Reassure me please...

My DD was the same way. (And my mom was about ready to call CPS because she didn't have a mobile to look at, lol!) At around 12 weeks or so it occurred to me that maybe she would enjoy having some dangling toys to look at/bat at, and I tried some out with her in a baby secondhand store and she really was interested in them. So I got her a little gymini and a thingie that clipped onto a stroller, carseat or baby seat that had some dangling toys. That would interest her for a few minutes at a time, but she really preferred people and faces. But I think that they have varying levels of interest in toys and stuff, and at different times. You will know when she's wanting/ready for a bit more stimulation of that sort. I don't think you need to worry about encouraging it, you'll notice that she starts having more interest in grabbing objects and looking at things and you'll naturally respond by giving her more things. The animals in the basket thing just sounds silly to me--when the babies are awake and in arms or slings or whatever we can talk to them about what we see. Mostly at that age though they just want to be with mommy!

Now at 9 months DD is really into toys (and dirt and bugs and the dogs and everything in my lower kitchen shelves!) and you can't keep her away from playing with everything she comes across--so it will happen in it's own good time, without any particular encouragement needed from you! (OTOH it won't HURT her to put an animal picture in the basket or hang a toy from a handle somewhere if it will make grandma happy and get her off your back! I am all about making small compromises in areas where it won't make any real difference one way or another to appease the grandparents!)

DD is about to hit 5 months (on the 9th!), and has just recently started getting into toys . . . and by toys I mean small handheld things, which she will wave around and chew on while sitting in someone's lap. She still isn't too interested in her playgym, mostly I think because she hates being put down--she would much rather be held!

Sound normal! DD is 14 weeks and like some toys...especiallythe one that have the crackly mylar in them. Mostly though she like playing with my hands, her hand, the bottom of her shirt, daddy's eyebrows... She is way more into people.

Humans survived for thousands of years without playing with floor gyms or whatever. (I'm all for using them if your babe enjoys them, but there is no reason to "encourage" your dc to play with one.) IMO, what you're doing, letting your dc explore her world, and giving her random things to hold and explore, is the best thing you can be doing for her.

I wanted to add one more thing--I think that there are a lot of well-intentioned ideas about "stimulating" babies and developing their intellects, etc. which your mom is probably basing her ideas on. For example, the whole thing with "developmental toys" like the Lamaze developmental stuff. These things are based on developmental research, like they lay babies down and give them things to look at and see what images babies prefer. That's why those toys are black and white with strong contrasts. And they often have pictures of faces, and bull's-eye shapes for the baby to look at. Well, basically that is because babies are programmed to want to look at faces, especially women's faces, and the bull's-eye is really the nipple/areola/breast--they are "hard-wired" to look at those things!

So, if you have a baby who is spending most of it's time in a crib and not interacting with it's parents, those toys/products could be an improvement. However, really, the best thing for your baby is YOUR face, YOUR breast, and interaction with you!