Another installment in our “gear we can’t live without” series with the essentials in our home for an 18-month-old. I’ll be honest, it’s already obvious a third person lives in our house and frankly, he needs/uses more stuff than the rest of us. It’s kinda nuts. So maybe these are more “things that Little Man loves” but still they are the gear and gadgets we use every day.
If you are here because you are building a baby registry or looking for gift ideas for a birthday, holiday or next season, I hope you will use the list below to give you ideas. These are the items we used every day from 12-18 months and I can’t imagine life without them. Do you have other things we should include?
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Essential Baby Items | 12-18 months:
- Umbrella stroller-we made the switch. I got one, that I registered for, at one of my showers and didn’t love it. It’s more a style we could use in another year, but it just didn’t feel like it was holding Little Man in his chair and could tumble head over heels. But this is much nicer to have in the car and less bulky when we travel.
- Balls – think cheap plastic kind – all the balls and anywhere we are if anything is round and bright color, he starts screaming “ba. ba. ba.”
- Locks for the trashcan and toilets– these are his favorite toys and he is tall enough to see in and he wants all the things. He also likes to put things into the trash, like the car keys. So, we love the locks.
- Training Forks – he loves learning to feed himself and will steal our big forks from the table. We love these and keep one in his travel snack bag to use at restaurants.
- Bowls/little cups and containers – Nuk with lids are perfect for oranges, frozen veggies, berries, toast. I really just serve things to him in a container. I actually caught him this afternoon taking “baby Cheetos” out of their container and putting them in a little bowl I had sitting on our side table. He likes to sit in front of the TV with food and this helps keep his mess contained.
- Sippy cups – find the kind you like. We have used several different ones, but right now have 2 favorites. Nuk no spill suction cup and Contigo style with the straw. We just started the straw one and it’s taken him a minute to learn to not turn it back. But, when we are out, we always have our straw cup with us and he loves it, I think it makes him feel so big.
- Drum with musical instruments – Little Man loves these and pulls them down from the shelf where we store them. He walks around with the shakers all day and sometimes we have an afternoon dance party
- Little People villages – firetruck, farm, etc-he likes to pretend play. We have a farm but there are Safari, airplane, school bus, police, and firetruck. I like the variety in people, professions and they fit perfect in his little chubby hands.
- Stacking cups -all day, every day these are everywhere, stacking teaches about balance, hand-eye coordination, color variety, and shape.
- Plastic kitchen utensils -The ones we use are from the Dollar Tree, but he loves to stir, is practicing in and out, and using utensils and how to hold them. He carries things around in the spoons and wants to use the spoons to eat.
- Insulated lunch box -so helpful when we travel or go out to eat. I keep it packed with a bib, face wipes, a fork and spoon and usually a Lara bar, yogurt, and pouch. Then add fruit, cheese stick and meat when we go. I also keep a snack baggie to pull leftovers from a meal we may order out instead.
- SNACKS – eating all the time is the name of the game at this stage, so I really try to find healthy options – Pea crisps, freeze-dried fruit, pouches, rice cakes, fruit bars
- Takis and chips– these are the last option offered at meals but sometimes he sees them up on the shelf and goes nuts. He loves the spicy Takis and will tear up a bag of anything crunchy
- Paci clips – they have been washed so much that we had to replace them. Also, I’m working on getting rid of the paci and we have finally moved to only using it at naptime and when he sleeps at night. But, they just get so slobbery sometimes and I have to wash them at least once a week.
- Shoes – nothing fancy – garanimals and Walmart native stone shoes are his favorite. “Shoes” is one of the words he has added to his vocabulary and something he can go and pick out on his own. He hates to wear them in the car, but he loves to run fast!
- Vegetables – plastic toys that look like real food are fascinating for him at this stage and he is using the utensils as I do in the kitchen.
- Mega blocks – every kid needs these at 1 year. My niece had them and we thought about it. But after our beach trip and renting some we knew he would love them so much that I added them to my grocery pick up on the way home. We don’t play with them all the time so they are a fun new toy each time.
- Farm animals – whether a set on their own or from a farm toy, its fun to see animals and start practicing the sounds they make. It also helps to match up the toy animals with the animals in our books.
- Board books because he rips the rest. Anything with real pages or even pop-ups he rips. I like to leave him alone with his basket of books and let him play and discover. All throughout the day he will bring me a book to read to him. We also love getting Imagination Library books in the mail each month. They are always a fun mail surprise and they really have figured out books for each stage. They are often his favorite books to explore together.
Are there items your kids played with or your children used at these stages?
Developmental Stages – the topics we are focusing on at 18 months include:
- naming and pointing to body parts – eyes, ears, nose, toes, tummy
- recognizing animals and making the sounds they make
- sign language for “more” and “please” – the goal here is to keep him from screaming when he wants something
- giving him the independence he desires and is able to do
- teaching commands and what that means – bring me something, go get, come to a room, tell me what you want
Gear we LOVE from all stages:
