These past few months it feels like Madelyn has graduated from baby to toddler. She’s playing more independently, crawling everywhere, cruising along all the furniture, and opening up every cabinet door she can find!

As  a first time mom I’ve found myself doing a lot of research on baby products, something I didn’t really anticipate once the baby registry was done ;). Even with gathering a ton of advice from others we’ve purchased things we love and things we don’t love so much. That’s why I wanted to compile this list of products that we found were worth every single penny to help any of you also in this stage of babyhood OR if you’re looking for great gift ideas for someone who is!

Looking for past posts?

0-3 months | 3-6 months | 6-9 months

While there is a lot of gear we still absolutely love and use daily, ie. this peanut changing pad and this diaper pail, when it comes to gear, toys, books, etc… she’s growing up! We try to be very intentional about the things we buy and spend wisely (as baby stuff can be pricey!) so I wanted to share the things we’ve absolutely loved for Madelyn 9-12 months.

Our Favorite Products for Baby (9-12 Months)

Developmental Toys

• This Grocery Cart for Walking and these pretend play grocery items
• This cutie popper toy by our favorite baby brand.
• Our favorite stacking cups. She uses these in the bathtub, pool, everywhere!
• This amazing block set (we literally use everyday!). It’s really good quality and really pretty too!
• This ball drop toy.
• MJ’s favorite bunny (we have the medium size one!). I love that she’s into cuddling her animals now, so precious!
• The cutest lovey!
• Madelyn has recently gotten really into push toys. She especially loves this wooden car.
• This shape sorter.
• This “rattle rainmaker” toy by Hape toys.

Our Favorite Books:

Board books all the way! Madelyn loves to turn the pages and stays engaged with these easy to read books:

• Ellie Holcomb : Don’t Forget to Remember
• Ellie Holcomb : Who Sang the First Song
• Little People Big Dreams Series. A few of our favorites: Dolly Parton (duh!), Amelia Earhart, and Harriet Tubman.
• We just recently purchased (and love) the books by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Near, Found, & Loved. Sally wrote our favorite children’s bible, The Jesus Storybook Bible, which we are putting in Madelyn’s Easter basket this year!

One perk of being back in Tennessee is our local library supports the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Dolly started this amazing program to provide one book per month until a child’s 5th birthday, all for free! You can check here to see if the program is supported in your local area. I love that this program introduces us to books we may have not found otherwise.

Two of our current favorites:

• Where is Your Nose?
• Corduroys Shapes

Eating:

• We’ve found this plate and bowl actually suction the best (now that she likes to throw things off the table!)
• These spoons are actually the right fit for her month and don’t have rough edges. I also love the long handle so it’s easier to feed her although it doesn’t make it easy for her to use the spoon herself.
• She graduated to a cup with a straw. We started with this open cup (the tiny size) to help develop her swallowing but her auntie wanted something less spill proof. We started using the straw cup at home as well as she drinks a lot more water which helped since we are weaning off the bottle and want to make sure she is getting enough water.
• We also graduated to these silicone bibs. Since she is feeding herself much more these days the bib catches so much of the extra food and makes clean up so much easier. Plus the colors and patterns are really pretty! #perk!
• This mat for under her high chair (in the mini size 52×52 and it fits perfectly under her high chair). And also this mat for diaper changing on the go (in the Micro+ size).
• This high chair. We started with this detachable high chair which definitely has its purposes but we found it harder to clean and doesn’t attach well to all tables (much more suited for a counter top situation). It’s great on the go but we wanted something that was easier to clean and gave her better posture while eating. Ps. you can buy this high chair on amazon, but we found it was cheaper to purchase and ship directly from Ikea!

Big Ticket Items:

We purchased this running stroller (We got the Urban Glide 2). While we love her UbbaBaby stroller system (we have the gray melange with leather. “Stella” colorway) for everyday use/walks at the park/travel, we wanted something designed specifically for running. Everyone swears by the Bob stroller so we tested both. I loved the Thule right away, it felt much lighter and easier to maneuver while running. I also really like the hand brake as we have some hills here in Tennessee on our daily running path.

Just for fun Splurge:

A friend of mine has this gorgeous minimalist trike and I knew I had to have it! We bought it for Madelyn’s first birthday and she loves it! She isn’t quite able to touch the pedals yet but she is learning to steer and it comes with a long handle so it’s easy to push her without bending over! We bought the cream colorway.

We also found this gorgeous swing on etsy and are totally in love! Madelyn looooves it so much! It stinks to have to bring it in after every use (not to be kept outdoors) but it’s worth the extra effort to have such a beautiful swing!

Other Favorites:

• These 5-in-1 multi-use covers are awesome! We use them over high chairs, grocery carts, on target runs and have also used it to cover her carseat. So handy! My favorite colorway is the rainbow “kona”!
• I was on a hunt for a pacifier clip without the wooden or rubber beads. Those beads made me too nervous especially using in the car where I couldn’t see her! These fabric clips are perfect and so pretty!
• H&M baby clothing has quickly become my favorite. They have really good sales, cute stuff, and a lot of sustainably made 100% cotton clothing for babies.
• I watched a lot of Emma Hubbard Videos and really find them helpful!
• We took both of Cara’s sleep courses, the newborn class & ABCs of sleep. Both were great and I truly believe helped MJ sleep like a champion!

Gosh, we’ve had so much fun with our girl this past year! We’ve learned so much! We have definitely gathered some things that just weren’t a fit for us and have been surprised by others we were gifted that have been some of MJ’s favorites! Sometimes it’s trial and error, but I know for us, the word of a trusted friend helped!! I truly hope these product posts have helped as you buy for your little one or a loved one!

‘Til next time,

Shanna

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