The moment you first gaze into your newborn’s eyes is a life-altering experience. The little human you spent nine months growing and imagining is finally here – and you just want to stare at them day and night, cover them in kisses and babble nonsensical baby talk. Well, guess what? That’s all they want too, so go ahead and engage in it with reckless abandon.

In the first few months of life, making eye contact and smiling at your baby is important to help them feel safe and secure and promote bonding. You can also talk to them, sing songs and lullabies, tell them stories and read books to them. These simple activities will help develop their language and communication skills from an early age.

Tummy time is another great way to interact with your baby while helping them develop the neck, head and upper-body strength they’ll need to sit, crawl and walk as they get older. Place your baby on their tummy on the floor several times a day. Newborns may only be able to do tummy time for one or two minutes before they get tired, but they’ll eventually build up to 15 minutes or longer. Dangle toys in front of their eyes and move them from side to side to encourage head lifting and movement. Once your baby can support their weight on their forearms and lift their head, you can turn pages in a book to develop their eye strength and interest in reading.

By the time your little one is four or five months old, you’ll be able to talk to them and play with them more interactively. Describe what you’re doing as you go about your day (“Mommy is doing the dishes now”) and respond to their cooing (“Yes, that’s right, that’s the cat”), or lie on the floor with them and build a tower of soft blocks. Any time you spend playing and interacting with your baby helps them feel securely attached to you and loved.

At six months, your tot will likely be able to sit up with support, reach for toys and shake them, babble simple sounds such as ‘dada’ and ‘baba’, and express emotions by laughing, squealing, frowning and grunting. They’ll love to play with toys that have interesting colors, patterns, textures and sounds.

 

8 simple toys that will stimulate your baby’s brain

The best toys for babies don’t feature loud songs and flashing lights. They’re surprisingly simple, because research has shown that basic toys that can be used in many ways (grasping, shaking, banging, chewing, stacking, filling and dumping), encouraging cognitive development and creativity.

Here are eight of our favorites:

Baby’s First Soft Book

Wee Gallery’s Friendly Faces in the Wild is filled with large, black-and-white illustrations of animals that even newborns can enjoy with their limited eyesight. Printed on non-toxic cloth, it’s perfect for little hands to grip and explore.

Little Mobile

Keep baby engaged with this simple mobile that will encourage him to reach for objects and develop all important gross motor skills. Made from natural, premium bamboo, this set folds down compactly when not in use making it easy for storage and travel.

Soft block

Not only will your wee one love reaching for, flipping, squishing and throwing Wee Gallery’s Woodland Soft Block, they’ll also enjoy lots of sensory-driven fun with the high contrast graphics and various tags, textures and crinkles.

Sensory balls

Miniland’s sensory balls are fashioned from non-toxic, eco-friendly 100% natural rubber from Hevea trees. The six brightly colored balls will introduce your tot to colors, shapes and textures, and develop their hand-eye coordination.

 

Activity Pad

The Wee Gallery Meadow Activity Pad keeps your baby stimulated with a variety of sensory stimulation from high contrast graphics and hidden items including crinkly features, a rattle, a squeak and a maple wood teething ring hidden behind the bunny.

 

Stacker Tower

O.B Designs’ Stacker Tower offers plenty of opportunities for open-ended play. Made from 100% food grade silicone, little hands will love stacking, building and touching the stacking rings helping to build dexterity and movement.

 

Organic playmat

This beautiful GOTS-certified Organic Playmat by Toddlekind brings tummy time and playtime to a whole new level. Not only does it feature stunning artwork, but it’s free from harmful chemicals and machine washable too.

 

Dumbbell Rattle

Your baby will love this noisemaker and teether in one. Not only will it help soothe sore gums but it’s great for developing hand-eye coordination and motor skills.