A high school friend I haven’t talked to in almost 10 years emailed me this week to ask for baby gift suggestions for her 6 month old niece. She’s still in the childless stage of life where the thought of buying a fun and age appropriate gift for someone else’s baby causes you to break out in a cold sweat, and as someone with a similarly aged child she thought I could provide some guidance. I was happy to make some suggestions, since I know I spent many a Christmas shopping trip staring blankly at the toy aisle debating whether I’d be better off just sending a card stuffed with cash (babies like cash, right? It’s crinkly.) Is a baby doll too boring? Is a baby doll that cries and poops too creepy? Are stacking blocks too simple? Is a tiny laptop too complicated? So as a public service announcement for anyone in a similar situation, here’s my list of suggested gifts for babies.

Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Fun with Friends Musical Table

For ages 6 months+
This is Baby Evan’s current favorite toy in the wholebigwideword, unless you count the empty diaper box. Which I don’t, because every time I’m reminded he’d rather go naked, nurse directly from the breast, sleep in our bed, and play with empty boxes I die a little inside thinking of all the money we’ve wasted. But I digress. This table can also be used without the legs for babies who aren’t quite standing yet. It plays lots of different songs, which is very important so you don’t stab your eardrums out after hearing “One two three four five six seven eight! Then! There’s NINE! Counting’s really great!” for the eight hundredth time that day. Plus it’s educational and stuff, teaching colors, shapes and Spanish.  ($42.99)

Sophie the Giraffe

Ages 0-12 months
If you love your niece/nephew/cousin/boss’s kid but you don’t really love them $45 worth, get them a Sophie. The number of kids chewing on these at any park or playgroup speaks for itself. Sophie is BPA free and non-toxic too, so even your fancy friends will approve. ($20)

Tubby Tug Boat

Ages 6 months+
This is what E bought Baby Evan for Christmas, since he is in charge of bath time and related activities. The bebeh loves the water and now that he’s got the sitting up situation under control we’re going to abandon the baby tub (although we have LOVED the one my sister bought me until now and I highly recommend it as a shower gift) and let him splash in our extra large sized tub. Since we’re currently using a disposable plastic cup meant for olive oil or salsa to wash Baby Evan’s hair, this toy will be practical for Daddy as well as baby. ($18.99)

The MULA Collection from Ikea

Recommended for ages 12 months+ (but Baby Evan loves them now)
Oh Ikea, is there nothing you can’t do? Affordable modern furniture? Check. Irresistible duvet covers? Check. Classic wooden toys at unbeatable prices? Check. My mom and grandmother bought Baby Evan the stacking lighthouse, the hammer bench and the stacking cups during an Ikea run and he loooooves them. (Although the hammer became the first baby toy confused for dog chew toy casualty.)  ($5.99+)

Robeez

Ages 0-4 years
These are the leather gold standard for baby shoes, but at $30 a pop no one can afford to buy more than one or two pairs for their own kid. SOMETIMES they go on sale, SOMETIMES you can find them at outlets, and SOMETIMES BabySteals has them as their daily steal (for about 2 seconds before they sell out).  We have one real pair I got at 70% off and one fake pair from TJMaxx, but if someone sent me the whole winter collection I’d be thrilled. Baby Evan enjoys chewing on them just as much as he enjoys wearing them. The sizes are really non-specific, but since the shoes are soft being a little small or a little large doesn’t prevent them from still being awesome. ($22+)

A few more suggestions:

Bright Starts Teether Pals – Baby Evan has a blue elephant version from Target, his friend has the yellow lion, and these are two other options. The combination of plastic, soft and crinkly really keeps him happy when he’s fussing. ($5.99)
Baby’s First Photo Album – I can’t find the exact one online but I PROMISE they sell them in the infant section at Walmart. It’s a soft book with plastic pockets for photos. Bonus points if you pre-fill it with recent photographs of  long-distance family members so baby can learn what Aunt Edna and Uncle Bert look like. ($12.99)
Earth Mama Angel Baby/California Baby Products – I love both these brands but they’re on the expensive side for everyday use. Buy your mama friend some baby wash, diaper cream, shampoo or baby oil, plus a little extra something for herself. ($12+)
BOOKS – Since most parents already have Goodnight Moon and Green Eggs & Ham, you’ll have to be a little more creative to find really good children’s books not on their shelf. I recommend searching Amazon for “reading rainbow books” to find amazing titles that have been forgotten or overlooked for the newest generation but may make Mom and Dad nostalgic for the days when you didn’t have to take my word for it! ($4.99+)

(Disclaimer: The links above that connect to Amazon have my Amazon Associates seller code embedded in them, which means if you click through and make a purchase I get a share of the sale. Which works out to approximately four cents. I actually recommend checking your local big box retailer – or special local baby store! – for baby toys first, since the sales this year are amazing.)

As of now, the baby’s nursery is still being used mostly as a place to rock him to sleep in the dark before we bring him into our bedroom. Once the baby is mobile and needs to be contained for my sanity safety the nursery will end up being our primary place space. I planned for that with lots of book shelves and toy storage but didn’t do much on the interactive/educational side. But since we moved the changing table downstairs* I had a big blank wall to fill. Maybe I just read too much Odeedoh but I couldn’t resist trying out some chalkboard paint.

Before:

After:

My art skills are a little lacking but I thought it fit nicely with our Wild Things theme. Plus that’s the magic of chalkboard paint, I can erase it and start over! I outlined the painted are with some molding spray painted green so it looks like a frame.

*Is my child the only one who is no longer interested in letting me use the changing table? His table-top acrobatics are getting out of hand. Am I doomed to change him on the floor for the next three years?

I decided my nursery could not be complete without a rocking chair, so I told E I was buying myself one. We’re calling it my birthday present, although my real birthday present will be NOT BEING PREGNANT. Mom and I went over to Babies R Us to pick up the glider I had registered for, but apparently they’re in the process of changing their stock so they didn’t even have a floor model left. I was very annoyed. So we went to Target and bought almost exactly the same chair, including the ottoman, for $100 less. Plus Mom works at Target and let me use her employee discount – Thanks Mom!

Here’s the final pictures of everything all put together, including the lamps and the rocker. The absolutely adorable Wild Things dolls are from my sister and I luuuurve them. She also painted the little table next to the rocker. I’m really really pleased with the way the whole room turned out.

And this is my final notice to my bebeh:

Besides the second bookcase – which will be here the first weekend of March – and a more appropriate lamp, I think we’re done! I found a few things in the guest bedroom that work in here now, even if they’re not really baby-oriented.

And an almost 34 weeks belly picture. Let this serve as a warning to anyone who things “gee, being pregnant isn’t so bad! I’m already 28 weeks and not so huge!” THE HUGE IS COMING. Please excuse my pants, these are my painting clothes. I woke up with intentions to work on the guest bedroom but so far all I’ve managed to do is carry the supplies upstairs.

How cute is all this stuff? I mean, it’s not Odeedoh hip and modern but with the really blue walls and the awesome shiny floors I think I can get away with cheap Babies R Us and Target decor.

I need to move the baby swing and carrier downstairs, but since I don’t need them in my living room right now I’m using the baby room as storage.

This bedding set is even cuter in the room than it was online. I love that I can buy stuff that “matches” but isn’t meant as nursery decor.

Next up: one more bookcase, lighting, curtain rods and a box to cover the radiator.