Baby Products that Will Make Your Life Easier - Part 2

I started this list to help my pregnant friends decide what to get for their babies. I know it is overwhelming since there are too many products available. As a first time mom, I needed one of my best friends to create Emma's baby shower registry. If you missed part one, here is the link. This part 2 is about toys and activities to keep your little one interested. I didn't buy many things since I was lucky that a friend had 2 kids who were toddlers and Emma inherited their stuff. I also had a 3 year old neighbor who gave Emma some of her toys and my 2 nephews who were old enough to let go of their baby toys. She is definitely a lucky girl.

Play Mat

I used this since she was about a month old until she was about 6 months. It's easy to wash and you can change the toys. We called it the gym because is where she got her "tummy time", learned to hold her head and started to roll. We switched the toys to keep her motivated but she was the happiest with the mirror. 

Bouncer

This is what I always get my pregnant friends. This chair a lifesaver. I was a babysitter when I was 18 and this chair was very calming. You can take a shower, cook, clean the bottles and keep the baby next to you. They love it and since it's on the floor, it is safe. I never shower with the curtain closed or let her out of my sight to be safe. We used it until she was getting to big to fit in it. 

Swing

The swing is nice and some kids love it. I think that it takes too much room and the seat is small so by the time your baby is 3 months old, they cant fit in it. I would only get the bouncer if I had to buy them. Emma was lucky because a frriend of mine gave us everything that her kids used. I kept the bouncer at my parents' house and the swing at our house. 

Jumper

My life really got easier when I started to use this jumper. Emma loved it!! The music and the toys kept her busy. I was happy because I could do other things while she played. She would play on it for at least one hour without getting bored. She stopped liking it when she started to crawl. I guess that she just wanted to be free. 

Walker

After the jumper, the walker is the baby's favorite. She would run around the house looking for books or toys that she could reach. We loved watching her move and run around on this. 

Floor Mat

These mats are the beast when they are learning to crawl. It makes the floor nice and not so cold. It is a nice/safe place for all the head bumps.

Teething toys:

The best is Sophie the Giraffe. They also love the ones that you can keep cold. Emma loved the ones that made noise, had rattles or mirrors like this one. 

Other toys:

Emma loves music and one of her favorite toys is a piano. I got her an activity table for Christmas and she likes it a lot. It was nice to help her stand up when she was learning how to walk.  When she got a big older she started to enjoy all cause and effect toy like the cubes with different shapes or games with balls that come in and out from different places. Sometimes babies don't even need toys, simple things like plastic containers and lids will keep them busy. My dad started to sing to her since she was 4 months old. He used his ipad to sing along. She soon discovered that the music from the ipad came with videos. We try to limit the amount of videos that she watches. However, I have to confess that dinner time is easier thanks to Baby Einstein. When she is cranky and doesn't want to eat or let us eat, we play a video and she would just dance and eat.