Top Baby Gifts

I often get asked what toy I would recommend as a gift for a baby, I can tell you that over these past years a few have really stood out to me as fantastic gifts that are loved by both babies and parents.

My most favourite toy that is adored by little ones and makes the lives of parents so much easier is the Manhattan Toy Whoozit. This toy has won numerous awards, for very good reasons. It has many features that babies love; from the bright and high contrast colours and patterns, the different sounds it makes, to the perfect shape just right for little fingers to grab on to. Whether you get the big Whoozit or the Baby Whoozit this toy is sure to go everywhere baby goes.

Another great toy from Manhattan Toy that makes a fantastic gift which parents will thank you for, is the Wimmer Ferguson Infant Stim-Mobile. This mobile is our best seller and for very good reasons, babies are mesmerized by the pictures in the cards. Each card has an image on both sides, one side is in black and white which is perfect for young babies who can only see high contrast images. While the other side of the card is more colourful to keep older babies entertained. Given its small size and lightweight materials, it travels well and can be used in multiple places such as a bassinet, a playpen and even some strollers.

A third toy that makes a fantastic gift, are the Wimmer Ferguson Mind Shapes, these vibrant shapes encourage babies to look, touch, and listen. Each easy-to-carry shape has a noisemaker and a medley of research-correct graphics & textures. This toy also grows with baby as they can be used to teach them about shapes, colours, textures and sounds.

If you are looking for a great gift for a newborn take a look at the three listed above, all three toys will certainly be loved and played with.

Exciting New Arrivals at BabyThoughts.ca

Over the past 3 months we have received great feedback from customers, friends, and colleagues on the BabyThoughts.ca website. Based on this feedback we have been working hard to make the website easier to navigate and more informative, and to give our visitors a satisfying online experience. We have also added some great new products that have been lacking in our product selection:

HABA

If I could carry the whole HABA toy line I would, they are just fantastic toys. However, we have been able to add some key items, namely activity mats, mobiles, and a push wagon. One of these is Dwarf's Land Playmat, a colourful soft cloth play mat with playing elements that baby can clutch, push, and remove. It has vibrant trees, houses, and castles that can be popped up or folded down. Dwarf's Land Playmat is for babies starting at 0 months and up.

Another great new item is HABA's Splish Splash Playmat, which has a water filled center with little toy fish that swim around as baby presses down on the mat. Around the "pond" there are fold up houses and a lighthouse that invite baby to play. The Splish Splash Playmat is for babies 6 months and up.

We have also added 2 new colourful mobiles, Sunshine and Curtains Rise. The Sunshine mobile is decorative, while the Curtains Rise mobile has interactive elements such as a foil mirror and detachable mouse and bear plush toys.

Last but not least, we have added a wooden push wagon. This beautiful wagon has sturdy wooden construction, with rubber wheels, and has a small seat up front for baby's "travelers" as well as a cargo area at the back for baby's "luggage".

Manhattan Toy

With their "Imagination at Play" approach to product design, Manhattan Toy always has new items to peak baby's interest. From Manhattan Toy we have decided to complement our existing products in the Whoozit, Cirque du Soleil, and Nooboo lines of toys.

If you are a fan of the Whoozit toys, you will love our Whoozit additions. The most notable is Tizoo, Whoozit's female, heart-shaped companion. We have also added a Whoozit activity center with lots of interactive items such as a bead spiral, squeakers, spinning balls, and crinkle paper. This product is great for teaching baby about cause and effect and is geared for babies 6 months and up. To top it off we have added an interactive spiral toy that can be attached to baby's crib or stroller.

Another great new addition is the Big Top Sounds toy. This amazing toy is a circus tent with plush animals that make animal sounds when inserted or removed from the tent. Baby will hear "Monkey" or "Ooh Ooh, Ah Ah!" when taking monkey out of the tent. It's absolutely fabulous.

For the full selection of toys, including all new arrivals, please visit our store front.

- Frank

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.

So, what is a Whoozit anyway?

I encountered a Whoozit - a soft, multi-sensory toy from Manhattan Toy - for the first time almost 2 years ago through a friend who had a young toddler. Her son had one and it was quite the curiosity the first time I saw it. At the beginning of 2006, the young boy's Whoozit would eventually be passed on to my own daughter, who was born on September 2005. This particular Whoozit has to be over 2 years old, it has lint, has been washed many many times, has absorbed copious quantities of drool, and received many hugs. I have to say though, after all that mileage, she still loves her Whoozit.



But what is it? Well, it's a Whoozit, there isn't much else to compare it too, kind of like Mr. Potato Head. It's just Mr. Potato Head! However, it can be described. At first glance, it's like a soft round cloth cushion, about 10 inches across. One side has a black and white swirl, which I assume is a nice visual for newborns. The other side has a round fleece nose, like a clown nose, and a cushioned cloth handle that doubles as a smile. A couple of eyes are sewn on to complete the awkward, happy face.

But so far, we are talking about a glorified pin cushion. The magic of the Whoozit is about what's hidden inside. Once baby inspects the sides of the Whoozit she will find 7 hidden legs that can be pulled out and tucked back into the toy, each with a textured shape such as a star, square, triangle, and circle. The legs themselves are black and white in different checkered or striped patterns, which adds to the Whoozit's silly visual appeal. The shapes at the end can be squeezed to feel a new texture or hear a sound.

All of this adds up to one thing, a tried, tested, and true multi-sensory toy that is still a fixture in my daughter's crib.

You can see the Whoozit at BabyThoughts.ca (of course I have to plug the site :) ).

Bye for now,

Frank