Toys for 4 mos olds

My almost 4 mos olds are getting tired of their bouncy seats and the jungle gym thing they lay under to look at the toys that hang from it. I have borrowed an exersuacer from a friend that has tons of toys on it. I am going to remove some of the toys and rotate them so that the boys don't get tired of this toy too early. I haven't brought up the basket of baby toys yet as the boys can't sit up yet and don't really grasp things yet. So, the bouncy seat with an arch with toys, the floor jungle gym thing and the exersaucer are the only toys we have.

What do you have that your children love at this age? I don't want a ton of toys in my small house but some new ones would be nice. I can buy off of craigslist or see if a friend has that I can borrow.

 

Hey, our boys were born the exact same day! That's fun.

This is a tough age for toys, I know what you mean. It will be easier when they do start grasping things! One thing I've done is to buy (well, and have received) extra toys that I can switch out with the toys on their bouncy seat toy bars and floor gym arches. That way they have some variety. Some of them jingle or rattle when pulled on or when they make their seats bounce (which they do a LOT now), which the boys love.

Also, I've heard rattles are good at this age. my boys aren't quite getting the hanging of grasping and shaking things yet either, but you can get wrist rattles that attach to their wrists so they rattle when they wave their arms (or you could attach them to their ankles.)

Mirrors with soft edges are also good; they love to look at themselves if you set the mirror next to them or above them when they're on the floor or wherever. (Makes tummy time more tolerable, too. ) And do you have anything with a mobile on it? We got a Fisher Price aquarium mobile thingy at a consignment sale that the boys love to watch, and they also love the mobile on our rainforest swing.

 

Our girls love the Oball found at Target. It's very easy to grasp and softer than a rattle. If they go crazy with it and bop their heads, it won't hurt (we learned that the hard way with the rattle). Also the Baby Einstien blocks are great. We put them down on the jungle mat and the girls will swing their arms to move them and love to hear them jingle. Anything that makes noise they can track or has a high color contrast is great for this age.

Good luck!

 

Oh, we also recently got a Bumbo seat at a consignment sale and our boys love to sit in that for about 10 mins at a time. (then they get tired) It came with a tray so when they do start grasping toys we can put some on the tray. They love to sit in it and look around, and they love it if I position them so they can look out the window at the trees waving in the breeze and stuff.

 

we have the Oball too and my kiddos like it it. At that age we started buying some of the Lamaze toys...http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2574128 this one is dd's favorite, http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2574131 this one is ds favorite. We also have the monkey and the bug.

 

Great ideas! I bought the floor gym from a garage sale and it didn't have all the toys that came with it so I find toys around the house and use links to hang the toys from the arches. I do have a bumbo seat for them. I bought it especially for Riley so he can stay off his head to help get rid of his plagiocephally. They both like it but they definitely need a change of scenery after 10mins.

I will have to look into the Oball. Jonathan is starting to grab at things so this would be something easy to grab!

Oh, Lamaze toys are pretty cool! I really want to get the fish bowl toy. I also want to get one of those soft side mirrors too! Mmm, I may be heading over to Babies R Us today!

 

My twins absolutely LOVE the Lamaze toys!! We have the moose, catipillar, penguin, and the alien in his ufo. They are so much more entertained with these toys than any other that we've bought. I think it's because of all the different sounds they make (cringle, rattle, squeak) and they have have teething rings, ect. They're also a little bit of a bigger toy which helps my 3 month old boys hold on to them and swing at them alot easier

 

Not sure if you have boy or girl but my DD LOVED (still does) the Lamaze Emily doll. She was grasping things at 4 months and would grab for her. When they started putting their hands in their mouth any teething toys were a big hit with them. I found the smaller teething rings are better because their hands are so small. They also liked any toy that either lite up, crinkled or made some sort of noice. My DS liked anything he could pull on. They started getting into books at 4 months too and now they love getting their hands on them and putting them in their mouths.

 

As for the teething toys and toys they can hold, we are good to go with those! I haven't brought out very many of those. Just the ones that can hang from the arches of the floor gym. Jonathan loves to look at toys and bat at them and try to grab them, but Riley doesn't. He'd rather look at people! He is going to be a people watcher!

As I said, I am going to have to hit up Babies R Us today and see what I can find!! Can't wait!

 

QUOTE(EmilyorMLE @ Apr 29 2009, 08:37 AM) [snapback]1293252[/snapback]
My twins absolutely LOVE the Lamaze toys!! We have the moose, catipillar, penguin, and the alien in his ufo. They are so much more entertained with these toys than any other that we've bought. I think it's because of all the different sounds they make (cringle, rattle, squeak) and they have have teething rings, ect. They're also a little bit of a bigger toy which helps my 3 month old boys hold on to them and swing at them alot easier


I second that. The Lamaze toys are my boys' favorites!

They also love their exersaucers and have had all the toys on them for months and still aren't bored. They've just figured out how to jump and bounce in them. I got one from a friend and the other from Freecycle.

There is a star from Baby Einstein that keeps them entertained a lot, too.

Same with a little Leapfrog frog that sings the alphabet.

One of my boys just LOVES a little $4 bunny from Ikea.

 

QUOTE(TwinsInFL @ Apr 29 2009, 10:26 AM) [snapback]1293156[/snapback]
Our girls love the Oball found at Target.


My boys have LOVED this for well over a year! They still play with them all the time!

QUOTE(SC_Amy @ Apr 29 2009, 10:28 AM) [snapback]1293160[/snapback]
Oh, we also recently got a Bumbo seat at a consignment sale and our boys love to sit in that for about 10 mins at a time.


I was going to recommend this too! Glad to hear you have a Bumbo too! Great choice!

For teething we had a great vibrating star teether from Walmart that was used so much the batteries wore out. It is something they will need to grasp to use though.

 

My boys absolutely LURV the lamaze toys. Their arms and legs go everywhere when playing with them. Then they get some intense look over their faces as they stare at them and start grabbing them. I love these toys, they truly stimulate the boys.

Someone else mentioned Bumbo seats. My boys hate tummy-time so they can't lift their heads from their tummies for very long. However, when upgright, they have some pretty good head control. Is it too early for them to start sitting in these for brief periods? I'm trying to keep them off their heads as much as possible, and they *h a t e* tummytime. Screaming fits every single time.

 

Question for the lamaze toys, what do you put them on to play with them, do you hang them from the play mat with the overhead "part" (i can't think of what you would call it)

Ive been kinda thinkin about getting the girls something look at becasue they are really starting to focus on things and i want to give them more stimulation!

 

at that age I would hang one from the playmat or just "help" them play with it