Mrs. FWL and I have been, and continue to be, very fortunate with the amount of support and generosity we have received over the past year from our family and friends. Isabel has been entertained by so many of the toys given to her, however I have come to learn by watching her that there is something about discovering for the first time these everyday items that I take for granted.
Like most people, we had a baby registry. And unless you have more than one kid, you are foolish not to have a registry for the first child at least. Of course there are the essential items. Then there are the items we want but don’t necessarily need. And then there are the cool but totally unnecessary items like 50 plastic spoons in every color, as if we’ll ever need 50 spoons.
Then there are the baby toys. Everybody, including us, goes into this baby thing with baby goggles. She needs that block set to develop her fine motor skills. She needs the Mozart music cube so she can become a baby genius. She needs the Sophie giraffe – actually she does, don’t question this one. She needs a zillion stuffed animals that she hasn’t even touched yet.
I’ve learned they don’t need any of it (except Sophie). Save your money and just get the following eight alternatives.
1. Bricks
Yes bricks. See, babies like to put things in their mouth, and they don’t care what it is (unless of course you’re trying to feed them the latest culinary puree you just whipped up in the Vitamix – then they become picky). Isabel has been caught acquainting her taste buds with our brick fireplace.
2. Paper
Babies don’t care about the environment (I mean, diapers, hello!), so if they had it their way, we could just plop them in a papermill and let them go to town. Isabel will grab ANY piece of paper, postcard, magazine, you name it and (a) hit it, (b) taste it, and (c) if she’s feeling sassy, rip it. This makes reading the paper a little challenging.
3. Washcloth
You know those bath toys you thought your baby would want? Forget it. All Isabel wants is this damn washcloth filled with soapy bath water to suck and swallow. We have squirters, duckies, turtles, everything – all she wants is her washcloth.
4. Cat food/water bowls
Isabel will be on her mat and stop what she’s doing and make a beeline for the cat’s water dish. Forget Mozart or the plastic blocks – all she wants is the cat’s water. I will say their relationship is much improved, but really Isabel? Do you know where their mouth goes?
5. Plastic snack bag (ie. chip, cracker, etc.)
On a good day, Isabel is mildly interested in one of the many crinkly books we have. But whip out the chip bag or granola bar wrapper and it’s showtime! Put it 10 feet in front of her and she’ll scoot over there so fast you’d think it was made of breast milk. Now, if only she’d stop messing around and just crawl!
6. Scratchers (fabric chair or Velcro)
I swear she could spend hours just scratching stuff. I don’t know if it’s the sound, the sensation, or what, but she loves to just sit and scratch stuff. The chair, the floor, her rubber mat, even things that are smooth. She even made her way over to the cats’ cardboard scratcher the other day. Next up: Backscratching 101.
7. iPhone
UGH. She’s only 8 months old and is already obsessed. Trust me, I don’t let her play with it, but naturally, I take lots of pictures of her (and check Facebook) and she sees the screen. She will stiff-arm me just to get to the phone. Again, no need for the pile of other toys a mere 3 inches from her – if Papa has his phone out, it’s game on.
8. TAGS
I had no clue, but apparently this is a thing. Isabel will find the tag on whatever she is playing with and go to town. She will crawl to her Baby Bjorn rocking chair and fixate on the huge tag. Her crinkly book? WHERE’S THE TAG! Stuffed animal? Tag. Swaddle? Tag. Mrs. FWL even bought her a Taggie (literally, a piece of fabric with tags on all four sides). And here we are trying to find ways to remove tags from our shirts, I guess we’re missing out on something magical.
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