Jen Russum

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Toys Your Baby Will Actually Use

The first six months of a baby’s life are tricky. Typically during this time, your child sleeps a lot, cannot sit or crawl, and is mostly content being held or staring at the ceiling fan. However, as the weeks go by and your baby is awake for longer stretches and more alert and attentive to his or her surroundings, it’s nice to have a few toys for your infant to engage with. The minimalist in me has a fear of baby gear taking over my house, so I like to keep toys and baby paraphernalia as simple as possible. However, I also want Z to be able to play with some toys as her brain develops so rapidly, to see different colors and shapes, to hear various sounds, and, of course, to have some plastic and rubber to cram in her mouth as she teethes. Here is my short list of toys your child will actually play with during the first six months of life…

Toys for Baby {0-6 months}

Sassy Wonder Wheel – This is the FIRST toy Zianne engaged with when she was 8 or 9 weeks old. Micah held it above her face and taught her how to reach out her tiny, uncoordinated hands to spin the wheel. Now this gem attaches to the tray on her outdoor swing and her Prince Lionheart seat, and she spins it all day long!

Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes – This is the first toy that made Zianne smile. Around the same time we introduced her to the wheel, we started using this little music toy. It lights up as it plays music and Zianne’s face lights up right along with it. Now she knows how to push the button and start a new song on her own.

Sophie the Giraffe – This is one of the top ranked teething toys for a reason. It’s soft and rubbery and every child loves it. At my ladies’ book club last year, we use to watch all the kids, even toddlers who were too old for her, fight over Sophie. We would joke that there is something magic about this giraffe… except it’s not a joke. She really is magic.

Zoli Gummy Teething Sticks – When Zianne received these for Christmas, Micah thought they were going to be a total waste of money. He admits now that he was wrong. Zianne loves to gnaw on these things. We keep them in the freezer and pull one out for her when she gets fussy around dinnertime.

Oball Rattle – I would always watch the older babies in our community group play with these balls and I knew Z would want one. It rattles and can be gripped easily by little baby hands.

Rock-a-Stack Stacking Rings – Micah and I bought the classic Fisher Price stacking rings for Zianne as a Christmas gift. I can’t say she full engages with them yet, since she still can’t sit up, but she likes to kick the stack and watch it topple over and sometimes she even manages to get a ring wrapped around her wrist or ankle. Sometimes I sit with her and tell her the color of each ring. I know she’ll get more use out of this in months to come, but I’m glad we got it for her when we did.

Carseat toy – Zianne has this Taggies Lion attached to her car seat. She likes to cram it into her mouth as we drive around town. She also got to “borrow” her twin friends’ Lamaze Firefly toy {aka… they left it at our house} and she really likes the way it crinkles. Hopefully I can convince her to give it back to them…

Lovey travel blanket – Zianne has just started to enjoy her lovey blankets in the past few weeks. I keep a plush gray one in her crib now and an elephant lovey in her toy basket. She likes to stick the elephant’s trunk in her mouth, of course.

Jesus Storybook Bible – This is actually recommended for children ages 4-8, but it’s never too early to start reading the Bible to your kids in my opinion, and this one is FAR better than most children’s Bibles out there. Zianne has one board book Bible that skips the death and resurrection of Christ. What? This Bible is all about Jesus. I read it to her before nap time, and I’m just careful not to let her infant hands tear the big kid paper pages.

And that’s it… those are the toys our baby girl actually engaged with over the first six months of her life. Of course, we read lots of board books and she has an activity center and jumper to keep her occupied too, but when it comes to actual toys, we’ve kept is simple. The ones on this list have been perfect for us!

Comments

  2. LOVE THIS …. I'm actually working on an 'essentials' post for 0-3 months. Great minds think alike! We have a Sophie giraffe, Kamden's not too enthralled by her quite yet, but the squeaker suddenly stopped. Not that I'm complaining a toy isn't making obnoxious noise, but part of the thrill is the squeak, right?!

    I'm such a fan of this Storybook Bible you told me about months ago. I read a few pages to Kamden every day. I love the narrative style and the illustrations are GORGEOUS. Thanks, again, for the recommendation!

  3. This is great! I spent quite a bit of time this past winter decluttering and donating/selling toys. It has made a huge difference in the way my kids play. We have a 1200 sq ft condo so it was important that we had the "best" toys for my kids personalities and not waste space with unnecessary ones. Now we have considerably fewer toys in our place and they actually get played with. I also have a drawer in our porch that holds toys that I am cycling in and out every few weeks. I also notice my son Ben (just turned 1) plays with toys very little. He is so interested in watching Sophie (3), or playing with kitchen supplies, books, whatever it is I'd prefer to keep him out of. Toys I've found that are standing the test of time are blocks, kitchen and kitchen utensils and play food (we've had them for two years now and are played with daily!) and now costumes and things that assist in pretend play. And trains! I will look forward to seeing what Z loves the most as she grows and seeing your posts.