Listmania: Toys We Love (in our house anyway!)

Most of my lists are for my personal reference, and perhaps this will come in handy again with the next baby. But more importantly, I hope it will help someone else who is looking for a new idea for some baby stimulation.

Toys We Love (Birth - 8 months)

Description: Not all these toys listed have been wholeheartedly appreciated during Bugga's entire 8 months, because interest levels definitely fluctuate! Links will likely go to the Amazon page where you can order the toy, or a secondary purchase location if it is not available on Amazon. And no, I don't get kickbacks from Amazon, but since I can order diapers (and anything else) at 3am from their app within 10 seconds, and get free 2-day shipping with Amazon Mom, I have no problem plugging them.

1. Sophie the Giraffe. OK, so most parents have heard of this one, dubbed in many households as the "expensive French dog toy". It is used primarily as a teether for most, however our child seems to get the most entertainment out of repeatedly whacking her poor little head into the ground. Lovingly, of course.
2. Tiny Love Gymini Activity Gym. Specifically, the little set of leaves that will detach from this apparatus. Sure, she loved all the other hanging animals that moved and rattled, but these rubber, colorful leaves ended up being what we brought with us everywhere so she could suck on - nope, not the leaves even - the TAG. Bonus for us - they make no noise whatsoever! *Apparently the exact version of the Gymini line we have is no longer available?
3. Especially for Baby Under the Sea Bath Squirtees. I just picked up an ordinary set of animal bath toys for some water fun. These are really inexpensive, so if they had bombed, no big deal. But they didn't. Bugga didn't really care either way for awhile, but as the crab was usually the first one grabbed for bath time play, she became attached the crab. Some of these became pool toys, so only the turtle and the fish made it on our current trip out of state for the summer. And now? That turtle is as important as her phones (see below)! She uses it as a teether and loves it. AND this one makes no noise either! Win!
4. Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Fun With Friends Musical Table. I mentioned this one in another post. And again, her favorite part is the detachable purple rattle phone. She usually crawls around the house with that clenched on one hand.
5. Blackberry. Yep, the smartphone. My husband asked his IT guy at work for an old one, we wiped it down to sanitize it, and now she will carry it around and sometimes chew on it. Yes, perhaps this is because as adults we are very attached to our phones and she has already picked up on it. But it makes her pretty happy and is harmless. (My kid apparently has a gravitational pull towards phones - we are in trouble when she's a teenager!) (And I am sure some of you reading this might not approve of my child gnawing on baby-approved non-China-made materials, but sometimes you pick your battles.)
6. Baby iPod. OK, it's actually called the Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes. We have used this since the beginning as entertainment during diaper changes. Any sadness is instantly gone when the lights start going. This trick still works, and now she knows how to "turn on" the music herself. And this fits easily into a diaper bag to go along with you for the day.
7. Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Click n Play Remote. Yep, it's a "remote control". It was either this, or endless fussing about not being allowed to play with real remotes! And apparently a good teether, but everything at this age goes in the mouth so I'm not sure how picky she is about that topic.
8. Bright Starts Stack & Play Blocks. She loves these. Two are crinkly; two have little bell rattles. My husband plays a game with her where he just tosses them around real fast right in front of her (they are very soft so when she gets bumped in the face with them, she loves it even more) and she just cracks up in hysterics. Playing alone, she loves to grab them by the tags and shake them around.
9. Sassy Mini Sports Rattle. My husband is a soccer fanatic, so this was a no brainer. And it has been really easy for Bugga to hold this toy since very early on since it has the thin bar between the two soccer balls.
10. Sassy Go Go Bugs. We got these as a gift due to her nickname. We've had these attached to the straps of her car seat since the early months, and she loves them. I'll often hear the bells of one of the bugs as she is waving them during one of our many drives around town.