Eight month baby favorites

It seems like the milestones are coming fast and furious these days, from eating solids to crawling to pulling up! With all that action has come some new gear, so I thought I’d share a few things that June, John, and I are loving these days…

— Like any good baby with New England heritage, June has an oh-so-classic L.L. Bean boat & tote embroidered with her name. We use it mainly to pack her gear on road trips.

— Until seven months, June slept in our room. After she graduated from the Rock & Play at five months, she transitioned to the Lotus bassinet. It is fantastic for travel (it folds up into a backpack!), and we also have the crib attachment, so we’ll be using it for years to come.

— Did you hear about the landmark peanut allergy study released last year? You can order the snack from the study, Bamba, on Amazon. We’ve fed June a bite almost every day once she started solids because mama’s not having a peanut ban in her house if she can help it.

— We’ve been making June’s purees since she started solids, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how easy it is! Steamed or roasted veggies (either fresh or frozen) go in our food processor (we got this one as a wedding gift), then are portioned into ice cube trays and frozen.

— For smaller portions, like if we’re just blending a single plum, our immersion blender/mini chopper has been invaluable. (And regardless if you have a baby, you should have an immersion blender! They are the best for making soup!)

— My priorities for a high chair: not ugly, small visual profile, and easy to clean. The Ikea Antilop is a big winner in all categories, and it’s inexpensive to boot ($20!!).

— Weck jars have been great for reheating and mixing frozen food as well as storing refrigerated portions.

— These baby spoons are gentle on gums, easy to hold, and come in pretty colors!

— My Mom does NOT like these bibs (I think because they’re too “industrial” for her grandbaby), but the convenience can’t be beat — especially now that June is learning to drink from a cup and her bib pocket looks like a swimming pool at the end of a meal :)

— This little high chair pal was not something I would have thought to buy on my own, but I’m very grateful someone gave it to us as a gift! June loves to play with it while we’re getting her food ready, cleaning up after a meal, or cooking, and it saves us from picking a toy up off the floor every three seconds.

— Our rechargable stroller fan has made walks in the summer heat feasible with a baby. (Side note: between when I made this graphic and when I’m writing this post, the exact fan we bought seems to have disappeared from Amazon, but this is a fan from the company who made ours, and this is a fan that looks exactly like ours. Weird!)

Mamas, would love to hear a few of your favorites for this age!

P.S. Favorites from the first six weeks, and favorites at five months.