good toys for 4 mo. old?

[junior503]

My ds is 4mo. old and I have been thinking about getting him more toys. He loves his kick and play bouncer. He will spend a good half hour kicking the toys and making noises like he is so excited. He also enjoys his Tiny Love symphony in motion mobile - he kicks his mattress and vocalizes loudly. He somewhat enjoys his activity mat and he will tolerate the swing for about 10 minutes.

He can hold onto some small toys, but they don't seem to quite excite him - at least yet.

Any suggestions?

TIA!

Lisa

[August Mom]

My top picks for that age would be the Clutch Cube by Lamaze and the Skwish by Manhattan Toy.

Clutch Cube: http://store.babycenter.com/product/toys_books_and_music/by_type/development/4553

Skwish: http://store.babycenter.com/product/toys_books_and_music/by_type/classic_toys/2065

Other good choices would be Celeste the Sun by Lamaze and/or Max the Monkey, also by Lamaze.

Celeste: http://store.babycenter.com/product/toys_books_and_music/by_age/0_6month/2338;jsessionid=ABH4ZOJ3ORFM0CUAQMMSJBQ

Max: http://store.babycenter.com/product/toys_books_and_music/by_age/0_6month/2336

If your DS is really into kicking things, you might check out Baby's Wind Chimes by Tiny Love. You can attach them to an activity mat/Gymini, the baby kicks them and they make a pleasant sound. http://www.tinylove.com/

And, one more to start thinking about, depending on when your DS can sit. My DS's all-time favorite is the Leapfrog Leapstart Learning Table. He played with it beginning shortly after he could sit tripod style and still plays with it. It has been great! http://store.babycenter.com/product/toys_books_and_music/by_age/6_12month/4624

HTH

[Momof3Labs]

Colin loooooved his exersaucer starting at 3.5 months!

[dueinmay]

Lisa,

I was about to post the same question! DD is approaching 4 mths. Her favorite toy is (and has been since a newborn) a mirror. She has several, though her favorite by far is the large mirror in our bathroom! I hear that mirrors often remain interesting even for older babies. Also, she is fond of things that crinkle when she touches them (we have a fabric book with flaps and such that she bats at). Oh, and last month she loved the FP Aquarium Bouncer, but it doesn't capitivate her like it used to.

I've heard so many good things about both the Exersaucer and the LeapFrog table. Would both together be redundant (or overdoing it)?

Rebecca
It's a girl! 5.14.03

[dueinmay]

The Sqwish looks great! I'm wondering where you find it IRL. I don't think I've seen it at the major chains, or maybe I just wasn't looking so didn't notice it.

Rebecca
It's a girl! 5.14.03

[Momof3Labs]

The saucer and table are not redundant. Colin began using his saucer at 3.5 months, and used it until about 8 months. He started playing with his table (a FP one) at about 6.5 months and just recently got bored with it. I'm sure that he will come back to it, but he has other interests right now!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

THey are two totally different types of toy. Get both. :)

For a 4 month old, if you do not have any of the Lamaze toys yet, get some. We have Freddie the Firefly, he is our travelling toy and is always in the diaper bag. We also have the cat, who stays on my desk to play with on Mommy's lap while she works. In the Pack N Play is the Fish and the Dog for playing with in there. I keep meaning to move the fish to the car to be the car toy. They all have rings to clip them to links.

I want the Trotter the Horse too! I've heard good things about the Sun, but don't have that one. (I should add that mother-in-law sent the cat and we mentioned that it was now Logan's favorite toy and the next visit we received all the others LOL. That's why I didn't buy the Sun, 4 of them seem like enough, yanno?)

They have crinkly parts and soft parts and rings or beads or ribbons, all sorts of things. At first she just held onto them or chewed them, and now at 5 months she is started to discover different things about them and to manipulate them with both hands.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[August Mom]

I haven't seen the Skwish at BRU, Target, etc. But, I did buy mine IRL at the Discovery Channel store. I have also seen them at specialty/local baby stores. HTH

[junior503]

How did you help steady Colin at 3.5 mo old in the saucer. I put my DS in a saucer at Toys R Us recently and it looked like it swallowed him up. The seat was about 3x too wide for him and his feet barely touched the bottom. My DS is a little on the lean side, so maybe that's part of it. Can you fill in the space with blankets?

Lisa

[junior503]

Thanks for all the links! I'm going to check those out right away!
Lisa

[mama2be]

This has been a favorite here...the Tolo dragon
http://store.babycenter.com/product/toys_books_and_music/by_type/plush/4732;jsessionid=NLLH2VYP5MZ0WCUAQMMCJBQ

Aiden got it for Tristan and he loves that and his Skwish...

[McQ]

My son loves kicking things (I'm thinking soccer player here) especially his FP Kick n Learn Piano. I have it tied to his play gym instead of his crib. He gets so excited kicking it and squeals with delight.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005N9YI/103-9859281-7772657?v=glance

I'd second (or third) the Lamaze toys. We have Max the Monkey and Celeste the Sun and he loves Max. His eyes get SO big when he sees it.

Allison
~ mommy to Declan 3.24.03

[Momof3Labs]

Lisa,

I'm going to try to attach a link to a picture of Colin in his saucer at about 15 weeks. We used towels or blankets to help steady him (he is/was also very skinny), but his legs were long enough already, and his torso was strong enough to be in the saucer.

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=12&topic_id=7698&mesg_id=7698&listing_type=search#7702

[alleyoop]

When DS was 4mo, we got him a 12inch rubber ball (like a dodge-ball sort of thing with Blues Clues on it) from Target. It was a huge hit for him.

A friend told us that this works wonders for helping babies sit up, and it really did help. We would sit DS up, and put the ball in his lap, with his hands on the ball. It was just high enough, big enough and sticky enough that he could hold onto it while he worked on his balance. THen, we would lie him on his back and he would "hold" the ball with his hands and feet. He would also kick the ball and roll on his side to look for it. Gotta love so much development from a $3.99 toy!!

I am also a huge fan of the Discovery Toys Crab Pal and Measure Up! Cups. http://www.discoverytoysinc.com/toys1b.htm

Pic of 5mo. DS playing with ball.

Just a thought!