Over the last couple of weeks Amelia has started to really take an interest in her toys, I think this is partly due to becoming more aware and explorative but also due to her teething and wanting to put everything in her mouth.
Before she was born we bought quite a few toys for her not realising just how long it would take her to play with them. New born babies really don’t care for toys at all. Now that we’re finally getting some use of them a few favourites are definitely starting to show themselves so I thought I would share them with you.
This little guy has proved so popular that I did a whole post about him a few weeks ago, if you missed it you can read it here. Amelia loves the textures and sounds of this toy and plays with it at least once a day. She loves it when we hang it from her baby gym and she smack it and pull on the rings. Definite winner if you want a feature packed toy that ticks all the boxes.
Fisher Price Kick and Play Piano Gym
This is one we bought before Amelia was born as we new we would a play gym for her from quite early on. We looked at so many and decided on this one because the piano can be adjusted for when baby starts to sit up and can also be attached and taken away when baby is walking around. The toys on the bar are great too and they can also be taken off and attached to the may as part of tummy time.
We’ve probably had the most use out of this although now that she’s learnt to roll it’s hard to keep her on the mat.
Another item I bought before Amelia arrived as I had heard so many amazing things about it for when she started teething. It look a little while for her to be able to hold it properly and at first only the ears and nose would fit in her mouth but now that she is a little bigger she’s chomping away on Sophie all the time. It’s sometimes hard to keep Sophie in the play zone as she has a tendancy to be thrown so most of the time she is in my baby bag and comes out when we are out and about.
You might think these aren’t overly important but you’d be wrong. Not only do they help secure toys to the pram or to the gym to stop them constantly ending up on the floor but they can actually be great for teething babies too. We’ve been using them to make some of her toys a little longer and she loves putting the links in her mouth and chewing on them. They are a great size for tny hands to hold and they have different colours and textures that keep her entertained for ages.
Fisher Price Rainforest Space Saver Jumperoo
We bought this for Amelia for Christmas but at the time she was too small for it and couldn’t even see out of the seat area bless her. Now that she’s getting bigger she can use it but still can’t reach the floor so we put a cushion down to stop her from dangling. She’s getting stronger and stronger everyday and this week she’s started to actually bounce her legs and mover herself around. The only annoying thing with this is that if you have the music turned on it will play a sound every time your baby moves or jumps, not going to lie it’s been mostly turned off.
Amelia also really likes to stand in it and watch Baby TV after her milk, it’s a great way to keep her upright to help with her reflux. We opted for the Space Saver edition simply because we don’t have the floor space for the full sized one but honestly it’s not lacking in anything and Amelia will never know the difference.
Bright Starts Cuddle and Teether
A new addition to the family, I bought this a couple of week ago and have been amazed how much she plays with it. The body of the elephant is soft and snuggly but it also crinkles and the feet are chewy silicone for teething. It’s the perfect mix of soft and chewy and we’ve been attaching it to the pram every time we go out. He’s never out of her hands or her mouth.
Never too early to get a book in their hands and these soft pram books are perfect. We love the ones that crinkle and have extra chewy things to keep her entertained. The pages are so colourful too you don’t even have to read the story, they’re quite happy just looking at the pictures.
Another teething baby favourite, at first the keys were too big for her mouth so she settled for just chewing on the ring that holds them but now she can fit the keys in and she love to chomp away on them.
Another one of her Christmas gifts that we have certainly put to good use. It’s a bit like a Bumbo seat but with a tray that rotates all the way around. It comes with four toys that are attached to the tray and can’t fall off and also space for a cup and snack for when baby is weaning.
I’ve used this so much, mostly after Amelia has had her milk and we want her to sit up for a while afterward. We pop her in this on the floor and give her some extra toys and she’s entertained for ages. I also love that the tray is removable (as is the orange baby seat when they get bigger) and straps come down from underneath to allow you to strap it to a dining chair and sit your baby at the table with you.
This has proved very useful when I’ve been writing my blogs and she’s wanted to sit with me, she’s strapped in safely in her seat watching some nursery rhymes or chewing on some toys whilst I finish what I’m working on.
My last item is less of a toy and more of a play space, this mat is brilliant. It’s soft and padded and non slippery. It’s got lots of pictures and phrases and also features a squeaker, chewing rings, a silicone teether and mirror to encourage baby to move around the mat once they start trying to crawl.
It’s large enough that multiple adults can sit on the mat with the baby to play and it helps to keep them off the carpet or floor where shoes have been. We particularly like it because we have wooden floors and now that Amelia is rolling and trying to get herself moving I know that she has plenty of safe space to practice without hurting herself.
I hope you have found this useful if you have a new baby or are looking for ideas for things your baby can play with when they’re ready. Don’t worry if your baby isn’t very interested yet, it took Amelia until she was about 4 months to pay attention to the toys we were giving her but she kept introducing them to her every time we played together so that she would be used to them and could interact with them as soon as she was ready.
Let me know in the comments below what your baby’s favourite toy is…
Rachel xx
1 Comment
Playtime Essentials // 6+ Months – Rachel Ebuehi
June 28, 2017 at 7:58 pm[…] so I went back to have a read of it. It was back in March and Amelia was only 5 months old (read it here) and whilst she does still play with some of those toys she definitely has some new […]