The theme of month 6 is baby-on-the-move! He’s so much more active now (crawling, standing, rolling, sitting), and that’s increasing his appetite too! My favorite things from the last month all involve eating and playing.
1. EzPz Placemat
We have been doing a modified version of baby-led weaning since 6 months, so we needed a good placemat for Roman to use. The EzPz Mini Mat, available on Amazon, is super easy to use, clean, and take on outings! It comes with a plastic carrying pouch for meals on the go. It is silicone and sticks to the high chair tray, so I don’t have to worry about accidental spills! It has 3 portion compartments, perfect for a beginning eater. When I build a meal for Roman, I usually use one portion for fruit, one portion for a vegetable, and one portion for meat or pasta.
2. Beechnut Organics baby food
When Logan was a baby, I tried all kinds of jarred baby food, and the pouches were just becoming a “thing.” I fell in love with Plum Organics pouches for him, because they were portable and made with healthy ingredients. However, Roman doesn’t really love that brand. He doesn’t like any jarred food that contains any additives. I came across Beechnut brand jarred food, and he loves it! They never add anything, not even lemon juice or any kind of preservative – it’s just clean, wholesome food that actually tastes good! An added bonus is you can remove the lid and microwave the food right in the jar. I have a huge stockpile of Beechnut baby food jars because he loves them so much and it’s convenient to take along for meals outside the house, when baby-led weaning style meals are too complicated.
3. Exersaucer
We bought an exersaucer (Evenflo Exersaucer Triple Fun Active Learning Center) off of Facebook Marketplace and it was cheap and in great condition! Roman uses it for hours every day and loves spinning and jumping. His favorite part is to grab all the different toys and chew on them. It definitely makes my life easier by giving me a little break while he’s safely contained and playing. I bought the same exersaucer I had when Logan was a baby, because eventually it converts into an activity table! Logan used his for a good two years, so I know we’ll get a lot of use out of this one. It has music, lights, and lots of different colors and textures for Roman to explore. It retails for about $100 new – but we got ours for about $30, gently used!
4. Bandana bibs
The teething phase is never ending with Roman, and I’ve been putting bandana bibs on him to keep the drool away! They are way more stylish than traditional bibs and come in so many colors and patterns. I just bought a new pack from KeaBabies and love them! They are softer than any of the other brands I have, and are the most adjustable out of all the kinds I have. I know they’ll last him a while and the patterns are just too cute. These are also available on Amazon!
5. Munchkin Miracle 360 Trainer Cup
I tried all kinds of sippy cups with Logan, and he didn’t have a problem with any of them. When he was older, he preferred straw cups to traditional spouts. Now, apparently research shows that traditional sippy cup spouts can negatively impact a baby’s speech development by the way it encourages tongue placement. Straw cups or regular lids are the current recommendation. The Munchkin Miracle 360 cup is perfect because it’s easy to use (Roman caught on right away at 5 months old), and is spill-proof! That’s right, he can shake it, throw it, and toss it and it won’t leak. It’s an actual “regular” cup lid, so I think the transition to a normal cup will be easier for him eventually. It comes in a variety of colors and is pretty inexpensive. I bought 3, one to have at home, and one for each of his grandparents’ houses! Again, they’re available on Amazon (can you tell I never go to real stores anymore?) for about $12 for a pack of 2.
