I’ve had loads of people ask me over the last couple weeks how I put together the sensory basket that I use to keep Amelia entertained whilst I’m trying to dress her and comb her hair so I thought I would do a little post about it.
Firstly the idea came about from Amelia’s sudden obsession with the nappy changing supplies that were in a basket at the side of the changing unit. She would lean (sometimes dangerously) over the side of the table to pull things from the basket and either play, chew or throw them.
Whilst I appreciate her determination to get things she is interested in exploring, I do not want her to put nappies, wipes or nappy bags in her mouth (I dread to think what could happy if she ate one) so all that stuff had to go.
Having emptied the dangerous items out I was left with an empty basket that I had previously bought from T K Maxx in their bathroom section as it has three sections ideal for storing bottles and other such beauty essentials.
I decided to Google baby sensory baskets and you wouldn’t believe how much companies are charging of these things (some as much as £50) and when I looked at what was inside them I decided to see if I could make one myself.
I’ve basically dug deep in the toy basket and looked for small things that she can hold on the table and also things that she doesn’t play with much probably because they are lost at the bottom of the basket. I’ve also purchased a couple of items new from Wilkos as I wanted to include some different textures and sounds for her to explore.
Here’s what I’ve included:
Pink tambourine – to shake and bang and make lots of noise with, purchased from Wilkos for £3
Large Louffer – this was for the texture although she mostly just chews on the string attached to it, purchased from Wilkos for 49p
White shower pouffe – again for the texture and layers, she likes to throw it around like a call, purchased from Wilkos for 49p
Pink nail brush – mostly for the texture of the bristles but also to distract her from wanting her hair comb when I am trying to brush her hair. I think she thinks that she has the brush when really I have the brush and she has a decoy, purchased from Wilkos for 49p
Bottle rattle – Amelia loves making noise and throwing things so I made her a rattle using an old Coke bottle, dried rice and coco pops. She shakes it about and it makes quite a racket.
Wooden books – I’ve got a whole set of small wooden books that all cover things like first words, letters, numbers, shapes, sounds etc… so I popped two of them in the basket to encourage her to look through them and turn the pages. She mostly chews on them.
Nuby bugs ring – something to chew on (instead of her books) this had fallen to the bottom of the toy basket and after getting it out for the sensory basket it turns out that she bloody loves it.
Lion comforter – something soft to snuggle with but it’s also so colourful that she’s quite fascinated by all the patterns on it.
Soft numbered pyramid – this is a totally random toy that was way way at the bottom of the toy basket, it has numbers on it, a chewy bit, a crinkly bit and its quite squishy. She doesn’t play this with this one as much but it bulks out the collection.
Rattle teddy – something else to shake and snuggle although this has made its way downstairs to her play pen now.
Rubber duck – for chewing and squeaking, I haven’t seen this little fella for a while though. I don’t know where he’s swam off to.
Teething necklace – Amelia loves my teething necklaces and she likes to play with the string on them. I only let her have this one when I am with her though as I have horrible thoughts of her putting it round her neck and pulling it too tightly.
Sprial hair band – this is one of my hair bands that I washed and gave to her to play with one day out of desperation for her to keep still. She likes to chew it and also has learnt to ping it across the room. Guess I’m not getting that back.
So that’s everything that I’ve put into my sensory basket, as you can see most of it we already had and those items that I purchased were super cheap. Now I will confess that I don’t have a creative bone in my body so I am actually really proud of this basket.
I’m pleased that Amelia likes everything inside it, she’s keen to play with it when I’m dressing her and it also keeps her entertained in her cot in the mornings whilst I am getting ready for work.
I am not aware that quite a few items have gone missing since I took the original photo of it all made up, I must have a search under the bed, behind the book shelf, under the changing table, on the roof…
If you’re thinking of making or have made your own sensory basket for baby please share what you have included, I love seeing what other babies play with.
Rachel xx
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