Best toys you bought for baby

[AngieR87]

I have a 5 week old baby. She has started to be much more alert and is enjoying the fee toys I have for her. I'm on my own and money is tight so I don't want to buy things that are a waste. Is a baby gym a good toy for her? What toys did your baby enjoy?

Thanks for your advice

I think you should start looking in charity shops. Lots of toys are washable so they are quite safe. I think stacking tumblers are a good buy. They are brightly coloured, easy to hold, roll and can be used for water/sand play.

An oball was great when he got to about 3 months, as it really helped him grip and pass from hand to hand.

I never had a baby gym, though my parents had one at their house. It's the sort of thing that seems super important, and then they start rolling and it no longer gets used! You can pick them up cheaply though as a pp said.

A tiny baby doesn’t need much toys so don’t worry yet. Baby gyms are a good purchase, maybe from around 8 weeks. Lamaze sensory toys are popular and teething toys will be good in a bit. If cash is short I would keep an eye out for baby toy bundles on Facebook marketplace and selling groups or Vinted. Also see if there are any nearly new sales in your area. They need very little and a lot of stuff will only get used when they are sitting from around 6 months then stacking cups and soft blocks are good.

They need very little, if money is tight then keep a look out for some good multifunctional developmental toys like staking cups that can be used for other things.

Sign Baby up to the library they often lend toys as well as books and there are often no overdue fees on children's cards.

Charity shops and car boot sales are also your friend.

Most children end up with far more toys than they really need and endup with a stressed mum who has to keep it all tidy and overwhelmed from choice. I would look into early years schemas and keep a eye out for toys that can develop those areas ie something that rolls, something that can be thrown indoors, some role play bits, some things that can be used for mark making. But at 5 weeks the best thing you could probably buy is some stick on mirrors for above the skirting board s bay can lay and look at themselves.

But there is no harm in making toys and games as they get older out of household objects as long as there are no small pieces they could choke on.

Personally I did find a baby gym provided so much entertainment, I had a Fisher Price colourful one which is best as they get older. She stared at every morning from about 4 weeks old to about 4 months. If you can get one second hand I'd recommend that sort of thing. I recommend baby toy bundles on Vinted for smaller toys.

Little black and white books are good for this age. A globe projector that projects patterns onto the ceiling. My babies liked the jingly wrist and ankle bands too x

In the very early days, nothing. Then as time went on a nice soft play mat and one of those frames that you can swap out the dangly things. I used to attach all sorts of different things to it. A star projector was a hit too. Anything sparkly and shiny is interesting. I used to take walks around the garden centres on mat leave and he'd stare wide-eyed at the Christmas decorations.

Anything crinkly was well loved, especially those emergency foil blankets. When they can flail about on their bellies and be propped up with cushions then a treasure basket is nice. You can sit them in your lap and look through all the gubbins in the basket. We had a large wicker basket full of various bits and bobs that he played with until he was over a year old: wooden and metal utensils, keys, sponges, hairbrushes and combs, silks, various textured balls, shakers, etc. Then gradually "proper toys" started to take the place of random objects as he got older.

I thought those tummy time mats that you fill with water looked great but I never got round to buying one.

We got tons of use out of a black & white scrunchy book (£5 on amazon) stacking cups (£3 sainsburys) and an oball (few quid on amazon) but he is happy playing with a wooden spoon :)

Oh yes, those cheap emergency foil blankets on Amazon! So much fun for baby for £2.

I think at 5 weeks they won't be interested in any toys, just talk to them and show them things!
For when they're a bit older though:

Sensory books- the soft ones.

A soft rattle to practice gripping as they get older

Play mat (marketplace is great for these, they can be quite pricey new)

Teething toys

Absolutely go to charity shops! Some of my daughter's favourite toys are from charity shops and are like new :)

Even making some sensory toys like putting rice in an empty bottle to make a shaker...getting some different textured items from around the house doesn't need to be fancy!

DT’s had very few to start with and they were full time at nursery at six months old so lots of toys there.
Cardboard boxes were a big hit once they were crawling. DS sat for ages in a big box we had a new TV in!

Another for stacking tumblers, my DS favourite thing for a long time

I was about to write the same thing. They can be stacked, rolled, built into a tower, used for teaching colours and later can be played with in the bath.

Definitely look in charity shops or local ads for secondhand toys or jungle gyms.