I had every intention of posting this mini series at the end of 2019… but yeah, that didn’t happen. Anyway, better late than never right? First up are the best toddler and baby products of 2019. These are the products that made all the difference to us, the ones that stood out amongst all of the others and the ones that I recommend to friends (that includes you!) and family time over time.

In no particular order, let’s get stuck in!

Johnson’s Baby Shiny Drops Shampoo: Guys, this shampoo has been amazing – we use it on both Maia and Aria and their hair is just gorgeous. It doesn’t burn their eyes and a little goes a long way, what a plus! I wrote a little bit more about the Johnson’s products that we use consistently, over here.

Ko-coon sleeping nest: I have spoken about this absolute must have at length, you can read the full blog post here but long story short; Maia sleeps better in it, settles better in it, and it grows with your baby so even at 11 months, she can still use it. Plus it’s all locally made and uplifts communities, yay!

Love To Dream SwaddleUp: While we’re on the topic of sleep, an absolute newborn essential for us was the SwaddleUp from Love To Dream. Initially I was skeptical but Maia loved it and it really helped to soothe her. We didn’t need the next one up after she outgrew this one but if your kiddo is a die hard fan then there are lots of different sizes and transistions for them.

If you want to read about our newborn essentials, you can do that over here.

Kidko playmat: This is by FAR the item that I get asked about the most and we actually have two! A grey and white one in the play area and then a pink and white one in Aria’s room. These are fab; not brightly coloured and gaudy, easy to clean and you can change up the pattern whenever you’d like. Shop for them over here.

Puddle Jumper: Aria is a total water babe and although she goes to swimming lessons and is learning how to be water safe, if we aren’t in the pool with her, she has to wear her Puddle Jumper. Of course we still keep an eye on her but this just gives us extra piece of mind. It’s NRCS and US coast guard approved as well which is great.

Twistshake Click Mat and Plate: This has been so life changing for us, we use our click mat every single day and the plate pretty much every single day too. The mat prevents the plate from falling on the floor (the dogs are not happy about this) and I love that the plate comes with a lid so storing left overs is easy peasy.

Alfa Kids Stroller: We had been thinking about downsizing our pram for a few months. Although there was nothing wrong with our previous one, it was quite bulky and with two kids, we seemed to need the extra boot space. I was thrilled when Alfa Kids asked if I would like one of their strollers to trial. We’ve had it for 3 odd months now and we love it. Honestly, it has everything you need and would expect from a high end stroller, but for half the price. It folds up really compact which is amazing and the basket is super accessible and quite big so you can store a whole what of stuff in there while you’re out and about. It has an extended hood and the seat can recline into different positions. The handlebar extends as well which is great if you’re taller like Dan and I and the foot break works really well. Another bonus is that it is compatible with isofix car seats and if you want, you can also purchase the bassinet attachement. I cannot recommend this stroller enough, it has been amazing to use. Shop for them over here.

Chicco Stack and Fun Cups: I love toys that both of my girls can play with and these stacking cups from Chicco is just that. Maia has now learnt how to drop the balls into the cups and loves to watch them roll all the way to the bottom. The cups have also been really helpful for us to help reinforce letters to Aria, you can also use them to help your little one learn colours. They store really well aswell, just stack them inside of each other and pop the balls inside, easy peasy.

Little Dutch Play Kitchen: This is one of the best things that we bought this year, it was Aria’s gift for her 3rd birthday and it was (and still is) such a hit! It’s definitely a lot more than we usually spend on gifts for the girls but we knew that this would be a piece that would last for years and years and something that both girls would play with. We searched high and low for the perfect kitchen and this was by far the best that we found. It comes with all the accessories and the colour is just gorgeous.

Bebe Confort Easia Carrier: Whenever I snapped a pic of me using our baby carrier, I got so many DMs asking which one it was. We bought our Bebe Confort Easia when Aria was about 4 weeks old and it’s still going strong with Maia. I tried on a good amount of carriers and this one was by far the most comfortable (it has great back and hip support) and the easiest to put on by myself. Baby can face both inwards and outwards and the carrier can hold up to 13kg so about the 1 year mark.

Now I’m Growing Up books: We have both Princess of the Potty and I’m a Big Sister and they have been invaluable! Aria learns the best through reading and so both of these books helped us to reinforce things that we were trying to teach her. There are a few other books that you can view over here.

Melissa and Doug Magnetic Responsibility Chart: We got this responsibility chart on the recommendation of the psychologist that we took Aria to for two or three sessions. We don’t use it continuously but we do whip it out when we need to reinforce something. A good example is cleaning up her bedroom; for each day that Aria cleans up her room, she gets a magnet which has a positive word on it like “awesome” or “good job”. When she has 5 in a row, she gets a reward. Our rewards aren’t big at all and they are an activity, not an actual gift. Good examples are an extra bed time story or going to the jungle gym for a play. There is also a white board section that is great for adding notes, etc.

Of course there are tons of other goodies that we have loved this year but these ones have been the best toddler and baby products. What was your top purchase for 2019, let me know in the comments!