Newborns may be tough, but they’re also mostly immobile, highly portable, and sleep for 14 hours a day. Having a baby who spends more time needing attention, distraction, and entertainment every day is a whole different ball game. That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun! in fact, for many parents (like those who were less than impressed with the exhaustion and monotony of the newborn phase), this is the stage when it starts to feel like you really have a baby—one of those doe-eyed, chubby-cheeked, babbling, drooling, bouncing little ones you’ve heard all about, with toothless smiles and leg rolls for days. You’ll need to get prepared for this next stage in a way you haven’t prepared before. Luckily, we have everything you need for life with a three to six-month-old baby.
Teething Toys
Teethers come in all different shapes, sizes, textures, and temperatures, and you probably won’t know what your baby likes best until you try some out. Thankfully, you’ll have plenty of opportunities; most babies begin sprouting their first tooth between four and six months old, so this phase is the perfect time to experiment with many kinds of teething toys to find the ones that provide the most comfort for your little one.
Feeding Supplies
At around five or six months of age, most babies get their first taste of real food. This may be as simple as rice cereal or mashed avocado, but it’s still your baby’s first foray into the world of eating beyond breast milk or formula.
Freezable teethersHard plastic or wooden ringsSoft textured clothsMesh feeders for frozen foodsSilicone animals Easy-to-grip shapes
Only buy one or two of each style—you won’t know what your baby prefers until you’ve tried a bunch of different kinds, so don’t stock up on anything just yet. Feeding your baby will get slightly more complicated as you move into the six- to nine-month old stage, but you still need to grab some basic supplies once your baby is no longer a newborn. Also consider whether you’ve been exclusively breastfeeding and getting ready to head back to work; if you don’t already have bottle feeding supplies, now is the time to choose what you plan to use when you’re away from your baby.
Activity Gyms
Your baby is going to spend more time with their eyes open now, checking out the world around them. They are also going to start practicing some preliminary moves like rolling, wiggling, and—eventually—sitting up and crawling. One of the best things you can have on hand for a baby this age is a way to play and explore semi-independently. An activity gym, whether it’s a floor mat, bouncy seat, or jumperoo, is guaranteed to be one of baby’s favorite places to hang out. As an added bonus, having a safe place to put your baby and keep them distracted will give you (and your tired arms!) a much-needed break throughout the day, too.
Sensory Toys
Your newborn couldn’t see very well and, let’s face it, often didn’t know what was going on around them. But now your four-month-old is really starting to connect with their senses—so they will appreciate toys that stimulate their interests in a variety of ways.
Floor mats are great for babies who like to practice tummy time and are always reaching to grab hold of interesting objects.Bouncy seats are perfect for babies who want to be with you all the time and like being able to get a good view of their environment.Standing gyms are ideal for babies who have good core strength and an urge to kick, dance, and jump.
When putting together a collection of toys for your baby, make sure you’re keeping in mind the five senses. You may not be able to check smell or taste off the list, but you can definitely find toys that will engage seeing, hearing, and feeling!
Books
Reading to newborns has been proven to be valuable for developing language and pre-literacy skills, but you probably weren’t getting a lot of feedback from your baby after those bedtime stories. Are they hard and smooth, squishy and bumpy, or soft and fluffy? Your baby doesn’t need a lot of flashing lights and repetitive music, but a few are OK. You can also look for toys that make rattling, shaking, crinkling, and jingling sounds to keep them engaged. Now that your baby is growing up, you can really start seeing their interest in books. The easiest way to do this is to simply leave a few lying around in every room; this way, you can offer a book for your baby to hold while you’re changing a diaper, hand them a book to keep them busy in the high chair during dinner, and even throw one in your diaper bag for on-the-go distractions. Board books are great, but so are cloth books—for this age in particular, cloth books are durable, washable, and hold up to a lot of teething-induced chewing.
Mirrors
Babies love to gaze at their own reflection in a mirror (even though they won’t know they’re actually looking at themselves until about 18 months!). Still, it’s fun to stare at that “other baby” in there and wonder how and why it moves the way it does. Also try finding books that show your baby different parts of their day—books about food and eating for the high chair, books about bath time in the bathroom, and books about sleeping for the bedroom—to really add value to your shared reading time. Many infant toys feature small-scale mirrors for this exact reason, but we think investing in a standalone mirror for your baby is a smart choice at this stage.
A Word From Verywell
This 3–6 month age is an exciting time for your little one. But don’t get overwhelmed thinking you need to pick up so many new items just to keep them happy. They’ve got the whole world around them to explore too. We hope this list of items gives you good inspiration for keeping your baby entertained and engaged as they keep learning and growing.
