When it comes to a baby’s milestones and development, there are so many amazing resources out there, but it can all feel extremely overwhelming. I remember starting to go down the path of wondering if I was doing enough or comparing progress in certain areas. I definitely had to take a step back and tune out all of the extra noise. I’ve found that what works best for me is simply enjoying my baby. I consciously take time to celebrate every moment, meet her where she is at and support her as best I can without putting too much pressure on either of us to achieve the “next thing.” For our family, this means we carve out 20-30 minutes a day for what we call “purposeful play” and leave the rest of the day to spend with one another, whatever that looks like.
So what is purposeful play, anyway? It’s really just like any other playtime, but I am more in tune with different developmental markers and further them. I’ll consciously do some stretching (yes, it’s the dancer in me!), work on head control, visual tracking, tummy time, sitting, and more, all while making it fun for Sage.
Below are some of my favorite toys to use while playing and working on developmental skills. I’m, of course, by no means a professional, just a mom sharing some fun things that have worked for my baby!
Visual Tracking
Sage loves anything that lights up. We used this little light-up toy wand to work on visual tracking and rolling, and it holds her attention forever!
Core Strength
We absolutely love bouncing away on a medium-sized exercise ball to build up core strength and work on different positioning. It allows babies to move more freely from position to position with varying levels of difficulty depending on which movements we are focusing on.
Tummy Time
It’s so adorable to watch babies stare at themselves in a mirror. We love the Mobi developmental mirror because it transitioned with your baby through different ages and used the Sassy Tummy Time mirror a ton when Sage was beginning to explore things on her tummy.
Sitting
It was so exciting when Sage started to become interested in sitting up and looking around at the world. We loved using the Sit Me Up floor seat and the Upseat to get her used to actively playing with toys in the seated position while she was still learning. Now that she is older and stronger, we started using the Sit-to-Stand learning walker because of how incredibly versatile it will be through all stages of her development in sitting, kneeling, and eventually walking!
It’s crazy how fast Sage has changed before my eyes, so the biggest piece of advice I will give is to soak up every single moment!
Shop the products we use below!
