Hi loves! It’s been such a long time since I’ve done a Mommy Must Have’s post. So I thought I was due to write another one since I’ve now been a mommy for a year! However, this one isn’t just about the products I love. Since August is all about getting ready to go back to school, I thought I would share some of my favorite kids fashion as well! Obviously Molly isn’t going to school, but I still want to share my favorite baby girl outfits and then also some bigger kid outfits that make me super excited for the day I do get to go back to school shopping with her.
I wanted to make this easy for you guys since, let’s face it, moms don’t have a lot of time to shop from a bunch of different stores. So everything I’m sharing with you guys is from Nordstrom. I’m sure you’re not surprised, I’m absolutely obsessed with that store and buy almost everything there. But what some people don’t realize, is that Nordstrom actually has really great kids clothes at some great prices! I actually got Molly’s first birthday party dress from Nordstrom. It’s under $40 and one of my favorite things ever. I don’t love putting her in dresses all the time, I’ll explain why below. But I couldn’t pass up this super girly fun dress for her birthday party!
Ok let’s talk about my other favorite baby girl clothes under $40. Starting with the adorable photo of Molly below. You guys may have noticed this, but I truly prefer to put Molly in rompers over dresses. That’s because she still crawls a lot to get places since she’s not totally confident with walking yet. And every time we’ve put her in a dress, she ends up getting really upset and falls to the ground crying because her knees keep getting caught on the bottom of the dress when she tries to crawl. So I then realized that rompers are just as cute as dresses and make Molly so much more comfortable. It’s by Tucker and Tate and on sale right now for $20!!! I bought it for $35 so that’s a steal! Molly’s wearing a size 12 months and she’s, well… 12 months old. She definitely has room to grow into it. The white top she’s wearing underneath is also 40% off right now HERE.
I also just just bought the clothes below and as you can see two of the things are rompers. I will be posting pics of Molly in this stuff soon!
And I can’t forget to talk about the products that I absolutely love.
First and foremost is this 360 baby carrier. It’s the only baby carrier that I found that has this many positions to carry your baby in. The fact that it’s both a regular carrier and a forward facing carrier is by far the best part about it. It’s definitely an investment but truly it’s one of the best investments we’ve made in products for Molly. If you watch my Insta stories, you’ll see that every time we go for a walk I use this carrier with Molly.
The next product that we use every single day is this baby food maker. We don’t purée the food anymore since Molly eats solids, but we use it every day to steam her food. It’s so much easier than doing it on the stove. Plus it’s much faster because it start steaming almost immediately rather than having to wait for the water to boil on the stove. It’s funny because I almost feel like it’s hard to explain why it’s so much easier. But trust me, it just really is that much easier. I think the smaller size makes it easier. It’s really easy to rinse everything after using it, and the fact that it steams so quickly is great!
Molly’s Lovey– Many kids have a blanket that they carry around everywhere and can’t live without. For Molly, it’s her little blanket with a stuffed animal head on it! She has about five of these because she likes to suck on them at night and they get so gross so we’re constantly washing them. However, I credit this little lovey for getting Molly to start sleeping through the night at 9 months after 9 straight months of no sleep! She loves having them in her crib with her to cuddle for comfort. And hey, if she wants to suck on them, all the power to her! It’s so funny though, because she won’t take a pacifier but she’ll suck on her stuffed animal all night long. Ha! But before you put something in the crib with your baby, always talk to your pediatrician first.
And last but not least, and this isn’t really a must-have since it’s definitely a splurge item, is Molly’s highchair. We got Molly this highchair for her first birthday. We ended up shipping it to Grammies house since she already has one at home and we need one for when we travel and visit her. But this one was just so gorgeous and perfect for photos! Obviously you want a high chair to be functional, but looking good to doesn’t hurt! The only reason we shipped this one to Grammies house is because we have a really tiny kitchen and needed a smaller one for our space. But once we move into a big house we’re having her ship it back to us! It’s just so beautiful! This is the pink seat pad we have with it.
Hope you guys enjoy today’s post! And as I use other products that help me as Molly grows, I’ll continue to share them with you guys! But these are just the ones that have really helped me the most. And of course the clothes are just super cute and I had to share! Please share you must haves with me in the comment below! I want to know what helped you most after 12 months! Cause I’m still learning obvi 😉 Luv you guys!
Molly is adorable! Her eyes!
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Her eyes are my favorite!
Love all the clothes!
Are you buying a new house?
We are!!!! But we need to sell ours first in order to afford a bigger one. It’s scary to put your house on the market not knowing where you’ll live next!
She is so cute!! What activities do you do with her to help her learn and keep her entertained? I have a 9 month old and I feel like she’s getting bored with her same ol toys!
I take her to classes. Sensory class, toddler and me class, parent and me, music class. There are so many out here! Or I give her a cardboard box and she’s entertained for hours! Ha!
Isn’t it hilarious how we asked money on all these toys and the things they love there most are Amazon boxes and Tupperware? My husband jokes that we should start giving these as baby gifts instead of things off registries. 😉
I’m a new mommy too and love your blog! And Molly is just too cute. I have a quick question about the adorable romper. How does it run in terms of sizing? How does that brand run in general? My daughter is almost 8 months old, but has “muscular” little legs (and a bit of a tummy!) so I’ve been sizeing up to 12 months so clothes aren’t tight. There are several outfits from this brand I’d love to get as part of the N sale. I just don’t know what size to get. Thanks for your help, Ali!
I think it runs pretty true to size. Molly is a little small or average for 12 months (40-45th percentile in height and weight) and the 12 months fits her slightly big.
Thanks!
I loved reading your blog and my “baby” is 18! Keep up the good work!
They will always be our babies 🙂
Molly is too cute!! Do you have a diaper bag that you would recommend for a newborn?
Hey Ali! Since I know you love a bargain, I wanted to share the baby carrier my husband and I use. It’s the Infantino 4-in-1 carrier and it’s only $20! We have 10-month-old twins and needed two carriers. Since we’re on a major budget, we couldn’t afford the Ergo. But the Infantino has great reviews and has the same positions as the Ergo. We love ours!
I’m pretty sure this is the same carrier that we have for our 7 month old and we love it as well! Great for forward facing too now that our little girl wants to see everything, and perfect for a budget!
I have 15 month old twin girls and we also have two of these carriers!! They are awesome and we still use them:) great buy👍🏻
Wow that’s amazing! I’ll have to check it out! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Great post Ali and this will be super helpful to new moms. We have the Ergo 360 and the same baby food maker (although we only have the single one). I completely agree that both of these are must haves! I steam veggies and chicken all the time and it’s so easy to just throw in the steamer basket.
Forgot to tell you how fun it is to follow along with Molly as she grows up. My daughter just turned 13 months and I can’t believe how fast the year went.
They really are both the BEST! We must think alike since we both own them!!! And love that our babies are so close in age. Are you going to have another?
Hi Ali! I checked back to see what others said were their favorite things and saw that you replied. Thank you so much! I know you try to reply to at least a few people each day and I think that is so nice. I’m sure it’s hard enough trying to get a post out every day, let alone try to reply to as many people as possible. No more babies for us unless we have a little miracle. We are blessed to have our sweet little lady…we had such a hard time that we had to go through IVF a few times and it will take a toll on you. 🙁 I did think of another must have that I want to share with others. I own a diaper bag but I mostly used it when she was really young and I needed a lot of stuff. Now I use this changing station and I take it everywhere with me! https://www.target.com/p/skip-hop-pronto-baby-changing-station-diaper-clutchchevron/-/A-14579506 – lnk=sametab
I don’t use the plastic wipe container because wipes dry out too fast in it so I just throw a regular package of wipes in the zipper pocket. I also put a onesie in there so if we have an accident or need a fresh outfit, I always have one available. Finally, I put a ziploc bag in the outer pocket for dirty diapers if there is not a trash around or for an outfit that may need to be washed. 🙂 The handle makes it easy to carry or you can just throw it under the stroller. Thank you again for this post!
She’s so cute!! Love reading your blog! Where are Molly’s little white shoes (the one with the bows) from? My daughter is turning one next week and I’m looking for a pair just like that! Thanks in advance!!
Hi Ali,
I was just wondering a couple things! First, how old was Molly when you first took her on a plane? My second question is I’ve been checking up on the nursing hoodie all the time to see if it was back in stock and it still isn’t! I wasn’t sure if you knew of another one that is the same I can get.
My must haves for my 20 month old is Young Livig Essnetial oils, for me and for him! We don’t go a day without them. And Ningxia for both of us keeps our immune system supported ❤️
How do you use the essential oils?? I’ve been wanting to try some out with my 7 month old but I don’t know where to start!!
I love reading your blog posts.. especially about baby stuff! My little girl is 9 days younger than Molly.
I’d love to know where you got the blue & white outfit Molly had on in the cover shoot a while back. Still love it so much!
Hey Ali!
Love reading about lil miss molly!! My lil one is turning 1 next week, 😢!!! I too find dresses are not her thing when crawling and/or walking, love these rompers and can’t wait to order some! Some items I could t live without for her 1st year… the baby bullet, shopping cart cover, and an old fashion clothespin for pushing her teeth thru!!!
Interesting, I’ve never heard of using a clothespin to push teeth through. How do you use it?
It’s an old fashion one, one with a round head… just give it to her and she chews on it like crazy. We started out with Sophie, which she LOVED, but it just wasn’t hard enough for her so we found this and it’s nice cuz its convenient to hold, no splinters and has seriously pushed out her teeth quick
So lovely. As is the mother, so is her daughter :-).
I have a 16 and 12 year old girls, so I can’t relate to the baby items any longer (🙁) but I still love your blog and reading about sweet Molly! And, I’ve bought several items for myself that you’ve suggested! The red romper and white jeans from Nordstrom are my favorite purchases!! I wear the white jeans at least once a week if not more! 😉 And, every time I’ve worn the red romper I get so many compliments! Thanks for blogging about adorable, yet adorable clothes and thank you for sharing Molly with all of us! She is precious!!
Adorable, yet affordable…can’t type! 😉
Awwww beth!!! Thanks for your sweet comment! I am so glad you love those items! Those white jeans are AMAZING!!!!!! If you wear them and post a pic to insta, tag me!!!!
Will do!!! And I just bought the faux leather pants!! I sure hope Nordstrom tracks what they sell based on your posts because you’re killing it! I never shopped there before I started reading your blog! Always thought it was too expensive, but you’ve showed us it isn’t! 😘
I love the shirt you had on in your last Instagram video…where can I get it?
…the red white and blue t shirt. 😊
For cute, good, not pricy clothes it’s Carter’s and Children’s Place!! They are always running sales: 40-70% off. And my favorite part: rewards program!!! For every $50 you spend, you get $10!!! Getting paid to shop is my jam. My daughter always gets so many compliments on her cute clothes. Musical toys are so loved over here as well as books!!
I love watching you and molly! I have a little one who is my first babe, too, so I find you and Miss molly so relatable! Love seeing where you shop because molly is always stylin!
How fun….I have a five month old and we also have the Jellycat Bunny Soother (have three just in case,) the ergo360, aaand the Beaba babycook (single.) -love all three of these items, and yes he has been sleeping 11-12 hours a night straight since 4 months but always snuggled up to his lovey.
Our baby doesn’t use a pacifier outside of the crib or carseat but we love the wubbanub.
love following your blog, it’s great seeing what is coming up for us!!
Ali
I would love for you to do a blog about the makeup you use: hair products,makeup brands, colors etc. You always look great. Cheryl
Hi Ali, love following along with your blog since my daughter just turned 13 months! I sleep trained her using your methods the very day you posted about it. All was going well until she started resisting her second nap of the day. Just curious if Molly has started any of that and if the sleep consultant gave you any tips or tricks for this!
My first almost 7 years old now started resisting second nap at 13 months, I read online at the time many babies go to one nap at 13 months. That’s what happened with him, he would nap art 12 for 3 hrs, no more morning nap!
I love reading your blog! I was wondering what filter you use on your photos on instagram? You always seem to have great tips about everything so I’m guessing you’ll know about that too! 🙂
What high chair do you currently use at home? I love the white and wood! Would you recommend it? Thanks!
Hi Ali,
I love following along with you and your beautiful family ! I have a daughter, Charlotte/Charlie who will be 13 months next week, it’s surreal just typing that ! Anyway I wanted to share my favorite carrier, LÍLLÉbaby! I actually just bought another one because I couldn’t pass up the deal. 6 positions, 45 pound weight limit, lumbar support and they are beautiful !
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Hi Ali,
I noticed that you have two high chairs. The super futuristic-looking one and another one. What is your more traditional looking high chair called?
Thanks so much! 😊