our baby loves balls — soft, bouncy, big, small, bright, subtle — here is a short catalog of those he's enjoyed (and we have too)

Oball classic: nice simple one, small and cheap, easy to travel with, and useful for latching practice actually lol

felted ball: really soft and fun colors and nice to the touch…you can buy or make these!

yellow rubber kickball: fun to bounce and roll around in the park; large for a baby but light enough to play with and carry around easily

ping pong ball: bouncy, makes a fun sound, just the right size for baby to grip

set of six colorful balls: I forget what brand but ours each have a different texture/pattern and little faces on them; great for "daddy six-ball-hands" to practice throwing all six into a basket

cool handmade balls (!): …of any kind — very special and cool

interesting sites, essays, etc. — some are more relevant for older kids, but inspirational to start thinking about now!

fun little games, exercises, and activities to play with little ones (gaby bames are baby games but…subverted somehow; get a little weird)

read poetry out loud to baby

they may simply fall asleep but it'll help them become hyperliterate and cultured

upside-down the baby

carefully of course, but give them a little thrill! invert that boi, flip 'er over, string together combos, etc.

we've read dozens of them and we're just getting started; here are some that are actually good and smart and delightful, and not slop or mediocrity!

early favorites

I am a Bunny - Ole Risom & Richard Scarry

All Kinds of Families! - Mary Ann Hoberman

Chinese Poetry Primer: Our Sun - Yu-hsuan Huang

Food (touch words) - Rilla Alexander

Peekaboo Sun - Ingela P. Arrhenius

Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown

Indestructibles (tear-proof, waterproof, etc.)

mom and dad favorites

Home - Carson Ellis

Invisible Things - Andy J. Pizza & Sophie Miller

Run, Run, Run! - Taro Gomi

My First Mandarin Words with Gordon & Li Li - Michele Wong McSween

future favorites

some ideas we've brainstormed that could at least in theory make for some very delightful personal books to create…maybe we'll make some one day?!

A Tour of the Fridge — you go inside and shrink down small; everything is big around you, like a palace, and all the bounties of food are wondrously illustrated…

Searching — looking for something you lost, you explore all around your house — searching under the couch, on the kitchen table, in the bookshelf — each spot a different little imaginary world

Falling Asleep — a book that lulls the baby to a peaceful slumber

Letters — teach the alphabet by having really cool art of the letters and a little poetic couplet or something that alliteratively uses them

Numbers — teach tiny babies the concept of numbers; each page shows a number along with that number of a fun object

Shapes and Colors — teach colors and shapes by having one color/shape per page and all kinds of objects that are that color/shape (two books? or combined somehow?)

Pickles On the Loose — about a dog Pickles that gets loose and goes through a bunch of Prospect Park scenes, then at the end is found by his family…

Cyclical Book — a book that loops and repeats, perhaps on different cadences (every page; ever chapter?) like rhythms or seasons

yummy food, relatively healthy, easy to make, that (in our experience) babies (at least sometimes) actually will eat!

reusable pouches

filled with any number of things (pureed fruits and veggies etc.) but particularly a mix of yogurt + applesauce = very simple and yummy

grilled chicken

with teriyaki sauce or korean bbq sauce

sausages

cut into little pieces

pasta, with stuff

shrimp, tomato sauce, and spinach has been a hit

store-bought pouches

easy to overuse, but clutch when you're on the go

a selection of the very best things we've bought or been gifted, drawn from this extensive spreadsheet with lots of recs :)

Guava Roam stroller, great for jogging but honestly we use it way more just for long walks to the park / around Brooklyn

Joolz Aer+ stroller, super compact and easy to fold, great daycare dropoff daily driver

Nestig Wave crib, converts from a mini-crib to regular crib to toddler bed, simple and solid and stylish

Inglesina high chair, very nice compact option if your table supports it, the tray is useful too

Lovevery makes nice stuff; the age-based toy kits seem a bit excessive tbh but we really like the block set

various other things…

bottles: try a bunch! we ended up liking the Philips Avent but everyone seems to have a different fave

sippy cups: ditto haha

also try lots of diaper creams

useful to get a pack and play for naps and temporary daytime containment and use as a travel crib (the Guava Lotus is nice and portable but any brand is fine, we've used several)

Ubbi makes the best diaper pail