My Favorite Minimagpie Gear at 17 Months.

*Isn’t the baby above darling?!  She’s not mine but she looks a lot like mini and I adore her outfit!

I did a full round-up of my favorite infant gear here (and travel-specific baby gear here), but in the spirit of this roundup, I thought I’d give you a quick update/snapshot as to my favorite gear for mini right now.  Mini is currently 17 months old (almost 18 months) and these are products I use daily and could not live without:

+Bugaboo Snack Tray.  This attachment is MAJOR and I strongly recommend it for fellow Bugaboo moms.  I was running into an issue where mini would throw her snack cup overboard the minute she’d finish it, and I got tired of fishing them out of city gutters (sick).  This pre-empts the problem.  I also like that it keeps her water handy and in front of her at all time during these hot summer months!  The design is clever, too; you can tilt it into three positions depending on whether your babe needs easier access to his/her snack, and you can swing the tray open for ease when lifting your kiddo in or out of the stroller.  It’s also super easy to clean.  (No hidden nooks and crannies.)

+Camelbak water bottles.  I wrote about this recently, but I love these for summertime!  They hold a lot more water than a lot of other kiddo water cups, they have a smart design (you can flip down the nozzle when not in use so it doesn’t spill / if thrown on the ground, the spout isn’t exposed to dirt), and they are easy to clean.  I also love the designs!  We have the cherry print and the tiger print.

+OXO wipes dispenser.  Do you need this?  Yes.  YES.  I think I will start gifting these to every new mom-to-be.  The weighted plate ensures you aren’t pulling out like 2398098098 wipes at once, and that you can extract wipes with just one hand (clutch).  The top also opens with the tap of a finger so it requires no fuss (and again, only one hand) to open.  I cannot live without this.  I also own and love a few of their travel dispensers.  Both ensure that I can buy wipes in bulk (these are my favorite — unscented and well moistened) and just reload them when needed.

+For travel when you may not have access to a true tub (or when your child is too little for a big tub), I absolutely love this Munchkin inflatable one.  It also provided hours of entertainment for my nieces and nephews on a recent trip!  My only gripe is that it is HARD to inflate.

+Dock + Bay Travel Towel.  This super thin towel is highly absorbent.  I love it because it folds up into a pretty little square and I can keep it in my diaper bag / the basket beneath my stroller without it taking up much real estate (vs. the bulk of a traditional beach towel).  It’s perfect for days when I’m out and about and mini invariably ends up playing with a sprinkler or water feature or at splash pad.  One of you magpies (Jen?) mentioned you use a Turkish Towel for the same reason — absorbent, but easy to fold up and pack away without sacrificing too much space.

+I’m trying not to feature too many toys (I shared a roundup of some of mini’s favorites recently), but I have to say that this stroller is one of mini’s most prized possessions.  We often take it with us to the park!

+Bento box tupperware.  I love this sturdy tupperware for mini’s lunches al fresco.  They are a lot stiffer than any plastic tupperware I’ve ever owned in the past and they keep all components of her lunch separate.

+EZPZ minimats.  These were so, so helpful when mini started throwing food all over the place / smearing it everywhere.  For some reason these trays focused her and she would tend to eat everything in front of her.  She’s since learned how to flip the minimat over and fling food anyway, but I still like these.  They are dishwasher safe and microwave friendly and they affix themselves to the surface of a table/tray.

+Phil & Ted’s High Chair.  This easy-to-clean, easy-to-assemble high chair has been a beloved addition to our household.  I love that you can take it apart and take it with you when you travel, which we’ve done several times.  (Not: It does not fold up super small, but at least you can take it apart and pop it back together with no issue!)  I’m also excited that it converts into a child’s chair when she’s outgrown the high chair phase!

+Gathre mats.  I own a few in the mini size that I use as a changing pad in my diaper bag, and one in the high chair size that we place beneath her high chair.  (Great for aforementioned food flinging.)  I like these most of all because they are easy to wipe clean and they fold up into a small square — so they don’t take up much real estate in my bag, and the high chair one can be folded and tucked into a drawer or even into the seat of her high chair when not in use.

+Bumkin bibs.  These are SO wonderful for those who — like us — are short on shelf and drawer space.  I can fold these and lay them flat!  I also keep one in my diaper bag and it takes up literally no space.  They’re kind of a pain to dry in the sense that we tend to rinse them off and then drape them over the sink spigot since they don’t stand upright on their own.  However, I love also that I can throw them in the wash (which I do maybe once a week?) for a deeper clean.  I also have one of these Baby Bjorn bibs, which is convenient from a wipe clean and stand dry perspective, but they require more real estate!

+Igor Tenis Sandals.  A cute alternative to her Native Shoes for days at the park when she might get wet!  Love these.

+Pottery Barn Wet/Dry Bag.  The best for wet swimsuits/spills OR stowing a spare change of clothes.

+Poppy Bows.  My favorite source for bows!  And mini is rarely without one…

+Noodle + Boo Conditioning Hair Polish.  I use this all the time to tame mini’s cowlick-oriented hair.

+Monogrammed Bow Holder.  I went from fishing around in an overflowing bin to being able to see all of her bows at once (organized!)

+Babyzen Yoyo Travel Stroller.  Simply the best.  I’ve written about this a number of times so won’t bore you with the details but I use this any time I’m taking the subway with mini.

+Think King Stroller Hooks.  These inobtrusive, repositionable stroller hooks are magic.  I love that they don’t clutter the handle bar of the stroller but can hold quite a bit of weight and can be taken off/repositioned when needed.

+Dreft Stain Remover.  This is THE BEST stain remover EVER.  We use it on our own clothing, too!  It truly gets any stain out of mini’s clothing — and if you’re reading this, you probably know how often that happens with a 1.5 year old.

+Melissa and Doug Giant Coloring Pad and Crayola Jumbo Crayons.  These occupy about 1/8th of our days inside right now.  She prefers the jumbo crayons to the egg-shaped ones for some reason — easier to grip and control, I think.

+Crate and Barrel Blackout Curtains.  I only wish I’d thought to install these earlier…we’ve added about two hours of sleep to our household!  AMEN!

Minimagpie Items on My Radar for Purchase RN.

+Mr. Magpie and I recently had dinner at a restaurant that provided us with one of these Inglesina “lobster” hook-on high-chairs that clips right onto the side of a table.  We were literally astounded.  What a genius little invention for those low on space!  We even talked about buying one just to bring with us if we know a restaurant doesn’t offer high chairs.  Not sure we need it, but man were we impressed with it!

+Thinkbaby Cup.  We’re still a long while away from permitting mini to drink from a cup (she’s already ruined half of our upholstered belongings and rugs with A BOTTLE), but every now and then she loves to drink sips of water from my cup.  I’m thinking of adding this to the mix under supervision.  You can also get a whole coordinatedThinkbaby set of stainless steel feeding gear here, which I might do.

+Lunchbots Stainless Steel bento box.  For when mini needs more of a formal lunchbox!  We are contemplating whether or not to send her to a twos program next fall, so of course I’m already scouting all the gear.

+Toddler smock and fingerpaint kit.  (Will I regret this…?)

+A felt nativity set to bring with us to Church.  Snacks and books keep her occupied until somewhere around the consecration — aka, the holiest part of the Mass — when I am in turn relegated to the vestibule.  I’m wondering if buying her a specific set of Church toys that we only give her at Church will help?

+I was on the hunt for an area rug for mini’s nursery months ago and then my interest peetered out.  Now I’m back on the prowl — this or this?