Hi, my name is Gina, and I am addicted to buying cute baby toys.
In my son’s first year I had a space and budget constraints for baby toys, and yet every month I found myself justifying one more thing. Fortunately that slowed down after christmas when I found myself so overwhelmed with gifts in our home from family and friends. There is so much to consume, and admittedly babies really don’t need much. And if I’m really honest, some of the best toys are left over rubbish. Containers and packaging are a huge hit in our house, there is one toothpaste box I am convinced we’ll send Sami off to college with.
To save you from the over consumption and possible decision fatigue of baby trinkets and toys, here are some of the things my son loved the most (each for around $15).
Ball with bell, our favorite ($15) is from his Lalo play gym ($115) and he has loved it since the newborn days (he still plays with it to this day!). He would stare up at it from his tummy time mat and it was one of the first things he ever reached for. It looks worse for wear now but I love that it is machine washable and I know this will be kept in his memory chest forever.
Another toy that has grown with him is this sensory taco ($15).This sensory taco Not only is it a cute and colorful taco, it’s a great developmental toy with diffent textures and sounds including crinkle fabrics and teethers. It’s been great as my son has developed to take things out and put things in one another.
The O-ball ($5) is the perfect first toy because it is so easy to grasp. Its great as baby gets older too as you can hang it form things or stuff soft objects inside (like the next recommendation) for them to play with and remove.
An object you probably have lying in a dresser is a scarf. I repurposed an under used silk scarf for peekaboo and it is one of my sons all time favorite activities. He loves the feeling of it against his face and pulling it off of his and others heads.
These wooden blocks ($15) from IKEA have been a hit ever since Sami started to grab things. The size is perfect for little hands and watching his motor skill develop to begin to stoack them has been astonishing. I love how simple and satisfying they are, and they are versatile and can be used for more than staking and building.
These stacking cups ($15) are another toy that have been a fan favorite. I think they really came into the rotation when Sami started sitting up. He orginally was obsessed with knocking them down, but now he stacks, nests, and uses them as cups. I’m excited for him to use them with a water table this summer too!
When I first bought this wooden ring stacker ($13), I thought I may have made a mistake because the rings were so heavy for him (at first…). We kept it in the rotation though because he loves removing the rings and picked up how to do that effiently very quickly. Then we noticed him tryingt o place the rings and while it took a while to master he learned and was incredibly proud of himself! Again, another toy we’ll keep forever and he still loves to play with to this day.
Another challenge toy our son had to grow into was this object permanence box ($13). We liked this one because it was sturdy enough to be thrown around and the balls are the perfect size for his hands while not being a choking hazard. We use the wooden balls for other games when the box isn’t in current rotation.
This one may come as a bit of a surprise, but this musical hedgehog ($18) is a daily favorite. It was recommended to me during the early days of sleep deprivation, and while it didn’t help put our son to sleep (it vibrates and plays lullabys), he loves playing the music in the background while he’s playing. And we love it because the music isn’t obnoxious!
And last but not least, a basket ($15 for two) with sensory balls ($17 for 10). Great for storage and all sorts of game and play. We have spent hours of our life filling and emptying baskets with balls and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
As I am wrapping this up I realize the big theme here are balls which makes sense because my boy is obsessed with balls. Who can blame him, they are pretty amazing and versatile! I hope this list is helpful, and helps you keep your home from becoming a Toy’s ‘R’ Us (at least in the early days!).