First toys - what worked for you?

[Southwestwhippet]

I've been given a £50 mothercare voucher . I thought initially I could spend it on useful things like nursing bras/breast pads etc but I've decided that is far too dull and I might get some nice things for DD instead.

Obviously at 4 weeks she is not going to be interested in any toys but I can see that within a relatively short time she is going to like holding/looking at things and it would be nice to get her some bits and bobs to play with. We've been given lots of second hands clothes etc (her wardrobe is now better than mine!) but have virtually no toys at all at the moment and TBH I'm at a bit of a loss as to what babies like. Don't want to waste my lovely present on a load of tat that is marketed towards the parents rather than the child IYKWIM.

What recomendations do you have (toys or general stuff) that your small babies enjoyed?

I third the tiny love mobile! My dd loved it so much, though there was no way we could have used it to lull her to sleep as it got her soo excited. She's 22 months now and still likes the music box part of it. I got mine second hand on e-bay as they're expensive, and it was perfect.

this is a good portable baby gym. DD loved it.

oh yes, the baby bjorn bouncy chair is amazing. All bouncy chairs are not the same... my dd used it for a year at least.

Tiny love wind chime - used to hang on the babygym which DD1 loved to kick and whack and it makes a nice gentle noise, now it hangs on the stairgate to the kitchen.

Stacking cups (can be used in bath, sandpit, living room...), jungly tails book (or any by JellyKitten), Tiny Love baby gym and also their mobile and a skwish toy thingy that someone else has already mentioned.

DS's absolute favourite toy for well over a year was 'spinny bear' - a weeble-type ball base with a bear on the top and a chime inside, which he was captivated by from about 8 weeks old and still talks about to this day. Baby gyms are always useful, or baby nest doughnut type things.

the people who make whoozit toys (which are excellent) also make a mirror with lots of cool stuff round the edge. For my second, I will definitely focus on slightly less baby gym and a bit more tummy time in front of a mirror. My dd took ages to roll over and be active on her front generally and I think if she had seen how cute interesting her own little face was she would have had better neck control earlier. I wasn't great about tummy time and I think having a mirror for her to look into would have made a difference.

Also I think the Bebe pod is excellent, more comfy than the Bumbo and with a tray, my dd was in hosp for ages and we wouldn't have survived without it as we could put her anywhere and feed her in that. Not good for the chunkier-thighed baby tho.

Why is the baby bjorn bouncy chair better? I had one which was similar - ie a piece of fabric on what looked like a giant bent coathanger, rather than a big shaped plastic thing, and it cost me £2.50 from an NCT sale - come on, you can't convince me it's worth £99??

Not a toy but this is excellent and you will get a lot of use out of it: Close Baby Carrier (Only if you are wanting to buy from Mothercare - I would recommend a Moby or Kari-me or any stretchy wrap if not - this is the closest Mothercare has)

DS also loved his Jumperoo from about 4 months and it was very entertaining to watch him in as well as giving me some "hands free" time.

Have you thought about a Bumbo? I never used one but friends said they were great.

I am about to get this shape sorter for DS which I think is great value - the different shapes on each side vary in difficulty, it's very sturdy, the shapes are nice and big and on one side it just has some big rubber flaps, which babies can manage to get the shapes out through (and at first they will post everything through this side rather than the correct holes but it entertains them!) Obviously will be a while until she wants to play with this.

Baby gym was the greatest toy ever, DD used it from about 3 weeks to 7 months, get one with a mirror, initally she just loved staring into it. we had this one, it was worth it's weight in gold.

www.mothercare.com/Tiny-Love-interactive-gym-mat/dp/B001C5317G/sr=1-1/qid=1267219558/ref=sr_1_1/280- 3067871-6756819?_encoding=UTF8&m=A2LBKNDJ2KZUGQ&n=60446031&mcb=core

Also black and white cloth books, great for a new born.

baby gyms are good, but I wouldn't spend £40 on one. We were given a fisher price rain forest one, it costs about £50, and we also bought one from Asda for £15 - just as good!

tiny music mobile - brilliant!
anything crinkly, soft musical toys, plastic links, rattles thin enough to go in DS's mouth
mirrors.

I'd try and find something with a bit of black and white on it. Nothing holds a small babies interest like it!

Dfinitely a baby gym/playmat and/or a bouncy chair where she can sit and watch you do things. Whoozits are also great, and those snake-shaped things with toys on to play with in the car seat (there is a Whoozit one of those too, but Mothercare's own are also good).

I am getting that real shopping anticipation feeling today.
thanks so much everyone.

Stacking wooden rings, stacking plastic cups (also great as bath toys) and this kind of thing got the most attention from DS as a baby. He also loved the "My Cow Book" etc cloth book series.

For tiny babies Woozit mirror kept all of mine amused from an early age,it can prop up on it's own.

Soft crinkley books got mine book mad from day 1 really.

We had these socks with rattles in that were fab,motivated them to grab their feet.

Baby Gym but choose carefully,avoid one with light or sounds as it will drive you mad and they really don't need all that stuff.

Later we had a wooden house shape sorter that was fab,stacking cups and hoops.

The plastic linking rings are great. I got mine in ELC and they were the best four quid I've ever spent.

Good for when they have tiny hands and can't get hold of bigger toys. They are a teether and rattle in one. You can hang them over the handle of your pushchair when you're out. I also used them as hooks/chains, to attach other toys to DD's buggy to stop her dropping them on the floor. She is 9 months now and still plays with them.

Agree Playgym really useful too. In our case it didn't really come into its own until DD was three or four months old though. And they are shockingly expensive new - I got mine second hand.

This was the first toy my DS could hold . The thin pipes where easy to hold.

Tiny Love mobiles are wonderful.

Also, a pack of baby links are a brilliant thing to have. Get two or three, even. DD loved these from the first moment she saw them and they've been played with in some way almost every day since then. She is three now and wears them as bracelets.

Sophie the Giraffe. It's a traditional French teething toy. Really gorgeous, retro and totally safe to chew on. Got mine on ebay, but they only make them in one factory in France. My DD still loves hers and is now 2. Not from Mothercare though. Very cool and all your friends will want one too.

def. the lamaze toys, the cube etc.

Forgot-Taggy blanket big hit.

Manhattan toy Infant-Stim mobile but I'm not sure if Mothercare do them though.
Had it over the cot for ages and also made an extra mobile out of coathangers (Blue Peter stylee) with the spare bits that went over the changing table and stopped DS from screaming. I liked it coz it's not battery powered and doesn't play an irritating tinkly tune! They also do a car thing that hangs over the back of the seat for DC to look at which is v cool.

Mothercare do sell Manhattan Toy Whoozits. DS was inseperable from his for ages.

Also seconding the baby links suggestion. They are incredibly useful and the Mothercare ones are brilliant. The Tiny Love gym was DS's fave too.

DON'T get the fisher price jungle mobile thing mentioned on the first page. We just got given one as a pressie and it's a nightmare. far too big and over engineered - I can't see how you can reach round it to get the baby our of the cot! I'm about to buy something simpler and flog it on ebay...

You dont need to find a big mothercare BTW you can use mothercare vouchers in any ELC store.

Definitely go for a baby gym, mothercare did have 20% off their branded ones last week.
ELC do a blossom farm one that converts to a tummy time mat once they are a little bit older. Bit pricy though.
Have you thought about toys for the pushchair, ELC's Light and Sound Buggy Driver (3 mnths+) is excellent as long as you dont mind the tinny music of She'll be comin round the mountain!
Both mothercare and ELC do a good selection of feet finders which I think are cute.
Stacking cups are brilliant, the best bath toy IMO. Speaking of bath toys ELC's bathtime squirters are good, my DS loved having me squirt water on his tummy when he was little.
They've also brought out a new range of musical percussion instruments for babies. Little jingle bell rattly things and clackers that are now age appropiate at 6 mnths+
The Light and Sound drum is one of ELC's bestsellers. Baby can hit it or roll it to make sounds and music. Think that one might be 12 mnths+ though.

Sorry if ive gone off on one, but work mode kicked in!

'Squish' toy
Woozit's are popular
Stacking cups
Baby gym but i'd get a flat/padded one rather than sides for tummy-time
bath books