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Newborn stage - Your baby is a lump. She just sits on your lap with a blank expression on her pretty little face. You hold her 90% of the time, but every once in a while you have to go to the bathroom. What are you going to do with baby?
Option # 1 - Put her in this swing. I LOVE this baby accessory. My grandma bought Porgie this swing, and I wouldn't have made it through the newborn stage without it. This Graco swing is all fancy and shit. The seat reclines, it has 6 speed settings, it has a timer, it plays classical music, and it also plays nature sounds. The swing is especially great for calming a fussy baby and putting her to sleep. My baby has literally taken hundreds of naps in this swing. Go out and buy one - NOW!
Option # 2 - Put her on her baby gym mat. This toy was given to me by my sister-in-law, and I used it everyday during the newborn stage. When I was pumping, I would place Porgie on the mat. She would play quietly for at least 10 minutes. We called it the barnyard gym, because it has a farm theme. It plays various children's songs, while a cow rocks and moos. Also, you can change out the toys that hang down. Every time we changed the toys, Porgie would have a renewed interest in playing on the baby gym. Great product!
Option # 3 - Put her in the bouncy seat. This seat was given to me by my cousin, but Porgie was a little too old for it. Whenever I put her in it, she got bored after about 2 minutes. It has lots of nice feature, like a vibrating seat, an interactive mirror, and music. I think Porgie might have enjoyed this toy more, if we had started using it from the very start. So, I have mixed feeling regarding this bouncy seat. ONLY buy this product if your baby is a few weeks old - older babies will cry uncontrollably when strapped into the seat.
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3 to 6 month stage - Your baby is getting bigger. She can hold her head up, grab for things, and stick everything in her mouth. She is starting to get bored with the swing and baby gym. This is the perfect time to introduce some new toys to your baby.
Option # 1 - Now is the time to buy an exersaucer. We bought this toy for Porgie when she was 4 months old, and she instantly fell in love with it. It has lots of fun toys for a growing and developing baby. Porgie favorite feature is the "noise maker" (that is not the technical term). It works like this - there are five buttons featuring pictures of different animals. When the baby pushes a button, she will hear the sound that animal makes, the name of the animal in English and Spanish, and then classical music. This exersaucer will entertain your baby for up to 30 minutes in one stretch, allowing you to finally wash those dishes that have been piling up for days. Porgie is 8 months old and still plays in this toy several time a day. Exersaucer = love.
Option # 2 - You could buy your baby this loud thing, but it really isn't worth it. My mother bought this toy for Porgie, and it is pretty annoying. It has balls and ramps and spinner things, none of which your baby will play with for very long. It also plays music that will make your ears bleed. It is awful. Please don't waste your money. This toys sucks!
Option # 3 - If you want to teach your baby how to be an aggressive driver, this car is for you! We bought Porgie this toy for Christmas, and at first I hated it. It is soooo loud, and the songs it plays are extremely annoying. Also, there are various buttons the baby can push to hear a voice. One of the buttons will shout, "get out of the way". SERIOUSLY. However, Porgie does like this toy. She will play with it while John and I eat dinner, without fussing or wanting to be picked up. So, I have a love/hate relationship with this toy.
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6 to 9 month stage - Your baby is getting even bigger. Will she ever stop growing? Once again, she is getting bored with her selection of toys. So, it is time to fork out more money for colorful plastic crap.
Option # 1 - If you or husband like to play music, these drums will be a nice addition to your family. My husband plays guitar, and Porgie likes to pull the strings. Being the good mommy I am, I went out and bought these drums for Porgie to use when daddy is playing the guitar. She slaps the drum and smiles. It is adorable to watch the two of them playing together. The drum plays 4 different songs. Also, your baby can apparently chase the drum when she starts crawling (I wouldn't know because Porgie isn't crawling yet). This is a fun product, that your baby will thoroughly enjoy.
Option # 2 - If you want to buy a keyboard for your 6 to 9 month old baby, be ready to hear a lot of noise. John bought this toy for Porgie, but it is intended for older babies. She likes to chew on the xylophone sticks more than anything else. However, she will wildly slap the keys and make a great deal of racket. Even with the noise, it is still cute to watch.
Option # 3 - Okay, Porgie hasn't actually used this Activity walker. I bought it because it looks fun. However, when Porgie starts learning to walk, I will report on the usefulness of this toys.
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I know you're thanking me for my fabulous opinions, so you're welcome.
EDITED TO ADD - If your baby is older than 9 months, you should be telling me what to buy.
Love,
Christy
3 comments:
My baby slept in her swing exclusively for weeks 6-12. Before that I have no idea where she slept. I really don't remember. After that she slept mostly in her crib. This is when she isn't sleeping with or on me. We have a different swing (Fisher-Price Aquarium Take-Along) with these flashing lights that the baby loves.
My baby got her gym when she was...almost 4 months old. It does a bunch of things (again, Fisher-Price Aquarium theme). It has this beach ball with a bell in it that is apparently fascinating.
Our bouncy seat was from Salvation Army--4 dollars! I just recently put it away since my girl would rather sit. But it was on the couch for a long time.
The only other toy you mention that we have is an exersaucer (we have the Baby Einstein jumping one). I love how you can customize it with links and doohickies (I got a bunch of random things at the dollar store and strung them up in an ever-changing array).
I like the idea of the drums and the keyboard. I'm making a trek to Babies 'R' Us soon so I'll check around for things like that.
I remember being kind of annoyed with the idea that toy manufacturers would know what my baby would like. I mean, all babies can't be the same, can they? But I guess they DO all like dangly jingly flashing rattling things. She has really started to grow into her toys and I am discovering that her taste is predictable.
Other things she likes, though: the mail. LOVES sorting it. The kitties. This silvery starred wiry stuff I wrapped around the top of her swing--now she wants to grab it so it's a hazard.
This has been a big hit:
http://www.hannaandersson.com/style.asp?from=SC%7C22%7C6%7C48%7C227%7C1%7C%7C
And this:
http://www.liveandlearn.com/lamaze/clutchcube.html
The Hanna Andersson link is meant to go to
Jellycat Juniper Giraffe Activity Toy
Eva,
Thanks for the recommendations! I love hearing what other parents think about products before I buy them.
Christy
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