When it comes to sensory play, you may think what benefit can this possibly have for your baby at such a young age? And if it does, how can you introduce it to your little one?
Sensory simply means engaging your baby’s senses such as sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Whilst it may be a few months before your baby can taste different things, there are plenty of activities that you can encourage their sight and touch to experience.
By creating sensory experiences for your baby at home, they can learn essential skills such as fine motor skills, language development, imaginative play and overall cognitive development. Here are some ways you can introduce it to their day to day.
Bathtime
Bathtime is a special bonding experience between you and your baby and it’s important to make this as positive, safe and comfortable as possible. When using the Shnuggle baby bath your baby can easily enjoy their bathtime due to its more upright position and bum bump which keeps your baby from sliding down during bathtime. This allows one hand free to allow you to bathe and bond with baby. Its compact size keeps the water and therefore baby warmer for longer, ensuring a happy bath time experience.
Swaddle bathing is a great way to introduce your baby to bathtime and water as a whole, as it can be quite overwhelming to your little one. The swaddle creates the feeling of being in the womb, wrapping your baby in warmth and security. When your baby is a little bit older, tactile toys are great to introduce to bathtime to keep them occupied and entertained. Our Stick n Play Star Toy is perfect for lots of tactile play at bath time. Easily sticks to the side of the bath and the stars have raised dots that your baby will love to feel and perhaps teethe on! In addition, our Ellie bath caddy is great for scooping up toys and letting the water drain out helping your child to get used to splashing water. Our Wishy bath toy lights up in the bath and can be pulled apart helping your baby develop their fine motor skills as well as creating a sensory bath time with the soft baby safe glow. Our Stack n Sail boats also add to the fun of bath time, encouraging imaginative play and their stacking skills!

Mealtimes
Whilst your main focus at mealtimes is to get your little one to eat, when preparing their food they can get a little bit restless and frustrated. This is the perfect time to introduce a sensory experience to keep them calm and interested. Our new Stick n Play Sensory Star Toy can stick to your baby’s highchair and distract them while you prepare one of their many meals! Our tactile stars work a little bit like an abacus - your little one can move them from side to side and spin them around. The different sized raised bumps get your child used to how different surfaces feel, and of course, if they are teething they’ll love to dribble away on the soft baby safe silicone material. Because our Stick n Play is easy to clean and dishwasher safe, if you are trying out baby-led weaning this toy can get messy with minimal clean up time after!
Changing time
Changing time might seem like an odd time to introduce sensory play, but it can be a challenge to keep your baby still and comfortable while changing their nappy. Our Squishy changing mat is made from a material that is warm to the touch, so isn’t like traditional plastic changing mats that can leave your baby feeling cold and uncomfortable. The slight incline of the mat helps to ease colic and reflux symptoms keeping baby comfy and happy during change time. This also allows for lots of eye contact and play. The incline also makes the Squishy Changing Mat perfect for some tummy time.

Bedtime
Usually bedtime is the time you want your baby to have less sensory stimulation so they can go to sleep, however a way to aid this is using a dimmed light which can create a comforting sensory experience in itself. Our Moonlight Night Light creates a soft glow when you are feeding your baby, changing them for bed and eventually putting them in their cot. Alongside this, it has a temperature sensing dock to help ensure the ideal room temperature which sets the scene for a peaceful night's slumber. The low blue light levels provide a more peaceful sleep by helping your baby to nod off. This light is easily carried around the home and can become a comforting light for baby as they grow and get older - guiding them down the hall for their bathroom visits and comforting them through the night.
If you’d like to know more about creating fun sensory experiences for your little one, read our blogs below;