Top 10 Toys and Gifts for Infants

At 3 months, babies are just learning to grab things, and won't quite be ready to fully interact with this sweet mailbox toy, but they'll figure it out pretty quickly! Little hands will love touching the small pieces of mail and the sun with the ribbon tags and listening to the crinkly sounds some of the pieces make. As baby grows, he or she will love putting things in the soft mailbox and taking them out again. For smaller babies, you can work on object permanence by placing objects in the mailbox while baby watches.

Tummy time is important for babies at this age, since they're supposed to sleep on their backs but need time to develop their neck muscles and avoid getting flat spots on their heads. The Spin & Explore Garden Gym from Lamaze can be used without the spinning part for babies who don't hold their head up well yet, so it's a good choice for this age. Once head control gets better, you can add the spinner, and baby can kick to move around in a circle to explore the different colors and textures of the play mat. Toy pockets and flaps let you hide things to show baby and give some additional interaction possibilities for baby.

Small toys that fit easily in baby's hands are good choices for infants. These tiny vegetables are soft and have rattles inside, so baby can have fun shaking them and listening to the sounds they make. The carrot, tomato and lettuce rattles are sure to end up in baby's mouth, so I like that they're machine washable.

The Jumperoo from Fisher Price is a modern version of those doorway jumpers we all loved as kids. This one is self-contained, though, and isn't going to fall from a door frame, so baby can jump safely and just about anywhere. The Rainforest theme is really cute, with tree frogs, palm leaves and tropical birds scattered among the toys and on the seat. There are plenty of toys for baby to look at as soon as he or she is able to sit up well, and then he or she can learn to jump gradually.

Moose toys are usually pretty cute, but Mortimer is cuter than average, I think. This fun infant toy from Lamaze incorporates teething elements with textures and stimulating colors and patterns so there's something for baby to enjoy almost any time. A link at the top lets you attach Mortimer to a baby carrier or stroller so he can go with you for portable play time. From his chewy antlers to his stretchy legs to his big crinkly hooves, this moose is a perfect friend for any baby.

Pretty music is the reward when baby learns to touch the flowers on this toy. Five brightly colored flowers on long stems make up the Lamaze Chime Garden. You can set it to different modes so that each flower plays one note, a piece of a song or a full song when baby touches it. This is a toy that will encourage your baby to explore and learn. It's also a toy that looks different from different angles, so it's great for babies who are learning to sit or crawl, because it encourages them to seek a different view.

If your baby could use a little help getting to sleep, this fuzzy sheep may be the answer. The sound box inside the sheep plays a variety of sounds - from heartbeats to rain and whale songs - to soothe baby and mask any distracting noises that may keep baby awake. Your baby can drift off to sleep peacefully with more than 20 minutes of soothing sounds. A loop on the sheep lets you attach it to baby's crib so it isn't near baby's face.

Every baby needs a good rattle, and usually it ends up being a teething toy as well. This colorful rattle from Plan Toys easily works as both. Multi-colored disks provide the shaking and rattling, as does a ball on a little string. The rounded edges are easy for small hands to grasp. The whole body of the rattle is made of rubberwood and the finishes are all non-toxic.

As soon as your baby figures out how to move those little legs, they'll probably be moving constantly. Give baby an outlet for jumping with this colorful, bouncy toy from Baby Einstein. The seat swivels around so baby can see three different activity stations, each with its own exciting toys. Sounds and lights add to the fun. You can use this toy as soon as baby can sit in the seat without slumping over, which is around 3-4 months for some babies and more for others. Babies at this age range change so fast that it's a good idea to buy toys that will grow with them!

This rattle set is easy for tiny hands to grasp, so it's a great toy for even the youngest infants. The set includes five of Sassy's wonderful rattles, each in a different shape. Some of the rattles have clear sections with colorful balls inside, some have softer teething sections, and some have plastic rings around them for extra sight and sound stimulation, but all of them feature Sassy's signature bright-colored spots and stripes. Cute, inexpensive and easy to stash in a diaper bag for travel!