I would like to tell you that I have kept up my minimalist baby purchasing… but alas, I have entered full on TONS OF BABY CRAP territory. Such is my life and I'm okay with that. Rocco [and from what I can tell from my Mommy friends, most babies are the same] likes change. He likes his toys to rotate. He wants to play with anything and everything. So not only have I collected a plethora of new toys, my living room is covered with Tubberware, Amazon boxes, Patrón boxes, dvd boxes… all boxes!! Over the course of my nearly 11 months as a mother a few things have stood out as absolutely imperative, some I didn't even think were necessary. Learn from my mistakes!! Here is a list of my must have baby stuff from 5-6ish months onward.

[1] I have purchased so many sippy cups and they have all been pretty unsuccessful. The Safe Sippy is the first cup that Mohawk has [a] held by himself and [b] actually drank from. It's amazing. It comes with 2 different sucking options, we love the straw! Don't waste your money, I swear this is the only cup you need!

[2] These bibs are literally the greatest thing ever. You can loose up to a 1/4 cup of food, easy, when your nugget is learning to eat, this saves food and definitely helps you keep a somewhat cleaner floor… Unless your dogs eat up everything the kiddo drops… but still it saves food, so there's that.

[3] This sound machine is still our favorite thing! Nap time and bed time wouldn't be complete without the soothing sound of rainfall! This is a MUST HAVE.

[4] We love these "crackers" they have very clean and minimal ingredients and are great for learning how to finger feed and keeping a grumpy baby happy in the car!

[5] The Captain read about Tobbles on a "smart kids toys" website and a lovely friend owns them and Mohawk seemed to like them. They are a complete win!! Every kid we've seen with them has been a fan. It helps them learn balance and stacking. Plus, they look like a piece of abstract art.

[6] These stacking cups for the win!!! He LOVES them and mixed with his Tobbles neo he is a stacking pro!

[7] I was one of those people that couldn't even see the need for a rocking chair. I'm not "rocker" kind of person. BS. A good, comfy rocking chair is absolutely a must! I love, love our chair. It's modern, but so comfy! The awesome pretty plastic white Eames rocker, while beautiful, would be such a disappointing purchase. That's not the chair you want to nurse in at 4am when your nugget is going through a growth spurt.

[8] The squirrel suit!!! This thing has saved our life since Rocco has started rolling. We were/still are obsessed with his Ollie Swaddle, but once he started flipping and needing his hands to flip over we had to figure something out. Wellll insert Shark Tank. My sis-in-law informed of the Zipadee-Zip people and praise The Lord. The suit limits their fast twitch movements while allowing them the freedom to roll and move around. It's also a safe zip up blanket. This thing is amazing.

[9] We tried this at a friends house when he was around 6 months and it's magic. He loves it. This thing provided me many moments to do dishes, make dinner, write this blog… This thing wasn't cheap, but for 3 good months it was the greatest thing ever… He still leans on it and plays with it even now.

[10] Ohhhh baby gates. How I love thee!? Despite nearly breaking my toe on one, they are amazing to keep the nugget out of danger and the dog's water bowl… These are super sturdy and can withstand babies weight as they desperately try to kill themselves… Kids are dumb.

[11] We have a few favorite books, Red Truck and Dada, but The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a must have for any baby! Mohawk adores this book!!! And I think most kids do, hence why it's still on every babies book shelf.

[12] This one has a hefty price tag, but it's by far my favorite baby purchase thus far. The Tripp Trapp highchair is ergonomically designed by those clever Swedes. It can go from 6 months to 300 pounds! That's right, you can use it as a chair for adults! The design is so simple, it's easy to clean and Mohawk LOVES it. I am huge fan of this product, despite making fun of it BB [before baby] It's magic and it's good design. Win-win.

[13] I am an Honest Co fan. We really use all of their products. I could go on and on, but that's worthy of a separate post. I have literally re-purschased everything I've ever bought from them, except the dishwasher pellets - I didn't care for those… We have the diaper and essentials bundle and while you might say it's pricy, it saves me so much money from, my now, unnecessary trips to Target, gosh things escalate so quickly in that place. Try not to judge my poor self control. Between Honest and Amazon Prime, I NEVER have to go out for wipes or a new sippy cup.

[14] This music machine is a big hit with the munchkin. We've been loving this for months! Mohawk would stare at it when he was only a few months old and, now, he loves to press the buttons and dance to the music! And it's not even ~~annoying~~ that annoying.

So that's the short list of things that we love and use just about every day!! Raising kids is hard, deciding what to buy them shouldn't be!!! What's your favorite baby toy? gadget? piece of furniture!? Share with us!!!!