Time for the next round-up of my favorite baby/ toddler products! Most of these items have been key for ages 15-26 months, but some of them we’ve been using since birth! Hopefully these toddler products will help you as much as they did me! (If your little nugget is still a bit younger, click here or here for my previous posts on favorite baby products!)
- Contigo Autospout water bottles – If your toddlers are anything like mine, they bite through the soft spout cups, throw cups as far as they can across the room, and basically make it their life mission to destroy the cup. The reason I love Contigo cups is that they are almost indestructible. Mine have thrown their cups on concrete and everything else, but they don’t break or leak! The spout is soft, but it’s so thick that they really cannot bite a hole in it–trust me, mine would find a way if it was possible. The lids come off in one piece, and you just pull the straw away from the spout, but GET THIS- it stays attached!! You won’t be searching for billions of tiny parts in the dishwasher. These cups are a win-win-win in my opinion! (Keep an eye out at Costco.. I found a set of 3 for $12 but they sold out fast.)
- Tom’s Toddler toothpaste – I don’t know many kids that get super excited about brushing their teeth, but I will say that they didn’t hate it as much once we switched to this toothpaste! The flavor is fruity which most kids love, and it doesn’t have all the junk that a lot of toothpastes contain. They have a flouride-free option which we use currently, but we will switch to the normal kind once the kids are old enough!
- Maty’s Baby Ointment– I literally cannot say enough good things about this stuff. You guys… its the BEST diaper rash ointment out there. Our EllieBug has always struggled so much with diaper rash, even to the point where she’s terrified to poop or pee because she knows it will burn (sorry if thats TMI for some of you!) (But if you’re a mom you understand the struggle). Anyway, the girls used to get diaper rash all the time. Our pediatrician advised against the white pasty creams because it is so difficult to wipe off the bottom that it can almost be more damaging. They recommended anything clear and greasy. So, I went searching. We used Vaseline for a while but once I discovered Maty’s, we will never turn back. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that Ellie had a horrible rash for 2.5 weeks. We had tried EVERYTHING out there. I finally found Maty’s, and it cleared up in a day. Since then, she’s never had a rash longer than 24 hours because this stuff works so well. It’s kinda pricey ($10/ 10oz jar), so I’m assuming that’s why its not advertised more often, but for us, it’s TOTALLY WORTH IT to avoid the misery of week-long diaper rash. It’s made with olive oil, jojoba oil, and coconut oil, and we LOVE IT.
- Gerber Graduates Hard Spout Sippy. – Like I said earlier, my kids like to chew holes in the soft spout sippy cups. We got these and LOVE them. The spout is hard, but appropriate for 12+ months. There is a smaller piece in the lid that comes off for washing, but this makes for 3 total pieces, and they’re super easy to handle. The white insert slides up into the bottom of the lid to prevent leaking. The ONLY time these cups have ever leaked is when a child threw it SO HARD that the white piece detached. (not broken, just not attached!) My kids are pretty destructive, and this has happened only twice. You do the math! 3 kids, 12 months, and 2 leaks. I’m a fan.
- Bumbo Multi-seats – this is another one I cannot say enough good things about. We’ve been using these since the girls were about 4 months old, and still going strong at 2 years! We never used high chairs or any other feeding chairs. We knew practically that we didn’t have the space for 3 high chairs. The beauty of these Bumbos is that they strap right onto your normal kitchen chair right at your kitchen table so you can eat meals as a family! We’ve taken them with us on every trip, and we often just pick up the chairs and move them outside when we want to eat dinner on the porch! They have a removable tray, so kids can still eat even if not in front of a table! So easy, convenient, and unlike high chairs, these grow with your kids and last way longer! Plus they are far cheaper than a high chair!
- Graco Convertible Carseat – We chose the Graco Contender 65 because it fits 3-across in our Tahoe, and it was the best priced option for us at the time! We love them– they’re easy to install and take out (We had to switch cars a few times but it was a breeze with these!). Each seat has a cupholder and the girls have plenty of personal space!
- RadioFlyer Triple Play Wagon – Best invention ever. Triplet Moms, this is for you. This replaced a stroller for us, and I never looked back. When the girls were younger, they fell asleep in the stroller if we walked anywhere longer than 20 minutes. Any mom knows that you DO NOT want your kid falling asleep if it’s not nap time. I felt limited because I couldn’t go on walks or anything without worrying about someone falling asleep. Wagon solves all problems. As soon as they could sit up and balance themselves in a moving object (9-10months), we switched to the wagon. I love it because they can see everything around them when we go to the zoo instead of me having to position the stroller perfectly (and even then they can’t see everything). Plus they have their own little cup holders and room for snacks, and they can interact with each other! It comes with a canopy, but I hardly use it anymore now that they’re older. The wagon doesn’t fold up, but the handle can fold underneath so I can just slide it into the trunk of my Tahoe and it’s SO much easier than our triple stroller.
- Little Tikes Picnic Table – Eating outside is such a joy for my kiddos. For lunch and snacks, we use this table instead of the Bumbo seats. It comfortably seats 4 toddlers, so it’s great when we have friends over! Perfect size, perfect weight, perfect price ($40), and so much fun!
