After chatting with some mamas who asked me what my current “go-to” toddler products are these days, I’ve been meaning to compile a list of my favs!
These are all products I use EVERY single day. Sometimes even multiple times! Some of these items are self explanatory and some were new ideas to me for my second babe!
A few of the products below are from larger companies, but many are from smaller shops (you know how much I love to support small businesses!!). So be sure to check out their pages!!
Ok.. I know… this is a given. BUT! I use this every day! I was amazed at how easily Parker James transitioned from bottle to sippy using this cup.
It’s definitely the best cup for baby’s teeth as well. Sippies that have a “spout” are almost like a bottle and passy and keep the teeth “fanned” out forward so to speak.
If you’ve seen a child who couldn’t stop sucking their thumb/fingers, you’ve seen the teeth I’m describing. This cup prevents that!
The other plus about this cup is that it truly teaches baby how to drink from a real cup.
A normal sippy cup or one with a straw doesn’t teach your baby to drink from the edge of a cup or how to gradually tip the cup to get liquid.
Definitely the best sippy cup out there we’ve found! A toddler must have for sure!
This has been a HUGE help to us for second baby!
I know this has probably happened to you…
You’re at a cook out, a bonfire, someone’s house that doesn’t have kids, a restaurant, etc. and you need a place for your baby to sit and eat or at least just SIT!
This fold up high chair pops up just like a camp chair and comes with a TRAY!
We have used this on so many trips, dinners, get togethers, at restaurants. You name it! Have high chair- will travel!
This chair has seriously been the best thing. It folds up and fits in a bag with it’s tray just like a camp chair does! Definitely a toddler must have!
Obviously every toddler needs a baby gate or “play area”. With our first we had the normal doorway baby gates that have the handle you press down to lock them as they push on either side of the door frame.
However, at our current home, it’s more of an open concept floor plan. So we found it a bit difficult to use just a small gate since there is no doorway really!
We quickly realized we needed more of a barricade or long gate to “wall off” a play area.
That’s when I found this free standing gate! It’s not as tall as a normal baby gate but it has worked SO well for us!
We were able to stand it up and wedge it across the entrance to our living room and make it one giant play room!
My folks actually has the same floor plan so they bought one too! It is SO helpful! A toddler must have for sure!
Tagging on to the last item on my list, because of our open concept, split level home, once Parker James could walk (and pretty much had free reign of the house) we needed something to gate off the stairs.
We found this mesh retractable baby gate that has worked wonders for us! Our banister is already white so it blends in well and doesn’t stick out.
I also love that the mesh gate is “away” or rolled up when not in use unlike a traditional gate that sits there on your stairs constantly as an eye sore.
It’s worked so well for us! Definitely a toddler must have!
Every kiddo seems to be a bottomless pit when it comes to snacks. Maybe they won’t eat their meals BUT there’s endless amounts of room for snacks!
I have found Parker James is MUCH happier and content when he has a snack. Even just to carry around and “use as needed”.
Several months ago, Parker James became SO unhappy whenever we were in the car. I totally thought we had moved past that stage when he was a little baby.
I guessed wrong!
It was very difficult to keep him happy. Jaden would be in the back seat next to him trying to hand him books or toys. (Which, of course, he would immediately throw after about 5 seconds of “quiet”.)
Car rides became hard.
BUT! One car ride home from my folks, Jaden had a “snack baggie” they made up for him to eat on the way home. The baby was reaching for some and being the kind big brother that he is, Jaden shared his snack.
AH HA! He just needed a snack to keep him occupied and content while in the car!
That very day, I grabbed these snack cups at the store. They are easy to hold, easy for babies to get the food out, easy to refill, and they don’t spill!
This has been a lifesaver for us! (I think between my mom’s house and our house… we own about 6….) It’s a toddler must have for sure!
This one is self explanatory. During meals I give Parker James something he can use his utensils to eat, I pull out these bad boys.
I LOVE these shirt bibs! They’re basically a smock. The bib velcros behind his neck and ties around his waist like an apron. It keeps his whole outfit clean.
We’ve used it not only for messy meals, but use also on days we’re out and can’t just strip him down to eat. He usually has a super nice outfit on these events. For example a wedding or his 1st birthday party.
These shirt bibs REALLY come in handy! And they’re very easy to wash in the sink or washer! A toddler must have in my book for sure!
Obviously…. every baby needs a high chair. There’s SO many different kinds to choose from. We used this high chair for Jaden as well.
It has served us well over the years! The high chair comes with a booster seat when kiddos are older and can sit at the table!
I also like that it comes with several tray options. The high chair comes with 2 top trays that just pop off for easy wash, a base tray, and a back small tray that connects to the chair. This is the try everything snaps/attaches to.
We love our high chair! It’s definitely a toddler must have!
Yes these are pretty obvious as well. But I personally didn’t know how well they worked until my second baby!
With Jaden, I used a catch all bib or two but not enough to really see how much they help. I’ve used this catch all bib with Parker James basically since he started Baby Led Weaning.
It truly does help catch food and fill that gap between the tray and their tummies. I also LOVE this shop that makes these bibs. Be sure to support small and check them out!
This may sound like a silly name… but trust me mama. If you’re not already using these, you will need to!
Have you ever set a bowl down in front of your toddler only for them to just dump it out on themselves or throw it on the floor?
OR have you been like me and NOT given your child things in a bowl because of this exact reason, therefore cutting your child off from a LOT of meal options?
That is exactly what was happening here until I bought these bowls!
Now that I have bowls that suction to his tray, he can feed himself oatmeal, baby food, rice cereal, apple sauce, noodles, etc.
We love it! Definitely a toddler must have!
Just as I said above about the bowls, these suction plates are just as necessary when teaching your little one to eat!
And like I said before, I just LOVE this small shop! Be sure to check out Simply Toofers!
One last Simply Toofers item!
When first introducing your toddler to eating utensils, it’s hard to know which direction to go.
There are utensils with metal ends and big fat rubber handles. Or skinny, soft utensils that are hard for them to hold.
I’ve found with those, I’m still nervous about my babe shoving it down their throat since its so skinny.
That’s the beauty of these silicon utensils . The flower shape in the middle of the handle prevents your toddler from shoving the spoon or fork in too far.
They are a toddler must have for sure!
Just like bowls and plates, toddlers like to throw their cups and bottles too! When I weaned Parker James, I was giving him a bottle at meals and he just kept throwing in it in protest.
Of course he’d want it back the next minute… and so the game began.
I quickly started looking into solutions for this problem and found this strap!
We loved how they worked so much that we have one on every high chair, carseat and stroller! This is another life saver! Definitely a toddler must have in our book!
Now that Parker James is going on 20 months old, I’m getting a bit tired of lugging the whole nursery around in my diaper bag like I did when he was so little.
Yes. There are definitely times that I need to carry around the whole “kit and caboodle” in the diaper bag but there are times I just want a diaper, a few wipes and a back up onsie.
This diaper clutch is PERFECT for those quick little outings you don’t need the whole bag for!
It’s great for the park or just running to the store for a minute.
I’ve also used it when other’s are watching the boys. Rather than handing over my diaper bag “purse” and trying to clean out what I need verses what they need, I just hand them a pre-packed diaper clutch.
It’s so helpful! I love that it comes with a refillable wipes pouch too! So great! For sure a toddler must have!
Ok … so technically this comes with the Bumco pouch, but I couldn’t leave out one of my favorite go-to’s!
I HATE things on my hands. Anything sticky, slimy, gooey, etc. So you can only imaging how fun rubbing diaper cream on baby’s bum is for me….
This little guy is THE BEST! It spreads cream on so well, cleans off super well, has a suction cup bottom so it doesn’t fall off the table easily AND comes in a little travel case to keep the rest of your bag from getting nasty.
It’s a fav of mine for sure! Defiantly a toddler must have!
Last but not least, let’s talk about something for mama AND baby! THIS BAG!
I’ve had many different diaper bags with both boys. We did large totes, other forms of backpacks, but mamas… this bag takes the cake!
Not only is it just a gorgeous bag, it’s amazingly functional! I can’t tell you the amount of space and pockets this bag has! Things are never lost in my bag because everything has a spot!
(I’m a bit of an organizational control freak!)
I know I will be using this bag long after diaper days! It’s seriously the best bag ever! A definitely a mama AND toddler must have!
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I hope you enjoyed my top toddler must haves! Have you tried any of them? I’d love to hear from you! Shoot me an email! Be sure to subscribe below and follow me on Instagram and Pinterest!