Infants don’t really need toys, after all most of their early days are just spent sleeping and eating if you are lucky. When Drake was a baby I didn’t really buy him many toys since I didn’t see the need.  But with Chocolate Baby I feel differently. Maybe it’s because since I had Drake, I’ve seen some neat things I wish I had gotten him when he was an infant, or that I realize most of Chocolate Baby’s toys will be hand me downs from Drake so I would like to buy some toys specifically for Chocolate Baby.  For the last few months I have been looking into developmental toys for little ones (as opposed to toddler toys which is what I mostly buy these days), and here are some that I like and hope to get for Chocolate Baby.


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1) Hello Bugs and Hello Animals Books – I found these books after Drake was past the infant stage of only really being able to see black and white so I never bothered to buy them for him, but I remembered them for when I had my next baby.  Since babies can only see black and white for a while, I thought these would be nice to read to Chocolate Baby as part of the bed time routine just like we read to Drake.  As it happens I bought these early and Drake immediately seized them and put them in his overfilled crib, so I guess it doubles as a book that will interest both kids if we do bed time together.

2) Wee Gallery Art Cards for Babies–  This is another book/toy I found after Drakey had outgrown the need for them.  I like the idea of flash cards that I can tote around with me as well as that their are various sets I could get.  As it is since they are all animals I think this might be a good toy to take with me in my diaper bag since Drakey will probably be entertained by them and I can also maybe get him to engage with Chocolate Baby by talking and showing the cards to them.

3) Sophie the Giraffe – I am fascinated by how children either love or don’t care for Sophie.  She is the number 1 baby toy in France and has been for years so there must be something about her. Drake has a Sophie the Giraffe and he never cared for her as a baby, but now at 3, he takes her around as a little friend talking to her and having her do stuff with him. I’m not sure if I should buy another one since she isn’t cheap either. I still want to give it a try to see if Chocolate Baby will enjoy her more than Drake did.

4) SassyLook Photo Book–  I like the idea of a photo book of our family and pets to share with Chocolate Baby.  Little babies like to look at faces so this will be a way to also teach them about the people in our lives.  Also it gives me a reason to take more and print out all our family photos.

5) Bright Starts Sensory Plush Pal– I bought this the other day on a whim when I was out browsing Babies R Us for last minute things.  I figured the black and white might be interesting to Chocolate Baby. Drake had some clip-on toys on his carrier to keep him entertained as a baby and they were great for in the car, waiting at the doctor’s office, and whenever we were out and he needed to sit in his carrier for a long period of time.  Also I just thought the zebra was so cute so I couldn’t resist.

6) Lamaze Cloth Book– Never too early to start on books I say.  Cloth books are great take along toys too since they squish up nice and easy into a diaper bag and they are soft and perfect for little hands to grab (and chew)  Drakey had a few we use to take with us in the car and when I went to work and Ill pass those on to Chocolate Baby but I thought it would be nice to give them a new one as well and the owl on this one looks particularly cute.

7) Manhattan Toy Winkel – Drake was given this gift when he was close to 10 months old and while I have heard of  kids playing with this toy well past the infant stage, Drake was not that baby.  I think it was too simple for him by the time he got it that it never held his attention compared to the other toys he had.  I put it away for future babies so this one will go to Chocolate Baby now.

8) Leapfrog Violet– This is going to be Drake’s gift to Chocolate Baby. He has the Scout version and we got it for him when he was 6 months or younger.  Scout has a 10 minute bed time music song and so we have used it as part of our bedtime routine since Drake moved out of our room into his crib.  At 3 years old he still sleeps with Scout and we play the music for him as the last thing after we put him to bed.  I think because we have used it for so long with Drake, he is almost conditioned to need to hear it to help him fall asleep.  Sometimes hours after we have put him to bed we will hear Scout’s music restart over the monitor, and we will see Drake on the monitor turning it on and then laying down again. In the morning I often hear Scout talking and singing other songs, indicating Drakey is awake and playing with him now as a toy.  We just find it endearing that after all this time he is still quite attached to this toy. So we thought by letting him give one that’s similar to his but still different will help him see Chocolate Baby as another family member, and maybe help him adjust to the idea of being a big brother and not the only child of the family.

Any other great infant toys I should consider?