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June 2021 Moms
wanderlustsoul
member
*Live, Love, Laugh, Learn*
Product Spotlight 02/02: Toys
wanderlustsoul
member
Hello! Today's discussion is a pretty big one: TOYS! We're unlikely to come up with a complete overview of every toy our kids wind up with, and certainly we can't always control the tornado of toys we all somehow accumulate, but it would be great to share some favorites, maybe aiming for the first 6-12 months or so to give FTMs some guidance on a few items to have on hand as our babies start to interact with the world.
When did your babies start to notice little baby toys? Which were the first favorites? Which toys did you have scattered on the floor, which did you have stashed in your diaper bag for emergency distraction, which did you have in the car? Any brands you love? Or particular style of toy? Is there something super special worth splurging on? Do you begrudgingly deal with a thousand blinking lights and loud plastic noises, or are you strict about only accepting organic wood blocks? Did you use a Baby Einstein? Did you babies have a lovey or comfort item to adore and drool on? On the flip side, is there anything you absolutely HATE and want to warn other moms about (or just vent)? And how do you store your toys? Any cute storage products to help with organization? Please share!
Prior and Upcoming Product Spotlights
When did your babies start to notice little baby toys? Which were the first favorites? Which toys did you have scattered on the floor, which did you have stashed in your diaper bag for emergency distraction, which did you have in the car? Any brands you love? Or particular style of toy? Is there something super special worth splurging on? Do you begrudgingly deal with a thousand blinking lights and loud plastic noises, or are you strict about only accepting organic wood blocks? Did you use a Baby Einstein? Did you babies have a lovey or comfort item to adore and drool on? On the flip side, is there anything you absolutely HATE and want to warn other moms about (or just vent)? And how do you store your toys? Any cute storage products to help with organization? Please share!
Prior and Upcoming Product Spotlights
*Live, Love, Laugh, Learn*
Re: Product Spotlight 02/02: Toys
For the baby/infant stage, the ones we had and loved were:
- Banana teether (not really a toy but the best thing you'll ever spend money on)
- Fisher price stacking cubes (still a favourite 1 year later - I bought it when he was 5 months and he still uses it at 17 months).
- Fisher price stacking rings (this and the above came in a set)
- Manhattan atom toy - I loved this thing and it really entertained him plus he could chew on it
- Fisher price piano mat - Get it. Just get it now.
- Crinkly books
For the older infant/early toddler stage:
- Pikler triangle
- Wooden blocks (I love the lovevery block set)
- Tons of books - you can NEVER have too many books (the 'never touch a...' series is great and Marion Billet musical books)
- We have building blocks as well - it was a present - mega blocks I think?
These are really all the toys we had/have and I don't own any super small toys YET. I love the lovevery play kits but they're not available here in Europe yet (though should be for this baby!). I did a toy rental service for a bit with DS and every month you got a new round of toys. I liked that. I prefer toys that have longevity and can be used for a while so the baby toys were mostly that. We also had the skip hop activity center and I love that because he could sit in it, then play with the toys at the end, and now he uses it as a table for arts and crafts. I absolutely hate loud toys but the piano mat is the one place I caved on this and went for it. That thing saved my sanity for months.
*Live, Love, Laugh, Learn*
Married: 8/10/13
BFP- 12/18/15, D&E- 4/8/16 @ 21w5d- confirmed Thanatophoric Dysplasia
BFP- 11/7/17, M/C- 11/18/17 @ 4w6d
BFP- 8/25/18 ~ EDD- 5/9/19 ~ DD born 5/2/20 *Lillian Hazel*
BFP- 10/9/20 ~ EDD- 6/21/21
We always got gifted tons of toys that just sat around in storage boxes for months.
He did LOVE sophie the giraffe though for a long time. As he's gotten older, he's really into small stuffed animals. I've generally loved the melissa & doug toys. My ILs got him a fisher price car that he sits in (but doesn't move) and he really likes that. I also bought a cheap blow-up baby pool and filled it with plastic balls. It's been a big hit.