A little while ago I shared our favorite (read: absolutely live-saving) must-have products for the newborn stage (0-3 months though we still use a BUNCH of those things) and I thought I might share a few of our favorite must have products for 3-6 month babies that we were super happy with during this time period with Riley.
Currently, though, Riley is 8 months so it’s kind of embarrassing I’m just now getting to this post of our favorite must have products for 3-6 month babies. THE MOM STRUGGLE IS REAL, guys. I’m kind of glad I waited to write this post, though, because I think I could really look back clearly at what we really loved during this time period and think are the must have products for 3-6 months (outside of the things we still use from newborn period).
We are in the midst of a really fun 8 month sleep regression but oh boy she is fun these days…though thinking of this 3-6 month time period we had our best sleep ever since she was born so it’s bittersweet haha. But honestly 3-6 months is where I really feel Riley got her personality and she really started being a little person.
Anyways, 3-6 months were markedly more fun and easygoing compared to 0-3 months…not that 3-6 months was without hiccups or issues. I’ve really learned SO much being a mom!
So let’s get to the point of this post:
Prefacing this post with: If you’ve seen me talk about baby gear that “contains” baby before you’d know that I personally limit her time in it, as from an occupational therapy sense (my sister), I personally believe that it’s better developmentally that she isn’t in them all day so I try to stick to a couple short jaunts in any sort of “gear” per day when we needed to break up the day or I needed to get some stuff done.
That’s not at all to say I think that it’s WRONG or going to harm your baby to put them in it for longer than I do. I definitely did have days when I needed to get cleaning or something done and she sat in things longer. This was just how I have approached gear because I wanted her to get more tummy/floor time than anything.
I only bring this up BECAUSE if I’m recommending it and deem it a “must have baby product for 3-6 months” it means A LOT considering our usage of the equipment might not be as much as most people get out of stuff…so I really believe it is worth the investment if I’m recommending it below! Plenty of other “gear” I didn’t put on the list.
Whew, god, I’m so long-winded. If after that long-winded explanation to preface my must-have baby products for 3-6 months list you are still here, you deserve a medal. But I really wanted to emphasize that because I think it speaks to how essential these couple products were for us! If you are interested in this kind of nerdy developmental OT stuff, check out Mama OT. That site is helpful but definitely a little more rigid in the guidelines than I personally am with her being in baby equipment.
My Must Have Baby Products For 3-6 Months
*I’m omitting any toys for this must-have baby products list for ages 3-6 months as I will be doing a post about Riley’s favorite must-have toys from 0-6 months later on*
Baby Activity Gym
This is probably our most used item on our must-have baby products for 3-6 months range. We used it before 3 months too and actually had a different one for our bedroom/at work but this was great up until she could sit up and then she wanted nothing to do with laying on her back batting at toys. She LOVED her play mat so much and we would use it for tummy time sometimes too. Definitely something that was used for a long time/got the money’s worth!
I also bought these links to make some of the toys a little easier for her to reach plus I bought other types of hanging toys (these ones) and my sister gave me some that could be attached by these links and on to the mat. I rotated the toys off this thing every few days to keep it fresh for her and I placed them in different places every day or so because I didn’t want her only looking the direction of the toys she was most interested. Helped her to have a more even head movement on the mat.
Fisher Price Sit Me Up
Once she got really good neck support and seemed like she wasn’t going to flop over, this thing was GAME CHANGER until she could sit unassisted and then she wanted nothing to do with this. I was able to bring her in to the bathroom with me to shower and she would sit and play with the toys for a few minutes. It allowed her to be more involved in dinner, too, because we would put her in this on the table. it but I swear she would have sat in this forever if I let her. I also liked it because it didn’t restrict her leg movement unlike some of the chairs out on the market.
Evenflow Exersaucer
(the one we have is a hand-me-down from my sister’s kids (same brand) and I can’t find it anywhere but if I were to buy one myself it would be the one I’ve linked to above or this one because you get your money’s worth because it has different stages)
I really extended the mileage of the exersaucer. The exersaucer we had had the ability to take the tray off so before she could sit unassisted (that’s when I waited to put her in it at 5 months when she did that) I would sit with her against me and let her play with the toys. Then when she could sit unassisted I would put her in it how it’s meant to me used. Once she started crawling she really has lost interest but I still put her in it in the bathroom when I shower or when I really needed her safe in something for a minute because I don’t trust her on the floor anymore haha. I keep extending the mileage of this thing now that she’s working on standing because I put her outside of it and she holds on to it and plays with the toys. I think the options I linked to above are great because it’s MADE to be used like that (which makes it a must-have baby product for 3-6 months since it IS so versatile and they change so much in that time) unlike the older one I have.
Graco 4Ever Convertible Carseat
Obviously a car seat is a must have but this particular one made our must-have baby list for 3-6 months because we knew we’d want to look for a deal before she grew out of the infant bucket car seat (which will be sooner than some of her peers because she’s so tall). We got an AMAZING deal on the convertible car seat we had been eyeing for when she got older so we got it even though she didn’t need it yet because our infant travel system was fine still and we had two bases for it. BUT THEN once I went back to work I needed to take one of the bases to go with us for work so I could put it in my nanny family’s vehicle. So we started using the convertible car seat and it was AMAZING. She is so much more comfortable in it than in the bucket seat, you can tell, and it was great for a 4 hour road trip around Christmas. Although the only thing I dislike is that on my bucket car seat she still loves the hanging toys that we put on the bar on it and this doesn’t have that ability.
I love our travel system and don’t regret it because it was especially amazing in the winter months and when she was an itty bitty newborn but I love that we won’t have to pay another carseat because those are $$$$.
Joovy Nook High Chair
I was pretty particular about what I wanted in a high chair for when it was time for her to start solids at 6 months (though we put her in it to sit at the table with us at 5 months before we started Baby Led Weaning). I wanted it to be relatively easy to wipe down and I wanted to have one we could easily fold up because we are in such a small apartment. I LOVE this chair. So pleased with it and how it cleans up and she seems pretty comfortable in it. Plus it was way more aesthetically pleasing to me than a lot of the others I saw. I didn’t want it to be too “baby” haha. Also pro-tip for when your baby starts eating solids: get this regular-bib alternative and you will thank me later.
Cozy Cover Easy Seat
I have this in our diaper bag EVERYWHERE we go. It’s so convenient to shove in there in the event there aren’t any highchairs or if they are gross. It’s super convenient. A friend turned us on to this chair and we had to get it when we saw how easy their baby just sat at the table in it.
Chicco Pocket Snack Booster Seat
This was actually a gift from my aunt and we had bought the portable seat above already so I wasn’t sure how much we’d also use this but I use & LOVE this one for when we go somewhere for the weekend, when we go to my sister’s for the day and I keep it with us to use during the work week since she comes with me to work. So basically it gets used every day.
I love that she has her own tray so her mess is contained on a tray in front of her and she doesn’t need to be up to the table necessarily so we don’t lose a spot like at my sister’s where there are a lot of us so the table is crowded anyways. This isn’t one that we take with us to restaurants because it’s too much to carry around but it makes sense in certain situations.
Halo Sleep Sack
(also…if you have an Ikea near you..we are OBSESSED with their sleep sacks and they are WAY cheaper)
We had to stop swaddling Riley at 3.5 months because homegirl decided she wanted to learn how to roll from back to belly (ONLY IN BED) to get to her stomach…she hasn’t slept on her back a day in her life since then because she immediately rolls to sleep on her belly. But obviously we needed some sort of wearable blanket since it’s not recommended to put blankets in cribs for young babies. We LOVED the Halo Sleep Sack Swaddle so we stuck with that brand and got the sleep sack. Like I said though, if you have an Ikea near you, their sleep sack is wonderful and cheap. Kinda wished we would have found it before we bought the Halo purely for the $$ factor.
Ergo Baby
We used this a little bit in the first 3 months with the infant insert but we didn’t love it when she was an itty bitty and I personally preferred the K’tan (seriously, if wraps confuse you, get this one!!). But once she had more head control and got bigger this one has been AMAZING. It’s way more comfy and super sturdy.
Target Up & Up Overnight Diapers
So when Riley started sleeping longer stretches at night AND drinking more throughout the day per bottle we were like PRAISE JESUS HALLELUJAH…but then….we had leaky pee diapers overnight. Which NO FUN. They never seemed to wake her up but I’m sure it wasn’t comfortable and I didn’t want her to be leaking through. We had heard good things about Target’s Up and Up overnights and PEOPLE WERE RIGHT. We have LITERALLY not had a leaky diaper by morning and she’s a belly sleeper…which typically means they leak more. She has slept 11-12 hours straight in them and nada..no leaks. (Typing that sentence right now, in the midst of the 8 month sleep regression, makes me want to cry a little bit because now we are up like…all the time. RIP GOOD NIGHT SLEEP).
Teethers
Riley cut her first two teeth right around 6 months and teethers are a must and I think a variety is good thing when it comes to teethers! These are the ones, out of all that we have, that she likes the most:
Comotomo Teether: She was always putting her fingers in her mouth to relieve teething pain and this design is supposed to mimic it!
Oreo teethers: How adorbs are these?? One is harder and the other is on the softer side. She seems to prefer the softer one.
Nuby teethers: She LOVES these! All sorts of different textures on it.
All the things that are still must-haves from this newborn essentials post about the things that were clutch in the 0-3 month stage:
Dohm Sound Machine // Pack & Play // Chicco Travel System // Infant Optics monitor system // Seventh Generation Diaper Cream (super clutch even more now that she’s eating solids) // LED Touch Light // Skip Hop Tub (we moved to the next level once she could sit better) // Ubbi Diaper Pail // Ultrasonic cool mist humidifier (she’s had several colds and we couldn’t live without this) // Backpack diaper bag
PIN FOR LATER
[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links which means that if you click on a link and purchase something I’ve talked about or recommended, I’ll receive a very small percentage of the sale. Please see my disclosure policy for more info.
Annemieke says
We have a store here called Hema and I get merijn’s sleeping bags from them as they have zip off sleeves too and I like him to have sleeves in the winter. I also have two different thickness sleeping bags right now. One for during the day and one for the night as it is colder at night. It is so handy. Though we’ve had to put the zipper in the back once he could unzip himself haha.
I’m still kind of eyeing those things where he can sit in a chair. Merijn would love it but i’m not sure how much use we’d still get out of it.
I love our high chair lookwise and we got the table off now and he can still use it when he gets bigger, but it is a bitch to clean haha.
I decided against an exersaucer but we got a walker with toys on it. You could tip of the toys as a tablet and he could play with those before he could sit up or stand. Once he could stand it was wonderful and for the whole summer I took him outside with it and he walked through the street with it when he couldn’t walk on his own yet. (He is such an outdoors kid)
Erica Robyn says
The Fisher Price Sit Me Up is too cute!!
Alexandra says
Thanks for these posts Jamie! Although like you mentioned in your month in review post, they’re kinda specific, they’re very much of interest to that niche group – e.g. me. I have a tendency to way overthink purchases – and even more so on the baby stuff we’re starting to get. And I don’t mean overthink the big things like baby car seat & pram, which would make sense to overthink because EXPENSIVE and also SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS – those I just enlisted my husband’s excellent research skills for – but on all the other bits and pieces of baby stuff, most of which DO NOT NEED to have so much time spent on them, so this is a very long way of saying that I’ve really enjoyed looking at what you’ve used and liked for your lil Riley.
I’ve been tossing up between an Ergo or a Baby Bjorn carrier – I’ve got my eye on a softer wrap one (Hugabub brand) for when my little one is smaller (he’s due in June, which is Winter in Australia, so it will be nice to have him snuggled close), but keen to get a more structured one too. I think I maybe just need to try some on!
Katie @ Words for Worms says
I love the our Ergo carrier for a structured option. I asked around before buying, and most everyone I talked to said the Ergo was easier on the back than the Bjorn, if that helps sway your decision. They are a bit more expensive, of course. Is Zulily an option for Australian ordering? I got mine at half price through Zulily which made it a lot less painful on the pocketbook. You just kind of have to get lucky with the timing of the sales there, unfortunately, but I have seen the deal a few times since I ordered mine so they do happen occasionally!
Jamie says
Yes the Ergo is THE BEST! We have both the Ergo and a Bjorn my sister gave us and I much prefer the Ergo though the Bjorn is a lot easier to put on but the Ergo is fine once you get the hang of it. It definitely is easier on the back!
Jamie says
You are welcome!! I’m glad they are at least helpful to one person! I found that I liked recommendations from people who I already knew rather than some random list on a blog I didn’t know. And omg I am the SAME with overthinking every little baby purchase lol. I feel you. It’s gotten better now that she’s a bit older btu still totally do lol.
I definitely recommend having the soft wrap (we had the K’tan and I loved it) for when they are smaller. She would be all snuggled and sleepy while I would do things around the house. But a structured one is definitely my choice for when they are bigger!
Katie @ Words for Worms says
Yep, I totally just ordered that Cozy Cover Travel Seat thingie. Thanks for the recommendation!
Jamie says
You are welcome!! It’s so great! It took us a hot minute to figure it out (so definitely don’t do it for the first time when you are out) but it’s super easy now!