Tummy time is the best with bright + engaging toys!
Once you’ve survived the fourth trimester (aka first three months), babe is gonna want some action and you better believe it’s all on us as parents to provide entertainment and teach our babes how to play. Yep… they don’t know what to do without your help and guidance. Insert yet another mad scramble to find age appropriate toys while trying not to buy everything because the new-parent-marketing is real and so is the work to sort through everything to make sense of it all.
Click the number below for direct links. Full transparency, a few affiliate links are included but all opinions are 100% my own and everything was purchased myself at no discount.
SLEEP | FEEDING + PUMPING | TRAVEL | PLAY | CLOTHING / MISCELLANY
ONE
As with most first-time parents we wanted to make sure we are setting our little one up for developmental success. We also had pretty much zero idea how to play with our babe. For these reasons, I really love this play gym, the play guides quite literally take the work out of figuring out toys for the right age and how best to interact. We also went all in on the annual toy subscription to save a little bit. We receive a box with several age appropriate toys for our little one every two to three months; it’s so fun and incredible to watch Bea progress through the toys as she gains new skills. Just like the play gym, each box includes a guidebook for how to use the toys, how and when its best to introduce them, and it even has extra tips for other developmental activities that you might be able to do to encourage them. To date, we’ve explored our way through three boxes and Bea is always so stimulated and excited. Drop me a comment below if you’d like $20 off your baby subscription!
TWO
This teether is Bea’s most favorite, hands down. It’s also a parent’s dream! The shape is perfectly sized for little hands to fit around the stem so that when your babe goes to let go, they actually can’t. We broke the pacifier habit pretty early on, right round the 12 or 13 week mark and this toy was a nice substitute as a comfort tool. It has a cute little rattle, there is a clippable tether also so if babe does manage to drop it, it will stay attached.
THREE
This activity center is basically baby Disneyland, designed for babes aged four months to one year and then converts to a table and chairs when toddlerhood hits. I personally love that the bottom platform allows babe to work on the motor skills needed to build strength and balance for walking. Please note, this is not a walker, it is a stationary item. That said, we easily move it around the house to whichever room we’re in so Bea can join us. It also breaks down really easily into two parts so we can bring it with us when we visit grandparents! Bea has just just figured out how to spin herself around in it and it’s the absolute best watching her figure all these new ways to play.
There ya have! We've decided to keep things pretty simple, loosely following the Montessori school of thought when it comes to toys and play. We don’t have a lot, nor do babies really need too much. We often rotate between a few of the age appropriate toys and play stations we have in the house. Bea has the best of times and loves everything we’ve introduced her to so far.
With love,
Paige