what do you give your baby to play with?

[3crunchycarrots]

Alora will be 4 months old tomorrow and developing SO quickly now.. She wants to put EVERYTHING in her mouth and fusses while I eat (even tho I nurse her right before our meals) I have heard rave reviews about the Sophie, I am wondering what our kind of stimuli you ladies use to keep your baby's brain expanding and mouth occupied?

right now we use a mobile made of the beads from mama blessingway, my fingers, black and white flash cards and daddy playing the guitar... but she needs more now and im not trying to break the bank or start collecting a bunch of junk...

anyone like a johnny jumper type thing? we live in our rv and space is limited to sat the least!

thank you

[Tway]

DD liked the Jolly Jumper for oh, about 5 minutes at a time. It was cute to see her in it, but not a great investment. I prefer her Exersaucer, which she enjoys for the 10 minutes I take my shower.

At 4 months, I think we were still using DD's playmat with dangling toys, Sophie, rattles, touch-and-feel books... anything to keep her amused. DH would walk her around the house and show her the faucets, my necklaces, pictures, windows, you name it. She seemed to take it all in and enjoy the chatter.

[SilverFish]

we have a jolly jumper... my 6 month old is just starting to really love it, but she liked it for shorter periods before. we have some plastic links with different textures, a variety of different pacifiers (which are now more interesting as toys than as soothers), some fabric toys (a stuffed mousey from IKEA, a jingly ball thingy with different arms coming off it, a jingly giraffe with stretchy legs etc), a small mirror, some other random stuff. she likes the stuffed mousey best of everything... she tends to prefer soft chewy things to harder stuff, and this toy has very well proportioned limbs for a small baby to grab. overall, the fabric toys with lots of different texture and sounds (crinkly, bells, etc) are most interesting for her.

i think the key is to start rotating toys in and out. she gets super excited about toys when i pull them out after about a week. if i held out a "new" toy and something that has been out on her playmat for a few days, she always goes for the new toy. so i pull one or two toys out for a day, then put them away and take out something new the next day.

other than actual toys (which have mostly been gifts) she honestly plays with anything that she won't stab her eyes out with or choke on. she is a big fan of the cat's toys (eww) and also of the wrappers from my granola bars (shiny?), as well as cups, spoons, etc. mirrors are always a big hit. the jolly jumper IN FRONT of a mirror, and i could probably leave the house and she wouldn't even notice.

oh yeah, and the jolly jumper is definitely a better choice than an exersaucer if you have limited space. the jj only takes up a fraction of the room. and you can arrange toys and stuff to do and look at around it if you want... i attach toys to the bars, and of course, the mirror in front of her.

[Nicole730]

We just bought a Sophie because DD mouths everything and I heard such great things about. So far, she is sooo uninterested in it! Grrrr.

Paper is always a big hit, but you have to watch it because of the whole eating paper thing.

We have a few books that are cloth and then have some sort of crinkly sounding stuff inside - those are quite popular and you can throw them in the washer and dryer.

DS also liked the Taggies books for chewing on.

We have a Johnny Jump Up at my parents' house and she only lasts about 5 minutes or so.

I bought an old exersaucer, doesn't spin in circles and only a couple of toy-type things built in. It was $5 and totally worth it. I like that it has a tray to put toys on, but doesn't have too many spinning/noisy things.

DD also loves chewing on her brother's wooden train tracks

[anudi01]

we have sophie!

We have sophie and loved her. She has been through 2 of my kiddos, but they have since donated her to the dog. I also bought a honey comb from a kitchen supply store (william sonoma I think). It is the perfect size, has a nice small handle...and is so perfect for the mouth. It was WAY cheaper than other wooden toys I have seen for babies. In fact, a lot of kitchen utensils were a big hit. I also like the Haba toys...although they are pricey.

[aramat]

Exersaucers are great. I had one for my two older girls in the US, but they don't have them here in Brasil (they still use walkers)! Sophie is a hit here. So are new magazines (clean). I did learn that if I give all of her toys to choose from at once, she gets bored. Rotating just a few at a time keeps her much happier.

[MrsMcC]

Harmony LOVES her johnny jump-up, and even if she gets tired of jumping she'll just hang out in it and watch everybody if there's something going on. Ours was a hand-me-down, but I've seen them 2nd hand for $15ish. I've never thought to put it in front of a mirror- that's ingenious! She has lots of little cloth toys with rattles or crunchy ears, and fabric books, but honestly her favorite thing so far is a wooden spoon. She'll takes turns with everything else, but always comes back in the end to chew on the spoon. Go figure.

[ann_of_loxley]

Hamish is 4 months old now and wants to put everything in his mouth too. He has been teething since 8 weeks old and has had TWO teeth since he was 3 months old as well - so its no wonder he likes to put everything in his mouth to chomp on (apart from the normal baby exploration as that is how they explore the world around them, being as the mouth is really sensitive and can do that!).... When I cook, I have to make sure he is on my back now because he is a little monkey and will grab hold of anything he wants and now he really lets you know if he WANTS something! Already having little tantrums! hehe (he loves the tele remote!)

His favourite thing to chomp on is actually a wooden spoon! Its been around the house for ages and has a really wide spoon end and short handle so he cant ram it down his throat. It has a wonderful smell as well and the more drooly he gets it, the more wonderful it starts to smell. Its a lovely wooden spoon! lol

Sophie the Giraff is also much loved as it feels good for him to chomp on.

I am obsessed with The Very Hungry Caterpillar, so we have a few of those toys too.

He likes these as well. Not only can I cool them for him to chomp on in relief (he has two more teeth coming in - any day now as you can just see them!) - but they also seem to be my nipple shape and he likes to suck on it for comfort! They are just the right size for him to hold onto as well!

He loves his skwish as well - its a classic really!

He isn't much into being put down so for now still spends more of his time in a sling on me. He likes to be on the move and is very socialable!

[laughingfox]

Originally Posted by MrsMcC

She has lots of little cloth toys with rattles or crunchy ears, and fabric books, but honestly her favorite thing so far is a wooden spoon. She'll takes turns with everything else, but always comes back in the end to chew on the spoon. Go figure.

Originally Posted by ann_of_loxley

His favourite thing to chomp on is actually a wooden spoon! Its been around the house for ages and has a really wide spoon end and short handle so he cant ram it down his throat. It has a wonderful smell as well and the more drooly he gets it, the more wonderful it starts to smell. Its a lovely wooden spoon! lol

This! DD1 was a fiend for a spoon, and so is DD2. I always watch her like a hawk with it because I'm worried about her hurting herself on the handle. I have a spare, though, and I've been pondering the notion of just sawing off the handle and sanding it smooth. Hmm.

[P.J.]

We have a play mat and we alternate the dangling toys. We also just got a Sophie, and DS has a lot of stuffed animals he got as gifts. I also got a few wooden rattles for him and a couple blanket-like "loveys". He also likes those music box stuffed animals that play a song when you pull the string.