Toy Spotlight - Bajo Vehicles

I knew when I got the Bajo wooden vehicle collection that little ones would love it. After all, they are specially designed to be held in little hands and the imaginative way that they can play with them is just endless.

When I gave my second child at 3 months one of the small Bajo vehicles, I discovered what a great grasping toy and teething toy it is. The little vehicles are small enough that babies can hold them comfortably in their little hands, and big enough for them to put in their mouths with no worries of chocking, they are also very safe as they are painted with non-toxic paints and are easy to clean and disinfect.

When she was able to sit up, she would love to play with her little cars. By this time she had three of them and she would pass them from hand to hand to mouth.

Now at a year, she pushes them away from her and crawls to them. They are still a fun teething toy for her and after all the 'love' they have gotten from her, they still look like new.

The Bajo wooden vehicles are great for sensory development for babies, fine-motor skill development for toddlers and imaginative play for preschoolers.

Stop by BabyThoughts.ca to see our entire Bajo Vehicle collection. Take advantage of our toy sale of up to 50% off on until October 16, 2011.

The Appearance of the Pearly Whites

The daughter of a good friend is starting to show signs of teething and her mother asked me if I could recommend some teething toys that would offer her some relief.

This request got me remembering our own adventure with teething and how it felt like months before the pearly whites made their appearance. My daughter started with the teething signs quite early. She would drool all the time, and put anything and everything into her mouth. I was thankful that a family member gave her as a gift what later became our favourite teething toy, the Winkel from Manhattan Toy.

When I first received the toy, I could not understand why it was so popular, it looked unusual to me and I wondered how she would find it interesting. But my daughter loved it. She would bite it, suck on it, turn it around, throw it ( many times out of her stroller), stare at it and play with it. I loved it because it was very easy to keep clean, and I could fasten it to her stroller, her car seat or just about anything and she could have easy access to it.

Other teething toys that I found very useful were the ones that you could put in the freezer or fridge. These toys were great during the summer months when it was really hot, the only problem I found with them was that they would loose their coolness quickly. It was necessary to have at least two and to use them while at home where you could put the used one back in the fridge and give them the other cooled one.

Another surprising toy that she loved to sink her mouth into was her Whoozit, she loved to suck or bite its many arms. Though it is too big to take along with you, two great alternatives would be the Baby Whoozit and for more fun the Whoozit Starz Lights & Sounds.

There are many great teething toys for little ones on the market. Something to consider though is that they will not be teething all the time, so if you are going to purchase one, see if they will also find a way to enjoy it before and/or after they have gotten their pearly whites. Though maybe like my daughter they may not be done with putting things into their months for quite some time.