The Top 10 Must-Have Essentials for Babies up to 3 Years Old

Bringing a new life into the world is a beautiful journey filled with wonder and excitement. As your baby grows from a tiny bundle of joy to an adventurous toddler, certain essentials become indispensable for their well-being, development, and happiness. From the coziness of swaddle blankets to the stimulation of educational toys and the practicality of high-quality tableware, here are ten must-have items that will guide you through the incredible first three years of your child's life. These essentials not only ensure their safety and comfort but also contribute to the joyous moments and precious memories you'll create together on this remarkable journey.

Certainly! Here's a list of 10 essential items for babies up to 3 years old:

1. Swaddle Blankets: Swaddle blankets provide comfort and security for newborns and infants. They help with sleep by mimicking the womb's warmth and coziness.

2. Educational Toys: Age-appropriate educational toys stimulate a child's cognitive development. Items like building blocks, interactive books, and puzzles engage young minds and encourage learning through play.

3. High-Quality Tableware: Invest in safe and durable tableware for your child's meals. Look for BPA-free, non-toxic materials in plates, bowls, utensils, and sippy cups to ensure their safety.

4. Stroller: A reliable stroller is a must-have for outings and walks. Choose one that suits your lifestyle, whether it's a compact travel stroller or a rugged jogging stroller.

5. Car Seat: Safety is paramount when traveling with a baby. Make sure you have a properly installed rear-facing car seat suitable for your child's age and size.

6. Diaper Bag: A well-organized diaper bag makes outings smoother. It should include essentials like diapers, wipes, changing mats, baby lotion, and a change of clothes.

7. Baby Monitor: A baby monitor with audio and video capabilities helps you keep an eye on your child while they sleep or play in another room. It offers peace of mind and convenience.

8. Childproofing Supplies: As your baby grows into a curious toddler, childproofing becomes crucial. Secure cabinets, outlets, and sharp corners with safety gates, outlet covers, and edge protectors.

9. Convertible Crib: A convertible crib that transforms into a toddler bed is a long-term investment. It adapts to your child's growth and provides a safe sleeping space.

10. Child-Friendly Books: Building a love for reading begins early. Board books with vibrant pictures, touch-and-feel textures, and simple stories are perfect for infants and toddlers.

Remember that every child is unique, so your specific needs may vary. These essentials provide a solid foundation for a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment for your baby as they grow into a curious and active toddler.

4 Reason why I love Grabease silicone suction bowl

Silicone products are becoming increasingly popular and can be found in almost every kitchen, bathroom or nursery. Grabease stay-put bowl provides peace of mind to let littles explore self-feeding without the worry of them making a mess.

We love these Grabease silicone suction bowl since they are easy to clean, even with foods like tomato sauce that can stain other plastic plates. They’re also a safer material for heating in the microwave and washing in the dishwasher. They are very resistant to scratches and have been very durable in our experience, because scratches can break down the material.

Grabease silicone suction bowl come in 3 colors, Blush, Teal, and Gray. Bundle with the stage 1 spoons (spoon teether) which is gentle on teething gums, and stage 2 fork & spoon set for more food exploration. The bundle is the perfect companion for the whole BLW journey.

Read more: Grabease, best baby self feeding spoon and fork set

What I love about Grabease silicone bowl?

Portion, don’t separate

Sectioned to promote healthy portion sizes & satisfy picky eaters. Use sections as a way to portion, rather than separate, foods! The last thing we want is a child who's used to their foods not touching each other and falling apart when the rice touches the chicken or (god forbid!) the ketchup.

Read more: Tired of preparing a separate meal for your picky eater?

The suction is sturdy

This bowl knows how to stay-put with its sturdy suction feature. Be sure to adhere the bowl firmly to the table and allow yourself to go enjoy a cup of coffee without worrying it might end up on the floor. Deep sides for easy scooping. Strong suction base that will adhere to most surfaces.

For a perfect and sturdy suction, press the base of the suction bowl down (where the divider is located). For release, simply lift and pull the tab sticking out at the base of the suction bowl.

Read more: The importance to let your baby self-feeding, it's worth the mess

Keep bacteria away

Food grade silicone can be a safe and convenient alternative to plastic. Due to its flexibility, light weight, easy cleaning and hygienic and hypoallergenic properties (it has no open pores to harbor bacteria), it is especially convenient for snack containers, bibs, mats, protective sleeves and bath toys.

More than ever Grabease are doing are best of ward of harmful bacterias, and this bowl is ready to join the fight. Made of bacteria resistant, food grade silicone. Our food grade silicone is resistant to most bacterias, odors, and stains.

Can be both boiled sterilized

Be sure to wash and inspect bowl for any breakage before use. Discard at first sign of weakness or damage. Our food grade silicone bowl is dishwasher safe. It can be both boiled and sterilized.

Grabease suction divided bowls are designed to provide parents with a compact option optimized for young eaters - the perfect companion for you baby led weaning journey- without the worry about this bowl flying off the table onto the floor. Pairs perfectly with Grabease other items, like the ergonomic utensils.

I love how Grabease develop their product, they developing meaningful products. When I think about eating, I always have Grabease in my mind. They have develop a full kits to build an independent eater.

Read more: Grabease all-over bib review

Grabease full range of product.

Find a perfect Grabease bundle via your local distributor, or drop us a message if you can’t find one. They are available in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan and many other countries. Also welcoming you to be part of BabyLux family, planning to start own business by being baby products distributors but not sure where to start, drop us a message!

History of Grabease - What make Grabease so special?

It's exhausting for every brands to battle the knock offs, however, this is our obligation to our customers, to inform you because it involves the safety of your babies. Knock offs usually are made from factories that only want to make a quick buck. They have no respect for creativity, integrity and safety. 

BabyLux carried brands spent lots of money in safety testings and insurance, and these are all for your child's safety. Yes, you can probably get them cheaper elsewhere, but would you risk your child's life for it? As a parent, the most fulfilling thing is watching your child master a new skill on his or her own. There is no greater joy than watching each milestone take place. Teaching our children new skills is our pleasure but constantly having to practice them can get frustrating.

The history of Grabease

And please respect every brand’s effort and creativity.

From lawyer to product developer, Maya Shalev - founder of Grabease - loved problem-solving but didn't love the aggressiveness of litigation. She did mediation training at the Los Angeles Attorney's office before getting pregnant with her daughter, Alma.

As a stay at home mom for a few years, Maya was able to apply her problem-solving skills when she developed, with her dad, products that were missing in the market.  

In 2014, Maya found herself at a crossroads when her father passed away while she was three months pregnant. Finding herself in this new situation, Maya decided to take a break to cope with the loss of her father and focus her energy on the new life she was bringing into the world.

In 2015, Maya found herself with a new challenge when her six-month-old son, Amit, was learning how to self-feed. This obstacle reignited her passion for developing a product that would not only solve the need for her son but other moms going through similar scenarios.

Off the bat, she noticed that baby utensils aren't designed with babies in mind. The handles were too long and her son couldn't hold the utensil naturally. She decided to meltdown cheap forks to create a shorter, thicker handle. The first mold was created out of Playdough, a common medium in a house with kids.

The next phase was to create a set of utensils, the most expensive pair of fork and spoon she's ever invested in, a whopping $400 for a 3D printed set! Using her son as a guinea pig to test out the new utensils Maya noticed that the handle was on the thin side so she went back to the drawing board and designed a teardrop-shaped handle.

She took this prototype to a Pediatric Occupational Therapist for some feedback to make sure she was developing the right product. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The Occupational Therapist told Maya that the Grabease utensils "makes a great developmental product for children ages 4 months and up. Grabease supports fine motor skill development and independent feeding skills."

The inspiration to go back in business to not only create but give back was through the social initiative she saw the Toms brand spearhead. When Grabease was being packed and shipped Maya partnered with The Harvest Home, a non-profit organization that helps homeless pregnant women get back on their feet.

The Grabease design was immediately patented in 2016 and sent to production. A soft launch was introduced via Amazon to see if there was a need for the product. Maya designed the product with the intention that nine-month-old children and older would be using the product but to her surprise moms were excited to share photos and videos of their six-month-old babies self-feeding with the Grabease.

Grabease was tagged by tons of moms on social media, gushing with excitement that their kids were independently eating with the utensils.

The pivotal change for the brand was at the JPMA trade show. The last day of the show is open to consumers, the excitement and the crowd around the Grabease booth was proof that the brand was going to be high in demand. Shortly after, all products were sold out on Amazon as well. Before long, the Grabease website launched!

Read more: Grabease, best baby self feeding spoon and fork set

Not only was Grabease helping babies learn how to independently feed themselves, it was helpful for differently-abled children as well. Parents were sharing how Grabease utensils were helping their children with cerebral palsy or down syndrome. This was heartwarming and impactful for Maya.

Different organizations that helped children with different abilities were now reaching out to the brand for support. Without hesitation, Grabease donated products to help and promote the development of independent eaters. With the word spreading, Maya found herself getting emails and calls from Occupational Therapists that were interested in trying out the product in their clinics and then endorsing the product. Another win for Grabease!

In quarter 1 of 2017 Maya graduated from the kitchen to the garage. Soon after, Nordstroms and other independent retailed picked up the brand and Grabease moved into an office space in 2018.  

Grabease is now available in 300 stores and internationally, accessible in over 15 countries and expanding rapidly!

Maya didn't stop there. The Grabease toothbrush was the next product created. Thought of and designed by Maya's then 8-year-old daughter, Alma. The idea came to her when she saw the struggles her parents were having when trying to brush her little brothers' teeth, Amit. 

Alma sketched the design and 2 years later the design came to life. The toothbrush was a hit. So much so that most kids don’t want to put it down!

Read more: 2019 Grabease new product double sided toothbrush

Maya and the team of moms take pride in developing products that provide solutions for families around the world while helping children in need. Grabease is excited to continue launching innovative and helpful products for other parents because being a parent is a lot of work and we want to alleviate unnecessary stress so you can enjoy the best moments with your growing tot!

Article quoted from Grabease blog post.

3 Rules you must follow when giving first food to your children

There are so many ways to introduce and giving the first food to your children. Proper nutrition should be given to improve the nutrition of your child. Said gastro hepatology consultant pediatrician, Dr. Frieda Handayani any method applied must prioritize nutritional needs to support each stage of different growth and development. Errors in feeding can have fatal consequences on children's nutritional conditions, such as eating difficulties and malnutrition.

"The first time feeding a child, there must be many challenges so we must be patient. But it is a child's learning process that must be passed," Dr. Frieda said it.

Read more: Baby's first solid food

3 rules that you must understand when giving your child the first meal.

1. Schedule

Mother can provide healthy food and snacks to children regularly. We recommend do not offer other snacks at meals except drinking.

The meal schedule can adjust by age of the child. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ages 6 to 8 months, the frequency of eating is around 2 to 3 times a day. Meanwhile, at the age of 9 to 23 months, children can eat 3 to 4 times a day.

2. Environment

Create a pleasant atmosphere when children eat. Also never force children if they refuse to eat, but communicate with them.

The use of gadgets must also be considered. The tendency of children to eat while watching videos from gadgets is now done by many parents in order to let children want to eat. But this is so wrong, parents!!

"Not only not good in terms of psychology, children who are given gadgets are just bothering them to learn about the taste and texture of food," said Dr. Frieda.

Also avoid to give rewards or gifts to children whenever they finish their meal. For example, parents promised them to give sweets after they finish their meal. If children is rewarded with a gift, they not eating because of necessity but because they want a gift. This kind of thing is not good for their development, parents.

Read more: The importance to let your children self-feeding, it's worth the mess

3. Procedure

Prioritize children to eat first and drink after finish meal. If they don’t want to eat and start to turning their head away, crying, and closing their mouth, try to keep offering food again.

Read more: Yummy and healthy ice cream for your baby with Grabease

But remember, don't forced. Offer food neutral as usual.

"Keep trying for 10 to 15 minutes, and if they till do not want to eat, stop the eating process," said Dr. Frieda.

The process of feeding children, Dr. Frieda said, does require extra patience. Besides being patient, feeding them is also a bonding time with children, a period of learning and loving. Don’t forget to invite them to communicate, for example you can tell a story while introducing food.