Pepper Design Blog

Favorite Baby Products, 3 to 6 Months

Hi everyone, my apologies that I’ve been MIA these last few days. It’s been a whirlwind of work and catch-up after a busy weekend, but I think that I am almost back on track.

On Saturday Liv turned 6 months old! Just around Olivia’s 3 month birthday, I shared my favorite products for those very first few months – and now I’m back again with a round-up of favorite baby products for the 3-6 month age range.

Squeaky teething toys and soft foam books aside, these are a few items that have been helpful to have around the house. By no means are they necessary – in fact you could easily do away with all of the above – but if you’re on the search for helpful baby products (or want to share your own!), this post is for you.

1. Bumbo: The Bumbo is a deep seated rubber ‘chair’ that holds babies upright so that they can safely observe all that is going on around them. We introduced the Bumbo right about the time Liv began holding her upper torso up comfortably and boy what a great change! She could now sit on the counter as we cooked meals, worked on the computer, or even as I was getting ready in the morning. And she was happy as a clam observing all first hand. (That white plastic piece above is the attachable tray – helpful when baby gets big enough to stretch up and out).

Would you like an orange?

2. Angelcare Movement Sensor & Monitor: We sleep soundly each night with our sensoring monitor. The Angelcare system registers both sound and breathing through a small pad that’s placed just under the crib mattress, and if it doesn’t register small chest movement after 20 seconds, a loud beeping goes off.

3. Jumparoo: We don’t have traditional door frames so a compact jumper (that fits in the door) wasn’t an option. While this particular Juparoo is quite large and in charge, it’s the best Liv entertainer out there. She LOVES to jump!

4. The New Basics: This book is a modern A-Z reference guide with answers to every question you might have about babies & toddlers. It helps dispel common myths and concerns (what foods to introduce when, for example) while offering practical guidelines and suggestions to parents. I like the Cohen’s conversational writing style even if I don’t agree with every idea he shares.

5. The Ergo Baby Carrier: I love the Moby, but Liv’s big enough now to sit comfortably in the Ergo. Wow I can’t speak highly enough of this carrier – it’s comfortable on the hips, distributes weight evenly, and fits both 6’3″ Kevin and 5’3″ me well.

6. Double Bike Trailer: Now that we’re training for RAGBRAI, Kev and I love to head out for a good family ride. This double wide stroller holds a car seat comfortably and Liv hasn’t complained once, even though she’ll often be back there for hours at a time. It’s like her little chariot (not much to complain about there, I guess).

Take me on my ride now.

7. Woven Towel: With all that you have to carry around with a baby for a trip to the park or beach, a humongous towel or picnic blanket is the last thing I want to add to the mix. I love this super thin towel that opens up to seat four but rolls easily into the diaper bag.

8. Miracle Blanket: We have many a friend who relied on this swaddler to settle down a fussy newborn, and it has become our go-to daytime nap swaddler. We didn’t end up needing it until we were looking for a warm weather version of our favorite fleece nightime swaddler, but the Miracle Blanket is ideal for squirmy babies that keep themselves awake! Liv falls fast asleep when she’s all bundled up (we literally put her down awake with a binky and she’s out in two seconds).

Liv playing on the travel towel and later napping on the beach in her cozy Miracle Blanket (4th of July) .

9. Travel Bed: With Liv swaddled up for naps and overnight, she doesn’t move much while sleeping. This bed has proven to be invaluable on our many weekend trips and it folds up to fit nicely. On the rare occasion it’s not with me, I’ve used a dresser drawer (on the floor and padded with blankets) as a substitute (works great ).

And that’s the round-up! I’m sure I’ve left something off of the list… If you have any favorite products or secrets – do share!

San Diego Magazine: June, The Good Eats Issue

Wow, I can’t believe that June is almost over! The latest issue of San Diego Magazine is all about food and delicious places to find it locally. Jump out to page 76 in the digital edition to check out my contributions this month.

I still can’t believe it’s nearing the middle of summer {sweet July} and that the weather is really crankin’ up the heat around here. Our summer vacation will be spent, in part, biking across Iowa with our family in an event called RAGBRAI. I’m not really a biker nor do I particularly enjoy humidity in late July, but the entire family (in-laws, my parents and all of the brothers) are game so we’re making a go of it. If you’ll be sipping fruity drinks on a beach somewhere I’m not sure I want to hear about it.

We’ve been training a bit so that I don’t flat pass out after 20 miles, but yesterday was the first day that it really felt like the summer heat wave had arrived. The weather has been just beautiful.

But back to the magazine. This month’s issue features chicken hideaways (we have some of those), best San Diego restaurants and a feature on a gorgeous, sustainably built La Jolla home that I had the chance to tour before writing an article about it (for the full article, here’s the digital edition).

The June issue was all about good eats and so I assembled a collage of favorite kitchen renovation finds for a variety of styles. The spread was supposed to run parallel to a great full page kitchen but an ad snuck its way in instead.

I’m loving those stools and the mix of runners – nevermind the great pendants (especially that Glabraith & Paul one) and the tile.

Back to RAGBRAI training I go! Hope you have a few exciting adventures planned this summer, too!

Four Years and Counting…

Four short years ago we became a Mister & Misses – and it’s been a happy adventure ever since.

To my Mister on this special day: I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living my baby you’ll be.

Curious about our wedding? It’s all chronicled here (with a few more details here). Sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday…