Toys for a baby's first months

[somewherewest]

I'm not sure what things to buy for our forthcoming DC's first six months. It seems like the standard things to get are a baby gym, a mobile for the crib and some little soft toys and books with different sounds and textures (I've been poking around the Lamaze website). Any tips on what your baby did / didn't enjoy?

One thing we found quite hard to find at the time was a soft rattle. Many seemed to be plastic which were to heavy for our dd to hold and she kept hitting herself with them! Things with music and lights were good too.

I don't think they need an awful lot at this age really though.

Best toy is a bell in a wooden cage. We also have a set of interlinked wooden rings, Captain Calamari from Lamaze and Sophie the bloody squeaky giraffe.

But we like the tinkly bells best!

DS loved Sophie the Giraffe and this elephant from Mothercare - probably because both were really easy to grip (they were the first things he could hold)

Do get a mat and/or gym thing. We got a second hand Baby Einstein one that had a lighty-up bit that played music - he loved it and it was the instigator of his first smile . We also loved the Galt play nest because it meant he could loll around (this was before he could sit properly). It was good for tummy time too.

We had a black and white soft book that he liked too (faces were especially popular)

He didn't really like fluffy teddies or mobiles until he was a bit older, but babies are all different.

Congrats by the way!

Ooh, soft rattles - Ikea do great ones (of all places!)

Interlinked rings yes for playmat and pram, and stacking cups for 5-6 months and older. I was surprised DS didn't like cuddly toys. We have a playmat from baby Einstein with a flashing musical star which he LOVES and also a fake mobile phone tht's very popular. My lovely wooden toys not so popular :(

Now he's teething, some mamas and papas bath toys - foam cut out shapes - are his favourite for chewing. He loves a mothercare truck now too ( he's now 7 mo). Also anything with thy crunchy noisy material in is popular.

But so far his absolute fave toys have been a packet of baby wipes and the DVD remote. He still wants them more than anything else!

Oh I forgot Sophie! Yy.

The very best is the jumperoo - DS loves it and he goes in it fr 20 mins every morning which is great for making coffee! V expensive though, we got a second hand one, so look out for one.

Once DD was sitting up and gripping a bit, the best toy she has was stacking cups - spent absolutely ages playing with them. We got some super cheap ones from Ikea - they still get used now as bath toys. (4 years on)

The best toy we had for DD was this. We were also given a Whoozit which was quite popular.

DS is 18weeks and current favorites are brightly coloured plastic spoons, a piece of space blanket, plastic tupperware boxes with pasta, rice or lentils in, a sippy cup with a lid over the spout with water in (he likes the swishy noise), and currently he loves waving a muslin around!

He does have 'proper' toys but currently they mostly seem out of favour! The Sophie the Giraffe has proved worth the money (though we have the teether rather than the giraffe) as he started teething early but couldn't grip the usual teethers as they were too big for his hands. We also have a playmat which he likes, it plays music which he's now figured out how to activate (I am less enthused about this though )

Both my DC have played with a Whoozit the most, despite having most of the other toys mentioned.

we found the moosical cow by vtech and also the learner bear , louie loved them, lamaze toys are fab you can get them off ebay cheaper , also teether toys tommee do some great ones, tescos also do a good range of toys ,we got a soft ball that has a bell inside, louie is now nearly 10months and still loves to play with it, also bits of fabric with different textures, keeps them extertained x

My DD is 6mths now. The most popular toys over her first half year have been:
Sophie the Giraffe - as a teether more than a toy, but wouldn't be without it
Cloth/rag books with textured parts and flaps
Stacking cups
A Lamaze Freddie Firefly
A twirly thing from Mothercare that goes around the carseat handle with a squeaky star, jingly bird and rattly horse dangling from it (probably on their website) - great for keeping her entertained on car journeys
A set of three fabric cubes filled with polystyrene beads - I made these, but you can buy if you're not craft inclined; they're a bit squishy, so easy for little hands to hold, and light enough for DD to pick up
A Leapfrog caterpillar that attaches to the side of the cot, has rattly/jingly/crunchy bits hanging from it and which plays classical music/colours/number songs - keeps her amused for a while in the mornings = a bit longer in bed!
The only benefit of the playgym was the arches, which meant we could suspend things from the loops (not the toys that came with it, though - usually Freddie Firefly or an insect mobile from Ikea which she loves to chomp on).
A random snowglobe we had around the house, a stress ball and a folding plastic concertina ruler are also particular favourites at present!

I didn't buy my dd any 'toys' in the first few months but found she was given lots as gifts, the most popular things were the soft toys esp the small ones she could eaisly hold onto (although she was equally happy with one of her socks to hold onto!!!) Also some baby books, there was one that just had stong bold patterns in that from almost day one she loved to look at. My advice is don't go overboard new borns don't need a lot, don't buy anything too noisy as it will drive everyone demented and don't buy anything to plasticy, its better to buy the nice quality wooden toys imo. Congrats by the way and good luck

Thanks everyone for posting! I'm a bit embarassed that I've started buying toys before important boring things like prams and cots

DS is 5.5 months and has loved the Winkel rattle, Freddie the Firefly, Captain Calamari, Octotunes, soft toys with crunchy sounds and tags. He really loves when I blow bubbles as he follows them and tries to catch them. Water/rice in a small plastic bottle.

I never bought a playgym. Instead, I tied a long and strong piece of ribbon across the length of the cot and hung his toys off from there. Worked very well but will remove once he starts sitting up.

DS (6 months) has loved the following since he's been born (obviously liking more as he's got bigger!):

Sophie the Giraffe (recommended to me via MN!)
Lamaze Freddie the Firefly
Lamaze Captain Calamarie
An Eric Carle 'Hungry Caterpillar' rattle (type into Amazon, sorry don't have the link)- DS is STILL obsessed and it's a lovely little toy from a classic book.
Lamaze 'Activity Knot' - in fact, we have quite a few Lamaze toys, think they're fab!
Manhatten Winkle
A JellyCat giraffe toy that rattles

He also loves a very smooth-ended wooden spoon from our kitchen, as he'll chew and bash it for hours, so you don't always need to spend loads.

Having said that, I would STRONGLY recommend a Fisher Price Jumperoo from about 4/5 months, takes up the whole bloody lounge and the music will drive you nuts, but is the best 80 quid we have ever spent, gives you so much free time and DS adores it, could spend all his waking time in there- we have to prise him out of it!