I just have no idea what I really truly need for my 4-month old. I would like to be somewhat prepared for what is ahead. Any ideas of what items really came in handy to have for your baby?
my little guy is only 3 months old. I put bigger clothes, teething toys, and board books under the tree for him... I would think bath toys and even baby spoons would be good also... they will probably be using those soon!
A friend of mine has an excersaucer, her 5 month old loves it! Or even tummy time toys!
Well my son started playing with bath toys around 5 months so you can do that sort of stuff for the stocking. such as rubber duckie, wash clothes, at target they have great toys for the bath time. and they also have a bath toy storage thing that sticks on the wall of the bath tub. thats what i am getting my son. Since i have bath toys all over. so i hope this all helps. for christmas presents i would do clothes, books, learning things.
-C.
The absolute BEST thing my baby has she got at 4 months, and it's still her favorite toy (at 11 months. Everything else she is bored of):
TyBooks!!
They are baby books that are made of absolutely indestructible stuff, but they feel like paper (as you know, babies love to crinkle paper). They are so great, I think every parent should have a set. Besides, reading to your infant is one of the most important things you'll do these early years, and most baby books are just not really that great when it comes to babies wanting to handle them. These can literally be chewed on.
You can buy them online or at local stores (there's a list on their website)
Are you using one of those bucket type infant car seats? You will need a bigger one at some point! You can get it now and start using it whenever. Some convertible car seats are actually good from birth (5 pounds) up and I know people who have skipped the bucket seat altogether. Those infant seats may seem convenient (until your back aches from carrying it!), but can cause babies to get a flat spot on the back of their heads and oxygen intake is restricted when sleeping in there. Just make sure you have a great sling or Ergo carrier to put baby in when you walk around. You want to minimize the time they spend in a car seat, it's way better for them to be attaced to a person and learn to see the world.
That is the second thing I suggest: an Ergo carrier. Look online. They are superior to the baby bjorn in every way and can be used until the child is 4 if you want! Also if you do not already own it, this is the best baby book ever: The Baby Book by Dr William Sears, go get a copy!
High chair will be useful soon, whenever you start feeding solids (usually after 6 mos). Excersaucer could be useful if you have the space, but not totally necessary. My little guy was crawling at that age so I think that is coming soon. Any toy that encourages a baby to reach out and go after it, rolling and moving ones are great. I like musical toys too. Baby Einstein makes some nice ones. Clothes, but think ahead.
I just looked at pictures to see what we got our son the year he was 6 mos old... stacking cups, teething toys, board books, tub toys, peek a blocks train and sorting blocks toy (where shapes go into the right hole in main cube, he could immediately put the blocks into the top hole and dump them out!), and I think we got a high chair then too.
If you are on a budget, try a resale shop or wait until March and check out the Pass It On sale! You can get tons of great deals on gently used things from clothes to strollers and save yourself a ton of money. You could wait until then to get a high chair or excersaucer or walker, there are always a ton of those and of course clothes galore. Get on the mailing list in the meantime! You can also sign up a a New Mom and get to shop the night before it opens to the public! http://www.passitonsales.com
HTH! Happy holidays!
I absolutely LOVED having an exersaucer. It's great because the kid enjoys doing things in it and you can get something done with both hands and eyes (can't remember what age they start, but I got my son one for his first christmas when he was 5 months old). Also, a doorway jumper is great. My son LOVED to jump around in it.
my baby is also 4 mos. he's getting teethers, rattles, some kind of moving toy that he works (i don't know which yet)and clothes. he only wants to tear the paper, so it doesn't matter if they get a whole lot.
Lots of stuff to get along the way of your journey! Stuffed animals (cuddly), or start off with the multi-colored different sized rings -- things that make sounds if they push buttons. An ornament for the tree every year. Good thing to do is to go to a store and peruse the age-appropriate aisle and see the variety -- stuff with a,b,c songs, animal sounds (again for pushing buttons). A little too early to start her off on shoe-tying! Merry Christmas!
Hello T.,
I think you've gotten some great advice here, especially the ones about toys with rewards for baby...pick up this book and it crackles, shake this rattle and the light comes on, etc. An exersaucer is more like a gift for mama, since you can leave them to play in them while you run to the restroom, and not worry too much. My friend got her little one a Bumbo seat, which props baby up into a sitting position to make them ready to sit on their own.
We relied on the exersaucer with our son, and later I read that it doesn't help them at all...with walking, muscle tone, etc. I think that must be incorrect or incomplete, however. Our little guy loved it, although baby attention spans are small, so loving it was about 10-30 min at a time. He did walk "early" either in spite of it or because of it, depending on who you listen to.
Anyway, I think it was just about the best thing I ever got our little guy, and I can't wait till his little sis can use it.
Well, let's see, if you don't have one, a highchair will come in handy soon. And depending when your little one starts being mobile, baby gates will be called for sooner or later. I've also found an exersaucer is great for when I'm trying to make dinner and keep her entertained. (I originally didn't want one, but now I can't imagine life with out it.))
And of course, there are also simple things like a "baby's first christmas" ornament or a stocking specifically for them. Also, some simple toys will be great and long lasting. My daughter loves her stacking cups (from Ikea) and rocking rainbow rings (not sure about actual name, by fisher price).
HTH
We got our 4-month old toys that he may not be able to play with right now but he will be in the next few months. We got him Leap Pad stuff and also toys by Parents. Things with bright colors and shapes. You never know what they are ready for and when. We also got him some books that we could read to him. His big sister asked for a rocking horse for her baby brother which of course he won't be able to use until he's closer to 1 but it's something I don't have to get later and it came from Santa.
Don't worry so much that your baby is 4 months old and doesn't really need anything because they grow so fast and you'll need it all eventually. Just make Christmas fun and take lots of pictures.
I would definately recommend toys. Remember that your baby should just now be getting that much more alert stage as she can lift her head and start to look around. She may try to start the learning to crawl process by doing "push-ups" and is probablly spending a good amount of time on her tummy. She might even begin to try and roll over soon. For my Erynne, I would lay her on a blanket in front of a small mirror and spread toys around her. Babies love mirrors, so a cute, kid-friendly decorated one is a good idea. Here's an excerpt from "What To Expect The First Year- The 4th Month~ As your baby grows, you will want toys that help a child learn hand-eye coordination, large and small motor control, the concept of cause and effect, color and shape identification and matching, auditory discrimination, spatial relationships, and those that stimulate social and language development, and creativity." Think soft cloth blocks that crackle or have a bell if she grabs at them, toys that sing if she brushes up against them, a soft doll or stuffed animal that is baby safe, etc. Good luck and have fun Christmas Shopping!
It's a great time for bright colored toys. They have cloth books that have teether plastic on the corners. Cloth blocks are good. I agree with the other suggestion about an excersaucer! My daughter loved hers, in fact she's 2.5 and still trys to get in there every now. My daughter also got a piano about this age that has stages. you can put in on the floor and they can pound the keys and the bright colors light up or you can set it up so they can look at the dangly toys underneath while music plays. I think it was fisher price. (she also still plays with that as a regular piano).
I would recommend an Exersaucer if she doesn't already have one. I gave my daughter who is now 3 one for her 1st Christmas (she was about 4 months then). Now it has been passed along to my second daughter who is really enjoying it at 5 months. There are lots of bright colors, different charachters to look at and lots of good teething accessories.
My daughter loved the jumperoo... :)
HI T.,
I have a 4 month old as well and am planning to get her an exer-saucer or a jumper-gym type item. She is just starting to sit well enough to start using them soon so if you don't have one yet it could be a good idea. I also have just discovered "Baby Legs" they are sold at Target online and at Punky Doodlebugs in Vancouver. If you don't know what they are they are full legth leg warmers and they are so cute. I put them on her with onsies and she has a complete outfit. I put them under her trousers when we went to town the other day and I changed her in the car with the car door open so i could stand on the curb to change her. it was a cold day and I took her trousers off and left her baby legs on and changed her and the only thing exposed to the cool air was her bum. I guess they are more a gift for you but they are soooo cute for the baby. I love clothes so I think it is never too young to get clothes for them. The other thing about baby legs is that they can wear the same pair until they are 3-4. What other baby clothing item can they wear that long. Well i hope these two suggestions get your ideas rolling for gifts for the little one.
Sincerly,
S.
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clothes are always nice... and get larger sizes. but if you are thinking of things in terms of toys.... get one of those mobile types of things you can put the baby under - they have toys that hang down that will encourage the baby to reach and work on the eye-hand coordination. These were wonderful thing for my kids as they were growing up. Also one of those bouncy seats that spins around (exersaucer) though she probably won't go in it until 6 months.
My 7 month old loves playing with blocks - knocking them down, spilling them out of the container, and chewing on them - natural wood ones so I feel good about her having them in her mouth, instead of all the plastic.
check out oompa toys. they have some really wonderful natural toys at a pretty good price!
Hi T.,
I have a 9 month old and some things that come in handy now to keep her occupied while I need to get housework done are an Exersaucer, which we started putting her in between 3 and 4 months. It started out about 15-20 minutes of fun for her and then she was done. Since then I have gotten up to 45 min to an hour of her playing in that contained and happy so I don't have to wonder where she has crawled and gotten into. Another thing for a few months down the road she loves and again keeps her busy happy and contained is a Johnny Jump-up. I love to hang it between my pantry and kitchen so she can play and watch me while I am making dinner and be happy. Or I put it in my office doorway when I need to get stuff done in there and she is super happy for 30 min to an hour. She is probably to little now for the Johnny Jump-up but in the next couple months she will love it. Hope this helps.
For our daughter's first Christmas we started a savings account for her. My parents chipped in a bit too. She didn't need anything at the time and will be able to use this in the future for college, etc.
