3-6 Month Baby Essentials

Hey y'all! I cannot believe that Kennedy is already almost 7 months old.  Everyone warned me that time would fly by, but I truly did not understand the saying "time is a thief" until becoming a mother.  When I decided to take an extended maternity leave of 6 months, it sounded like an eternity.  Now here I am back at work {working from home full-time due to COVID} feeling like I was just in the hospital yesterday.

When Kennedy was 3 months old, I shared a Newborn Essentials post where I rounded up all of my must-have items for babies 0-3 months.  Today, I am excited to share my favorite items that I used with Kennedy between 3-6 months!

I still use many of the items I shared in my Newborn Essentials post every single day, so several of them are definitely worth mentioning again!  Also, when Kennedy turned 6 months old, I switched from exclusively breastfeeding to formula / bottles and began feeding her solids, so the next several items are related to bottle and solid feeding.  I know many mamas start their babes on solids as early as 4 months, so I thought it would be helpful to go ahead and share.

Click on any picture below {or the title of each picture} to shop!

FEEDING

Baby Brezza Formula Advance Pro

If you're feeding your baby formula, this thing is a 100% must-have.  I honestly don't think I could live without it.  It's essentially a Keurig for baby formula and makes a perfectly heated and proportioned bottle in seconds.

Dr Browns Natural Flow Bottles

There are SO many bottle options out there, but these are fairly inexpensive and work great for us!

Baby Brezza One Step Food Maker

If you plan to make your baby's first foods, this is great.  It steams and purees fruits and veggies in one step, which saves a lot of time and requires less clean up.

Silicon Baby Food Tray

After the food is finished in the food maker, I pour it into these silicon trays to freeze.  The food easily pops out of the tray for you to thaw for your next feeding.

Glass Baby Food Jars

These jars are great because you can pop the food out of the silicon tray into the glass jar to thaw out in the microwave and serve.  They are safe to freeze, refrigerate, microwave, and wash in the dishwasher.

Baby Spoons

These spoons are great because they turn white if the food is too hot.  They're also small and flat which makes it easy for babies to get the food off the spoon.

Silicon Bibs

These bibs come in a pack of 3 for $9.99!  They catch all the food that drips off {trust me, there will be a LOT} and can be rinsed off in the sink {or even thrown in the dishwasher} when you're finished feeding.

Skip Hop Activity Seat

I received this seat as a gift from an experienced mom friend and it has turned into one of my most used items.  It's a great for babes who have head control but can't quite sit up on their own yet.  There are toys on one size and a tray on the other.  I let Kennedy play with the toys while I'm preparing her food then swivel it around to the tray side to feed.

Trainer Sippy Cups

Per our pediatrician's recommendation, we give Kennedy at sippy cup of water at each of her solid meals so that can she start learning how to use one.  I have purchased 5 different types of sappy cups and this is the only one that is working for us.

CLEANING

Boon Drying Rack

This drying rack is the best and I love that it's all white {versus bright green}, so it's a little more aesthetically pleasing.

Bottle Cleaning Brush

I like to have a brush dedicated for cleaning Kennedy's bottles and feeding utensils versus using the same one we use on our other dishes.

Dishwasher Basket

This basket in key for washing all of the small bottle parts, pacifiers, teethers, baby spoons, etc. in the dishwasher.  In fact, I have two that I leave in the dishwasher at all times!

Baby Brezza Sterilizer

This sterilizer fits ALL. THE. THINGS.  Also, I like that I can transition all my bottles / parts from the dishwasher straight to the sterilizer to dry instead of waiting for everything to air dry.

SLEEPING:

Hatch Sound Machine

This is a nightlight and sound machine in one that allows you to customize light color, brightness, sound, and volume from your phone.  You can set your favorite programs and schedule them to turn on or off at specific times that support your sleep schedule. 

Owlet Smart Sock & Monitor Duo

The Owlet Smart sock gives me so much peace of mind.  It is a sock that you put on your baby's foot to monitor their heart rate, oxygen levels, and sleep.  The base station glows green as long as your baby's levels are in the normal parameters, but notifies you with lights and sound if heart rate or oxygen is outside of the normal zone.  The app allows you to check your baby's levels at any time, receive notifications, and track all sleep history.  We recently started using the Owlet Monitor with it.  Since Kennedy is a little older and we are more comfortable leaving her at home with family for date nights, I like that we can check on Kennedy from the Owlet app on our phones!

Nested Bean Classic Sleep Sack

When Kennedy started showing signs of rolling, we transitioned her from the Nested Bean Zen One Swaddle to the  Classic Sleep Sack.  Her arms are free and legs have room to move, but it still has the weighted chest for comfort.  Kennedy transitioned seamlessly!

PLAYING

Baby Bjorn Bouncer & Toy Bar

Kennedy still loves playing in this thing.  It's lightweight and folds up flat which makes it easy to move around the house and transport in the car.  We even used it on the beach!  The cover is easily removable to wash and it comes in several colors / fabrics.

Kick n Play Piano

This has been Kennedy's favorite toy since day 1.  Now that she's sitting up, I've rotated the piano  up so that she can sit up and play the piano with her hands.  I also moved the mirror and the toy bar to the top of the piano so she can play with the hanging toys with her hands and see herself when she plays - she LOVES looking at herself in the mirror.  I give this toy all the credit for teaching Kennedy to sit up on her own!

Activity Jumper

I know this can be a controversial topic, but after speaking with my pediatrician we are both comfortable letting Kennedy play in a jumper for a few minutes a day. {If you are concerned, do your research and be sure to talk to your respective pediatrician first!} And I tell you what, I am confident those are her favorite minutes of the day...girl LOVES to jump!  Warning: these things are large and un-aesthetically pleasing {although the one I linked folds up}, but so worth it when I see Kennedy's eyes light up every time I put her in it.  I personally think this has helped Kennedy's leg strength and hand-eye coordination.  We also have this doorway jumper that I love to use to keep Kennedy busy while cooking, cleaning, etc.

Take Along Musical Toy

I don't know what it is about this toy, but babies LOVE it.  I keep one at home and one in my diaper bag at all times.  It's easy for Kennedy to hold, put in her mouth, and the music / lights keep her attention really well.

TRAVEL:

Pack n Play

Kennedy's nursery is upstairs in our house, but during the day I spend the majority of my time in the living room downstairs.  So we decided to set up our pack-n-play in the living room for convenience.  It has a changing table and storage cubbies on the side for diapers, wipes, creams, etc.  We also use the bottom portion to store Kennedy's larger items that we frequently use like her play gym, bouncer, activity seat, etc.  While it's not the most attractive piece of furniture in our living room, it is so nice to have quick and easy access to all of Kennedy's essentials without having to go upstairs.  

We also used the pack-n-play when we traveled with Kennedy to the beach since it folds up into a small carrying case.  We used the Slumberpod to emulate her at home sleep environment as much as possible and she slept great!

Boppy Comfy Fit Baby Carrier

This carrier is extremely comfortable to wear, is not bulky, and folds up into a small carrying case which makes it easy to transport!  I've used it both as an inward facing and outward facing carrier - it works great and Kennedy loves riding in it!

MISC:

Teethers

Many babies start teething as early as 3 months, so you definitely want to have some toys for them to soothe on hand for when that happens!  

Drool Bibs

With teething comes lots of drooling.  These cute and soft bandana drool bibs help keep Kennedy's clothes dry thus less outfit changes throughout the day thus less laundry. That's a win-win-win in my book!

Burp Cloths

I've come to realize that you can never have enough burp cloths and you should keep them in every room, the car, the stroller, and every bag you use.  These muslin "Burpy Bibs" are my all-time favorite.  In fact, they are one of my go-to gifts for moms!  They double as both a bib and burp cloth, are super soft, and a good size.  I love to use these when I'm feeding Kennedy a bottle to catch any milk that drips from her mouth and to use as a burp cloth after the feeding.

I hope my fellow mamas and expecting mamas found this post helpful!  I already have a great list of 6-9 month essentials started and can't wait to share soon.