Top 9 Toys and Activities For 9 Month Old Babies

Nine month old Rosie tried hot sauce at dim sum, fell off the bed for the first time and says “baba” all day long. She weighs 15lb, can (finally) roll proficiently, crawls backwards and loves to bounce. Rosie has since outgrown most of her 0-3 month old toys and has a new array of treasures. Today I’m sharing the top 9 toys and activities for 9 month old babies that I’ve discovered!

If you’re using this post for reference, keep in mind Rosie is a preemie so her developmental age is minus two months (7 month). I am writing with respect to her actual age (9 month).

Favourite Toys

We love toys that 1) keep a baby entertained long 2) have some educational purpose (colours, textures, music, etc) and 3) can grow with the baby. Rosie just cares about 1) being entertained but thankfully, her top 3 toys meet our needs too:

IKEA Stacking Cups

It’s just so simple, compact and effective. The point is to stack into a tower but Rosie doesn’t know how to stack yet. I stack and she destroys is our usual routine. She also loves to examine the different designs on every cup and it’s a hit in the bath.

Vtech Book

We are big fans of Vtetch and no, we’re not tired of the jingles yet (although it’s pretty funny that George and I are both humming those tunes all day long). The book is a hit because the side buttons are easy to press, the tunes are classic and the pages are easy to flip (good practice for the keen little one).

Bouncing Balls

There’s a funny story to this toy. We were gifted it and it didn’t come with batteries. Rosie still loved to play with it. A month later, we finally got batteries and she was absolutely terrified when the froggy came alive – singing and bouncing the balls in its mouth. She recovered fast and loves it. There’s cute tunes, colours and lights but the highlight of this toy is the bouncing function. 

Favourite Homemade Toys

If your baby is anything like mine, you’d agree they have a natural affinity to non-toys. Here are a few home-made items that entertained Rosie more than her toys did:

Crinkle Paper/Tissue Paper

I got this big package in the mail once and it was insulated with crinkle paper. It kept Rosie entertained for days. She loved the texture of the crinkle paper and the fact that she could make a mess. It helped with her fine motor skills because she also liked to pick up individual strands. She also liked to eat it so I had to keep my eye on her. Tissue paper is just as much fun in our house. Our girl is a big fan of paper in general.

Homemade Kleenex Box

I came up with this idea when I realized Rosie loved pulling tissues out of the Kleenex box. I put some shredded colourful paper in an empty box and hid some small toys inside too. It’s super easy to make.

Homemade Rattle

Rosie’s always been fond of rattles, and ecstatically so when she realized we would applaud her loudly when she’d shake them for us. Homemade rattles with different items inside (beans, rice, etc.) are easy to make.  

Favourite Activities

It can be hard work keeping a baby entertained throughout the day. I go out with Rosie often but there are 1 or 2 days in the week where we’ll hermit at home. Here are some other activities that Rosie loves:

Where’s the phone?

Rosie has always been very attentive to noise. That’s why “find the phone” is a big hit at our house. We usually have a Spotify playlist playing on our phones and put it in different places (in between couch cushions, on the side of the rocking chair, under the blanket, etc.) and watch Rosie try to find it.

Water Play

Rosie is a huge fan of anything water related. A water activity bin outside in the summer or even in the bath is a great way to entertain the babe. I’ll throw in an assortment of toys for her to explore. Her favourite is always a cup of some sort so that she can try to grab at the water stream flowing out from it. And sponges.

Living Room Obstacle Course

It’s fun to just change it up once in a while. Rosie was ecstatic on the first day she saw us taking out the couch cushions and placing them on the floor. She did get too excited and fell backwards off the cushion so make sure supervision is at hand.

So there they are:  my top 9 toys and activities for 9 month old babies. Did you discover something different? I would love to get some new ideas!