10 Ways to Play with Infants

It may sound silly, but I think it can be a challenge to think of ways to keep an infant occupied all day! Sure, they take lots of naps and can lay on a blanket, but I love finding ways to PLAY my baby! I remember thinking the days got long with my first baby. Now that I’m on my third baby, I’ve found some activities to occupy my baby throughout the day. These ideas are intended to be used with babies who don’t sit up yet and are around the age of 2-6 months.

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1. Mirror Play

Once a baby discovers their face in the mirror, they love to see themselves! I set up a mirror in my baby’s room. (It’s very secure so it will not fall on him!) Then I set a boppy in front of the mirror and a few toys. He loves watching himself in the mirror or following me in the mirror! We do this activity for about 10 minutes at a time.

2. Water Play

Another fun (and a little messy) activity is letting your child splash water on a tray. You can also put a few toys on the tray. I saw this idea here and loved it, so I tried it out with Lincoln. Make sure your baby has good head control and you are right next to your baby the entire time.

3. Wrapping Paper

There’s something fun about crumpling up wrapping paper. My baby loved hearing this sound and grabbing the wrapping paper. I stay next to my baby when we do this, just in case he would try to eat the paper!

4. Airplane Baby

My baby LOVES this activity! I lay on the ground and place him on my legs. Then we bounce, rock, and have fun interacting with each other. I also like to sing songs to him or make funny faces at him to make him smile!

5. Sensory Bottles

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that we love sensory bottles. Sensory bottles are for babies to look at. When they are older, they can shake the bottles themselves. You can see all of our sensory bottles here.

6. Bubbles

I love blowing bubbles to my baby! He follows them with his eyes and tries to get them. It’s so cute!! (It’s also hard to take a photo of this!) Just try not to blow bubbles directly in their face. 🙂

7. Crib Time

Sometimes, I set a few toys in the crib and let my baby play independently. I am nearby or watching on the video monitor, but he loves it! He’s usually cooing or making happy sounds in his crib. I also think crib mobiles are fun to use in the crib.

8. Bath Time

All my babies love bath time! They splash and coo and I can tell it’s one of their favorite times of the day. It’s also a great activity if your baby has a cold or is teething.

9. Discovery Bags

I created a discovery bag by placing hair gel into a Ziploc bag along with other small items for my baby to look at. Then I secured it with glue so it won’t open up. Next, I let my baby touch, look, and explore it. It’s simple and an easy way to keep a baby occupied. I’ve never had a bag open up accidentally, but if you want to be safe you could double-bag it.

10. Toys

I love toys that babies can grab. I think baby links are great because they are easy to hold or shake. All of my babies LOVED the Manhattan Activity Toy. It’s great for teething, shaking, grabbing, and it’s a colorful toy! Another favorite toy of ours is the Sophie Giraffe Teether.

Other things I like to do with infants is read books, sing songs, and make silly faces at them!

Let me also share that there are times throughout the day where I lay my baby on a blanket, set him in the swing, or put him in the bouncer seat so I can do other tasks. I do, however, have two other energetic boys needing my attention! So please don’t feel bad if you aren’t always playing with your baby.

Oh these baby days go by so fast! Go play with your infant and enjoy these sweet moments!

If you are looking for baby toy suggestions, you may want to check out our favorite ones here.

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