6 To 12 Month Baby Essentials On A Budget

In April, my darling baby girl, Quinn, had her first birthday. After wishing the clock would just slow down a bit, I thought about all the important milestones she has reached over the past year.

Each stage of her life has been wonderful to watch – from her first crawl (army style) to her first word (Mama) . My heart has been enthralled.

I’ve been on a baby-kick lately, writing about my baby must haves for newborns and how to budget for a new baby. So I thought it was fitting to share what I’ve been using these past 6 months with my baby girl. 

I try to always keep budgets in mind – this is a personal finance website after all – so I’m sharing the things that I consider must haves for 6 to 12 month old babies. They are things that I used every day with all of my 4 daughters at this age. The items I would replace immediately if they broke.

Here are my favorite 6 to 12 month baby essentials on a budget, separated into categories – feeding, health & safety, travel, toys, and clothing.

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19 Essential Items For 6 – 12 Months Old

Feeding Essentials: 6 – 12 Months

Turning 6 months old is big milestone for a baby. Most paediatric societies around the world recommend exclusive breastfeeding to about six months, at which time you can begin introducing solid foods. Starting solid foods mean your baby will need some feeding supplies and accessories.

1) High Chair

For safety reasons, it is important that your baby is sitting upright to eat. Swallowing solid foods takes some practice and you will want to avoid chocking. Strapping your baby into a high chair keeps them safe while they learn how to eat their first solids.

I like this Ingenuity 3-in-1 High Chair. It has 3 stages and grows with your baby from an infant high chair to a booster seat and then a toddler chair. I suggest buying a high chair with locking wheels so you can easily move baby from the kitchen to the dining table.

2) Bib

We use both the cloth and silicone bibs. If you want to cut down on laundry, silicone bibs are better because they’re easy to wipe down after meals. These bibs are larger and softer than other bibs I’ve used.

As your baby gets older, she also gets craftier! Around 1 year old, my girls started moving their bibs out of the way or taking them off – getting messy food all over their clothes. You can switch to a bib with sleeves. This one is comfortable and waterproof to prevent outfit changes after every meal.

3) Training Cup

We started our girls off learning how to drink with this trainer cup. It doesn’t have a spout and automatically seals-up when your baby is done drinking to prevent spills.

The baby drinks from the rim like any regular cup, which helps to prevent tooth decay in baby teeth. If your baby enjoys playing “fetch my cup” during meal time (and who doesn’t?), this cup will hardly spill a drop on your floor!

Read: Child Care Centre VS Home Daycare: How to Choose the Best Option for your Baby

4) Utensils

Watching a baby scoop food into his mouth with a spoon is super cute – most of the food usually ends up in their lap. Learning to use utensils is an important fine-motor skill for babies to develop. Plus, they are highly motivated to eat like the big kids and adults at the table.

These bendable spoons and forks can be adjusted to suit your baby’s skill level and dexterity. Each utensil is soft and easy to grip so baby can get the food into his or her mouth more easily.

5) Plastic Baby Plate & Bowl

At 6 months old, I wouldn’t recommend giving your baby their own plate or bowl. Doing so will likely result in a puddle of food on your kitchen floor. Placing finger food directly onto a highchair tray works well.

However, once babies approach 1-year-old they will enjoy eating off their own dishes.

6) Iron Fortified Cereal

Rice cereal is the first food my babies ate. Breast-fed babies need iron rich foods at 6 months because they start losing iron. Once they begin eating meat and other iron-rich finger foods, they will get their iron that way.

Start with a runny mixture (a bit of cereal with a lot of breast milk or water) to slowly introduce your baby to swallowing solid foods.

Over time, you can make the mixture thicker.

7) Pureed Baby Food

When my daughters first started eating solid food I fed them pureed fruits and vegetables along with their baby cereal. With our first daughter, we made our own pureed baby food in the blender and froze it in ice cube trays.

As our family grew, and free time became rare, I started buying organic baby food in these pouches. They are easy to use and store in the fridge once opened.

Now that my youngest daughter is one, she can hold a food pouch and eat it on her own. I like to bring along one of these food packs when we are on the go.

Self Feeding Tips

A health nurse recently informed me that guidelines now recommend allowing babies to feed themselves bite-size pieces of food as soon as they start on solids. It is called Baby-Led Feeding. Basically, she advised me to feed my baby daughter cut-up bits of whatever the rest of the family is eating. This allows babies to learn about the different textures of foods and to improve their fine motor skills.

Read: Newborn Baby Essentials On A Budget

Shop our fun, modern, modest shirts designed specifically for the breast feeding mom at UnderCoverMama

Health And Safety Essentials For 6 – 12 Month Olds

8) Baby Gate

We only have 1 baby gate and that is in order to block access to the stairs. My big fear is that my baby might tumble down and hurt herself. Other than that, our house is fairly baby-proof.

However if you have other rooms you want to prevent your baby from entering you can get a baby gate for doorways or to section off an entire room.

9) Electrical Outlet Covers & Safety Latches

Once babies are on the go by themselves, you’ll want to keep their tiny fingers out of danger. Plug protectors stop babies from putting objects and fingers into unused electrical sockets. These outlet covers are rounded at the edges so babies can’t remove them from outlets.

Safety latches prevent curious babies from getting into cupboards and drawers that hold cleaning products or breakables. I like these magnetic cabinet locks because they are installed using adhesive tape and don’t require drilling into your furniture.

10) Toothbrush

At 6 months old your baby may have a few new teeth, or none at all. Two of my girls got their first teeth at 3 months old!

Either way, now that your baby is eating solid foods you’ll need to prevent tooth decay by brushing their teeth.

It’s important for your 6 month old to have a toothbrush with soft bristles so that it’s gentle on their sensitive gums.

11) Thermometer

Unfortunately, 6 months was normally the time my babies caught their first colds. Once babies start crawling around and putting objects into their mouths, they are bound to come in contact with some germs.

It is handy to have a thermometer nearby so you can check for a fever.

This digital, no-touch, forehead thermometer reads a baby’s temperature instantly without requiring contact with the skin. It also will flash you a warning if your baby is running a fever.

Or you could opt for a less expensive digital underarm thermometer like I use. It does the job in 20 seconds and requires cleaning afterwards.

Read: How To Budget For A New Baby: First Year Checklist

Sun Protection for 6 – 12 Month Olds

12) Sunscreen

In the warmer months, it’s a good idea to have a baby sunscreen on hand.

A mineral sunscreen (made without oxybenzone, parabens or added oils and fragrance) forms a protective barrier for your babies skin.

Mineral sunscreens are made with natural minerals and not chemicals.

13) Sun Hat

Babies love the outdoors. There are so many new things to see, touch, and explore. With your baby now moving around a lot, this UPF 50+ sun hat has a wide brim to protect the face and is UV resistant.

It’s light and can be easily folded for the diaper bag. It has a chin strap for windier days or if your baby tries to take it off.

The best part is that there’s an adjustable toggle so you can loosen or tighten the width of the hat so it grows with your baby.

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Baby Travel Items: 6 – 12 Months

14) Convertible Car Seat

The American Association of Pediatrics recommends that “all infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing seat until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat manufacturer” – about 22 to 35 lbs depending on the car seat model.

So, around the 1-year-old mark your baby will outgrow their infant car seat. I like this 3-in-1 convertible car seat because it can be used rear facing and, later, “converted” to forward facing when your child reaches the weight limit or the length limit for rear facing.

This means the seat can be used longer by your child.

15) Baby Carrier

Walking with my babies in our baby carrier is how I lost hte baby weight (that plus breastfeeding), and it allows mt hands to be free.

Once babies get past the newborn stage, they love to face outward in a baby carrier and look around at the world. Carriers provide both comfort and interaction for curious babies.

I’ve like the Ergobaby 360 All-In-One Carrier because you can wear your baby on your front, hip, or back. And it comfortably carries babies up to 45 lbs.

Tip – Buying A High Quality, Used Stroller – New parents can save a lot of money by purchasing a stroller used. You can search buy & sell websites for families who are reselling their stroller.

For our readers in the United States, The Stroller Store is a buy and sell online platform that helps families find certified pre-owned strollers. On their website you can find UPPAbaby, Nuna, Bugaboo, and other premium strollers for more than 1/2 their original price. The company will provide a safety check, professional cleaning, and 120 day warranty on any stroller you purchase through their store. They also resell Happiest Baby Snoo Bassinets too.

Read our article, Best Baby Strollers On A Budget, for a list of 6 great strollers for $500 or less.

Toys for A 6 – 12 Month Old Baby

16) Teething Toy

All four of my girls loved Sophie the Giraffe. There is just something about chewing on Sophie’s legs & head that hits the spot for a teething baby. Sophie came with us everywhere – in the car, on walks, to the park. Quinn also has this mini-Sophie…which I keep in her diaper bag for teething emergencies.

17) Exersaucer

Quinn loved her Fisher Price Fawn Meadows Deluxe Bouncer. The light-up alligator plays music and the seat swivels so she can move to each activity and touch all the colourful toys. There are 3 adjustable height positions as your baby grows.

We kept ours in the kitchen so our girls would have a place to play while I cooked dinner. They had fun while practicing standing and building-up their leg muscles. Just make certain to allow your baby lots of time to crawl and pull themselves upright outside of an exersaucer.

18) Books

According to Kids Health, by the time babies turn 1 year old they will have learned all the sounds needed to speak their language.

“The more stories you read aloud, the more words your baby will hear and the better they’ll be able to talk”.

At 6 months old, your baby starts to recognize the pictures in their favourite books. By 12 months old he or she will turn the pages, point, and repeat your words!

My girls loved Baby Touch And Feel Books at this age. They liked flipping the pages themselves and feeling the various textures on each page.

Board books are perfect for babies and toddlers because they are durable.

Quinn also loves Lift The Flap Books. She will flip up the flaps repeatedly on this Toes, Ears, & Nose book to see if the picture underneath is still the same each time we read together.

Baby Faces Peekaboo is a touch and feel, and lift the flap book, all in one. It is hands-down the all-time favourite baby book in our house.

Belly Bandit offers the top post-pregnancy collection to new moms.

Clothing Must Haves For 6 – 12 Month Old Babies

19) Soft-Soled Shoes

Experts say that when babies are learning to walk, they should be in bare feet or a soft soled shoe so that they can develop muscle strength in their feet. Once toddlers are confident walkers they can progress to shoes with firmer soles.

I received these Robeez baby shoes as a baby shower gift when I was pregnant with my first daughter and have used them ever since. They are made out of soft leather and they stay on baby’s feet really well. Plus they come in lots of cute colours and patterns.

Tips To Save Money On Baby items

According to MoneySense, raising a child will set you back a startling $243,660 from infancy to adulthood. That works out to more than $12,825 a year, if you include everything from swaddling blankets to sparkly heels for prom.

In case you were doing the math in your head, a baby costs on average $1098 per month.

For a complete breakdown of where all that money will go from birth to age 18 see MoneySense’s The Real Cost Of Raising Kids.

Here are 3 easy tips to help you save money when shopping for your baby.

Make A Baby Budget

Read How To Budget For A New Baby for a complete guide to help new parents save money and prepare a practical first year baby budget.

I’ve created this printable baby budget planner to help parents organize all the baby items they will need. There’s a checklist that itemizes the clothing and baby products. As well, you’ll get a baby budget spreadsheet to help you keep track of your spending.

Fill out the quick form below and you’ll receive both printable worksheets in your inbox. We don’t spam!

Shop Used When You can

Buying used baby gear is a great way to save money and protect the environment.

You can shop garage sales, look on buy & sell websites, check-out mom to mom swap sales, or look in thrift stores.

Babies outgrow their clothing and toys so quickly that you can find used baby stuff that looks practically brand new. I have some baby clothes that my 1-year-old only wore once or twice before she outgrew them.

We also bought a baby glider through kijiji.ca for $100 – much less than the store price.

Read: How To Prepare Your Finances For A New Baby In Canada

Get 10% off your order at Finn & Emma through our link. Use the code AFFILIATE10.

Before You Buy, Sign Up For Rakuten

For the baby items that you do buy new, make sure you use a cash-back site, such as Rakuten. They will pay you cash-back on every purchase you make! Shopping through Rakuten means you get paid money for buying items online at stores you already shop at.

Rakuten will give you up to 40% off when you buy through sites like Amazon and Ebay. It’s free to sign up and you’ll get $5 (Canadian residents) to $10 (U.S. residents) when you make your first purchase of $25 or more.

I hope this article helped answer the question “what do 6 to 12 month old babies need?” Narrowing down your wish list for baby should make things easier on your budget.

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