This stage of a babies development is key for mobility. Your child is on the move from bouncing, sitting, tummy time, crawling and the toys I share all encouraged my daughter to move and explore. I absolutely loved this stage of infancy, especially that 8-9 month mark. You see the personality and intentional play and interaction with toys and people. I encourage you to select toys that have music, light, and bright colors to peak their sensory intake.

STACK AND LEARN

This was Caliyah’s favorite toy! I don’t know if she loved the animal sounds, the lights, or the rings' colors more. This toy hit all of her sensory needs, and by 9 months, she fully understood how to pick the rings up we are still working on putting them back on the stack tower. I really like how this tower also builds vocabulary by calling out animals and the sound they make and the colors of each ring. You have the ability to change the setting and volume. This is a toy that would motivate my daughter to sit up unassisted in those early months.

SASSY WONDER WHEEL ACTIVITY CENTER

This activity wheel spinners enhance visual tracking and strengthen fine motor skills. The spinning wheel encourages your baby to reach, tug, and bat, developing hand-eye coordination. I love the suction cup addition because it allows us to place it on her seat tray. The colors and textures always grabbed my daughter’s attention.

NATUREBOND BABY FOOD FEEDER/FRUIT FEEDER PACIFIER

Teething is no joke during this stage, and I am sure your little one is putting every toy and object in their mouth. I stepped it up from a standard teething toy and started using this fruit feeder pacifier. I would put various fruit like peaches, strawberries in the pacifier chamber, and my daughter would go to town sucking and biting at the pacifier. It’s a safe way to introduce our little ones to solid food while going through the teething phase. The All-IN-1 feeder can also soothe the baby's teething discomfort by massaging the gums through chewing.

YOOKIDOO MUSICAL CRAWL N’ GO SNAIL WITH STACKER

This toy is multi-purposed which I love. This snail has a push button that allows it to move, play music, and you can stack rings on the detachable portion. This always got my daughter’s attention while on tummy time and even got some rolls and reaching. With her lack of mobility, she was not crawling during but this would be the perfect crawling pal.

TEXTURED MULTI BALL SET

Around six months, we started to work on grabbing various size objects and those tactile senses. We purchased this ball set to help Cali exchange balls from hand to hand, throw objects, and understand new shapes. These balls come in various sizes and shapes with textures that will intrigue your little one. They are lightweight, bright, and float! We mixed the textured balls with noodles so she would dig through them for a fun sensory activity.

FISHER PRICE ANIMAL WONDERS JUMPAROO

I am a fan of Fisher-Price products, so I tend to lean towards them for my big toys. This jumparoo has the works, from plenty of sensory toys, lights, music, and the ability to adjust the height. My daughter will jump in this bouncer for up to an hour until she falls asleep. She doesn’t want to get out and stop the fun. The seat spins, and now that my daughter has gotten stronger, she is starting to explore every side of the jumparoo. I love that each toy is working on a skill set, such as pincer grasp, pushing buttons, moving toys left to right, and more, great fine motor skills exercises.

BEAD MAZE WITH SUCTION CUPS

As Cali started sitting in her highchair more, we began using this bead maze. It was perfect as we were working on Cali’s fine motor skills, pincer grasp, and more. At first, she would just bat the beads and over time she would move them one by one with her thumb and pointer finger. The suction cups hold better when you wet the surface. This bead maze reminds me of the toys we used to play with at the doctor’s office, so I get total nostalgia seeing that my daughter loves it.

HANES ULTIMATE BABY FLEXY LS BODYSUIT

You know I love sharing my favorite clothing item. The Hanes Flexy is a constant in our rotation and the material is so soft. The flexy makes it a comfortable fit that has a lot of giving. I learned that snug fit is not ideal for my little one since she has a gtube, trach, and other equipment that requires some wiggle room.

BABY EINSTEIN MAGIC TOUCH WOODEN PIANO

I can’t say enough good things about the Baby Einstein products; this piano is a favorite in my household. I love wooden toys, from the look to the durability of them. Baby Einstein has a full collection of musical wooden toys. The piano has music sheets with a setting where you can play the music on the card or follow along and read the music via the colored dots. The keyboard requires a light touch, and my daughter plays her heart out.

BUMBO MULTI SEAT

The bumbo is a classic seat to use as your child starts to learn how to sit unassisted and build their core. Getting the bumbo with the tray is a great addition to use the seat for eating or playtime. I loved how portable the seat is, from having it on the floor or top of the table. I know that some aren’t fans of the Bumbo seat but for us it was key. My daughter was delayed in sitting independently and this seat helped us do everyday activities so she could continue to explore and reach new development levels while we still worked on her mobility. I will say that we did not keep her in the bumbo 24/7, we did a lot of solo sitting so she could still strengthen her core muscles and not get too dependent on the support of the Bumbo.