pissed-off cry (Help, I’m trapped!) versus a truly upset cry (Help, I’m hungry!) when we were on the road. It also allows me to check if she’s sleeping…so I know if I should hit the Starbucks drive thru or just head home.

8. Boon Snack Ball: I think Boon products are so well designed; I love how modern and just plain cool they are! This snack ball holds about a 1/2 cup of puffs or Cheerios, and Little Oats has figured out how to twist open the top herself.

9. Foam alphabet mat: We bought this mat from a consignment store, and have kept it set up in our living room for the last 8 months. From learning to crawl, to learning to stand, to being home base for a dance party, this mat has been awesome to protect Little Oats from our hardwood floors (and protect our floors from Little Oats!)

What was your favourite gear for your older baby?