Leah P's Top Picks for 6 months to 1 year

This is an updated version of my original post on this topic in December 2007.I have since had another baby (now 2 years old) and have tweaked a few things.

1. Bumbo Seat. I started putting Samuel in a Bumbo seat when he was 3-4 months old (once he had good head control). He loved the new perspective on life and it was a great way to play with him in new ways. Joel was definitely the same way. He loved to sit in the Bumbo and be able to look at Samuel and interact with him.

2. Pouch Sling. I loved using a pouch sling with Samuel at this age. It was so easy to take him places because I could carry him around and still have my hands free to do things. He loved the tummy-to-tummy carry and then the hip carry. If we were out and he got sleepy, he would very often fall asleep in the sling. If you want to know how to make your own, click here.

3. I originally had a push toy thing here (see below), but I would definitely replace this with a stroller. A Joovy Caboose Ultralight to be exact, although I don't know if the Ultralight is worth the extra money. I bought ours off of Craigslist for $80 (retails $235). I bought this stroller after Joel turned 2, but it definitely belongs here in this category for anyone with multiple children. It is a great double stroller - it isn't too bulky, it's easy to manuever, and it has decent storage (a parent caddy and a basket underneath). My biggest complaint would be that the front tray doesn't swing so it's harder to get kids in and out.



4. Exersaucer. A friend of mine (Thanks Ashlee!) gave me her exersaucer when Samuel was around 7 months old. He really enjoyed being in it for shorter periods of time. But it was nice to have something to use when I wanted to take a shower or get dinner on the table. I can't recommend one type over the other (maybe one of the other ladies really loved theirs). The link I included is very similar to the one I had and I liked it just fine. Check out this video to see how much he loved it. We bought a different one at a garage sale for Joel and he really liked it as well. You can see in the picture that he liked being able to be up and play with his brother.


5. Safety 1st Recline & Grow 5-stage Feeding Seat. We used this seat with Samuel as opposed to a high chair because we didn't have the space or the desire to spend more money! We got this seat for $30 at Babies R' Us and were really happy with it. It snaps onto one of your kitchen chairs and can be taken with you if needed. It has a snap-on tray on top of the regular tray, which is great for cleaning. The seat is padded vinyl - also super easy to keep clean. We absolutely loved this seat and I highly recommend it. You can see that Joel (in the second picture) is sitting in a similar, but not the same seat. We sold the Grow 5-stage Feeding Seat when we moved from California. I bought this second seat at Walmart. I don't love it as well and would still definitely recommend the first seat.



Step Start Walk N' Ride. This was the item bumped from the original list. Our church body owned one of these and Samuel started playing with it there. He loved being pushed around on it, and then around 9 months, he loved to walk around with it. We didn't have one of these with Joel. It was the middle of winter in Chicago when he was 9-12 months old and so he just couldn't push things around as much. I'm not sure it should stay on my list.