best baby toys - Stuff Parents Need

My sister Laura from Southern Made Simple has a FANTASTIC activity center to show you today. Anyone out there who is expecting or who has an infant should definitely check this out. I know my girls would have loved this when they were babies and would still be using it now! You’ll have to read the review for yourself to understand how in the world older kids could still get use out of it. 😉

Edit: Don’t miss the AWESOME product update at the end of the post!

Before I had my daughter, I was warned by other parents that my baby would grow faster than the blink of an eye. They would tell me to savor every newborn moment because those moments wouldn’t last for long, and that babies most certainly don’t keep. I don’t want to say that I ignored people when they said things like that, but I typically chose not to really listen. Frankly, it just sounded depressing to me, and a hormonal depressed pregnant lady probably isn’t a good thing!

And then I had my beautiful baby girl. And she was a newborn for what seemed to be all of two days. And now? She’s 6 months old, crawling all over the place, is VERY vocal (especially when we are feeding her solids..she’s not a fan), and she’s into everything. Why didn’t anyone tell me that they grow SO fast? Seriously. Somebody could’ve at least warned me! 😉

All that is to say that babies really do grow and develop so quickly, especially during their first year. Each time I have had to pack and put away her clothing she’s outgrown, I’m amazed at all of the things she didn’t even have time to wear. I’ve even gone through and found a few of her toys that she seems to have outgrown because she has become too advanced for them. Most of them she hardly even got to look at!

Luckily, the folks at Oribel had the fact that babies grow very quickly in mind when they created the Portaplay convertible activity center. This play table has been a huge hit with my daughter and me since we took it out of the package! It can be used as a fabulous little activity center for babies 5 to 12 months, and then easily transforms to a multi-purpose play table that can be used for children up to 5 years old. I really appreciate that this is something that will grow with my child. I won’t have to put it away with her baby toys (and ugly cry while doing it) because she’ll definitely be playing with this as she gets older and changes developmentally. Hooray for functionality!

The Portaplay came very neatly packaged and was insanely easy to put together. That’s really saying something in my opinion, because I typically skip out on putting things like this together and make my husband do it because I just know I’ll get frustrated with it. Fortunately that wasn’t the case at all! Once you get the table itself out and the leg height adjusted properly, you simply click the 5 learning toys and the swivel seat into place.

They’re really easy to snap in, and they stay put nicely so that a baby or toddler could not pop them off on their own. When you get ready to transition the activity center into a toddler play table, you can snap out the seat and play toys and put the flat plugs and wooden center piece into place with ease. It took me roughly 3 minutes to transform the play center into a table, and I had no hiccups or issues along the way! The only thing that I feel it is missing is a locking system for the wooden center piece for the table. It just sits in place, and I feel that it would be pretty easy for a curious 3 or 4 year old to take out and play with.

We currently have the activity table positioned at the lowest leg level for my daughter. Her feet don’t quite reach the bottom yet, so we stuck a little board underneath so she could stand properly. My daughter is absolutely on the petite side compared to other 6 month old children, so I feel that most other babies probably wouldn’t have much trouble reaching the floor.

From the moment that I sat her into the swivel seat of the activity center, she lit up like a light with excitement. She went straight to work playing and gnawing on the learning toys. She also thought it was so much fun to spin around from toy to toy with ease. Since she’s teething, she really liked one of the toys in particular:

Each of the learning toys encourages play in a different way and helps stimulate all five senses. The toys help develop hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor skills, and self awareness. They’re also easily washable, too! Just rinse with a little soapy water and pat dry. This is great since I have a little drool monster on my hands!

My daughter has really been enjoying playing and exploring with the new Oribel Portaplay activity center. Before long, we’ll be transitioning it into a toddler play table. I don’t want to think about that just yet, but I am so glad that Oribel had growing babies in mind and created a play station that will grow with them.

Have I mentioned how great the Portaplay is yet? It’s pretty great, you guys. In fact, it’s SO great, it won 7 awards in 2015 alone, including the 2015 Kids Product of the Year from Creative Child Magazine. So cool! You can purchase the Portaplay activity center for just $149 from their website or from select retailers. They also have a few other really great products and will be releasing a super fabulous high chair in the very near future! I look forward to seeing the innovative children’s products that Oribel comes out with soon!

Update:

Big news from Oribel! I just got word that two brand new accessories are being released soon that will enhance play time with the already fabulous Portaplay system! Children will now be able to take a break from standing with the new Portaplay Child Stools, which are going to pair nicely with the new Portaplay Art Paper Roll Dispenser. Talk about a match made in heaven!

My daughter continues to play with the Portaplay every single day. I was so pumped to hear about these new attachments, because just a few days ago I caught myself wishing she could sit down while she plays at the table. She is new to walking, so her little legs get tired easily. I should have known that the brilliant minds at Oribel were already on the ball with that! The paper dispenser is also going to be perfect for those little budding artists who love to use their imagination and get creative. It even locks into place so it can’t roll off the table. Again, the folks at Oribel are really on top of their stuff!

Oribel is offering a special discount code for those that may be interested in pre-ordering these amazing new attachments. Be sure to check out the details below and check back soon to see a full review these sweet new products!

Promo code: Oribel15 – gets you 15% off your entire order. Sweet!

Details:

Only available on US site
Only available for PortaPlay and accessories
Not available with other promotion
Expires on May 10, 2016

Lamaze toys hold a very special place in my heart. We actually used a purple hippo Lamaze toy to help us announce our pregnancy with Darah.

We put the hippo, which we had picked up a a garage sale (it still looked in impeccable condition) and placed it out with our stockings on Christmas morning at my parents’ house. Our stockings are usually overflowing, so it isn’t usual for presents to be displayed all around them. I put the hippo in between my mom and dad’s stocking and put the ultrasound picture we had underneath it.

They actually didn’t figure out what was going on due to the baby toy, alone. My dad actually thought it was a toy for his dog! Ha! But the picture underneath helped them figure it out really quickly. That hippo is part of such a special memory.

It also became a toy for Darah, and is now a toy for Layah. And it is STILL in excellent shape. Lamaze toys, in my experience, really hold up well so they can be used by several different babies before they are ready to be retired.

Lamaze is a company that has partnered with child development experts to create toys that truly engage babies at developmentally appropriate levels. All of their packaging has color-coded age grades to make it easy for you to select the right products for your child’s changing needs.

Today I want to introduce a few of their products that were actually all featured on this What to Expect When You’re Expecting movie poster!

First up, meet Stretch the Giraffe. This fantastic toy has a lot of features that will engage your babies for months! The bright, colorful fabrics tend to attract attention, as do the ribbons, the clacking rings and the squeaks and crinkle sounds that are made when playing with the giraffe. Darah had a previous incarnation of this toy and she loved it. I know Layah will love her giraffe, too! Stretch retails for $14.99.

Next up, meet Hula Girl Travel Toy. She is meant to ride along on a stroller or carrier, and she moves right along with them! I love all the textures on this toy; it will be a big hit when Layah starts to grab things! It retails for $16.99.

Finally we have Octivity Time. This cute octopus is intended for babies 6 months and up, and has a mirror, a spinning starfish, clinky rings and other great features and textures for baby play. It retails for $19.99.