Before I get into the nitty-gritty of black and white newborn toys, allow me to tell you about my first month alone with my newborn. It was the second month of my motherhood journey, and my husband returned to work. Our little one was starting to be more alert, and I found myself thinking, “Well. What should we do now?” a lot. To help ease my nervousness about new motherhood, I started to make small daily schedules that I would loosely follow. I promised myself I wouldn’t feel bad if the schedule didn’t go as planned, but I found it eased my mind by writing down my thoughts. Instead of constantly questioning myself and bombarding my brain with all these thoughts: “Am I reading to her enough?” “Am I singing to her enough?” “Am I letting her explore enough?” “Am I talking to her enough?” “Am I giving her enough downtime?” “Did she get enough sleep and milk?” my loose schedule allowed me to KNOW that I was being purposeful and intentional. I could acknowledge any anxious early motherhood thought, and then let it pass by because I knew I was doing my best.
Fortunately for me, my background is in education and childhood development. Because of this, I knew what to include in our schedule. If I didn’t have this background, I can imagine that this would all feel overwhelming. Therefore, I hope to make it easier for you. Today, I want to do that by sharing some ideas to include in those early newborn days. The activities I will share today are all focused on black and white newborn toys. As newborn babies’ vision is not fully developed at birth, babies love to look at high-contrast items because they stand out in their blurry world. These items will help attract their attention and focus.
There are several different types of black and white newborn toys for babies. These include mobiles, rattles, apparel, crinkle toys, play mats, bean bags, balls, texture boards or books, board books, and pictures. Some of these items can even be DIY!
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Black and White Newborn Toys that Support Tummy Time
As we have learned in recent years, back is best for infant sleep. Because babies need to be put on their backs to sleep, they need tummy time during the day to help make their neck and shoulder muscles stronger. Some fun toys to include for tummy time are a wobble toy, a play mat, a sensory mat, and a puppet or stuffed animal. Below I share about each item as well as recommended items from Amazon or a way to DIY.
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The movement of the wobble toy is sure to capture your baby’s attention. While there are wobble toys of various colors, this penguin one is sure to grab their attention right from the start. Later, it can be used to practice reaching, grasping, and hand control.
DIY: To make a wobble toy, use a white easter egg and draw black designs on it. You can glue a small item inside to weigh down the bottom, and then glue the easter egg shut. *Make sure to supervise your baby when using DIY items*
I have experience with all of the items linked above. We owned the play gym and the play mat (link 1 and link 4), and my mom had the play activity mat at her house (link 2). A play gym or a play mat is one item I would recommend adding to your baby registry. We used the play gym several times a day for the first 6 months and continued to use it throughout the first year. The play gym and play activity mat are both great as they offer a lot of high-contrast items to focus on. The play gym was able to be used in many different ways, so it is a much more versatile option if your budget allows for it. The play mat’s arches are lower, so it was not used as much after the baby became more mobile (around 6 months), but it IS a more affordable option.
We purchased the play mat when my daughter turned 6 months old and needed more room to explore. We have wood floors, and I wanted an area for her that was padded. She LOVED the black triangle on the white mat. She would belly scoot from triangle to triangle, and squeal with glee when she found a new one. She would also try to eat them (hahaha).
There is not a great DIY option for a play mat, but if both these items are out of your budget, a blanket for tummy time will work great! You can even DIY your own black and white picture cards to add some high-contrast items to tummy time (see my blog post on how to do this here.)
This is such a fun item! It is great for tummy time. It has high-contrast colors that will attract your baby’s attention, as well as promote the development of their neck and shoulder muscles as they push up to look and feel the items. This item will keep your baby’s interest for much of the first year as they will still be interested in it when they start to grab and feel items.
DIY: A great DIY alternative is to fill a gallon Ziplock bag with clear gel or water and black, white, and red items such as glitter, pompoms, sequins, and foam shapes. All these items can be purchased at the dollar store. Make sure to secure the bag with tape to the ground and always supervise your baby when using DIY items. *Make sure to actively supervise babies with DIY items. *
Puppets are such a WONDERFUL tummy time activity. When you put on a puppet show for your baby, it will encourage them to look up at the puppet and give them the warm fuzzies as they listen to their favorite sound – your voice!
DIY: This is one of the easiest DIYs! All you need is a white sock from the dollar store. Then use black and red markers to draw a face. *Make sure to actively supervise babies with DIY items. *
Black and White Newborn Toys that Support Focus and Visual Development:
Okay-all these black and white newborn toys promote visual development and focus, but these items are specifically meant just for looking and thinking.
The Montessori scope and sequence has so many interesting mobiles for babies to focus on. The first one of the series is the Munari Mobile. It is so beautiful and definitely will catch your baby’s attention as it slowly glides around and catches the light.
DIY: This is a bit more in-depth DIY. For this project, you will need black yarn, wooden dowels, a black and white straw, a clear plastic ball (I used a bath bomb mold, but a Christmas ornament would work), black and white paint, and this Munari printable. I purchased these items from the dollar store and Hobby Lobby.
- Paint one wooden dowel black and the other white.
- Print the printable, cut them, and glue similar images together.
- Tie Printable A to the right side of the straw.
- Tie Printable B to the left side of the straw.
- Tie Printable C to the left side of the black dowel.
- Tie the straw to the right side of the black dowel.
- Tie the black dowel to the right side of the white dowel.
- Tie the plastic ball to the left side of the white dowel.
- Place yarn in the middle of the black dowel and hand the mobile.
- Move the parts around and adjust the string until the mobile is balanced.
*Make sure to actively supervise babies with DIY items. *
- Black and White Picture Cards
I have a whole blog post about this topic! Check it out here!
Black and White Newborn Toys that Promote Body Awareness
The crazy thing about newborns is that they can see their arm and think “Whoa! What’s that?!” They don’t realize that it’s part of them! These black and white newborn toys help them discover parts of their body.
Mittens are a great way to keep babies from accidentally scratching themselves as they learn about their bodies. Picking mittens that have a high-contrast design will help them notice their hands and develop body awareness. My daughter loved the ones we got from our Lovevery kit, but the linked mittens would also work. I especially love the options with the teether to support safely mouthing their hands. Mouthing is how they explore items as babies can feel best with their mouths.
DIY: This is a very easy DIY! The Dollar Tree sells white baby mittens. Simply use a nontoxic black marker to draw designs on the mittens. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy! *Make sure to actively supervise babies with DIY items. *
Like mittens, using high-contrast socks helps your baby notice their feet to foster their body awareness. The socks linked are normal baby socks that happen to have a black and white design. If you are going to put socks on your baby to keep their feet warm, might as well use socks with black and white designs to give your baby something to notice and explore!
DIY: This DIY is just like the mittens. The Dollar Tree sells white baby socks. Use a nontoxic black marker to draw designs on the mittens. *Make sure to actively supervise babies with DIY items. *
These wrist rattle and socks are not strictly black and white, but they do fit the high contrast look that will engage young babies. We were gifted the first set linked and our little one loved them. The second set is the same as the first set, but it is in a different color. Both sets are high contrast and would work so it’s simply a matter of personal preference. The wrist rattle and socks give your baby something else to notice. When they move their arm or foot, the rattles make noise. This is an early example of cause and effect. These items are sure to make your baby think while she explores!
Black and White Newborn Toys that Support Grasping
Rattles are a classic baby toy. Rattles are a great way to encourage your baby to look up or to encourage visual tracking. For example, hold the rattle 10-12 inches away from your baby. Slowly move the rattle back and forth and up and down to encourage your baby to follow the rattle. If her attention focuses off the rattle, gently shake the rattle to bring her attention back to it. After having your baby follow the rattle, you can shake it and encourage your baby to reach out for it. If she does, you can give her the rattle. The rattle that is linked is the perfect high-contrast item to support your baby’s focus in this game.
DIY: To make a DIY rattle, you can take a high-contrast baby sock and place some cotton balls into it. Place some noisy items such as a bell, rice, or beans in an empty childproof, travel-sized medicine bottle. Place the container inside the sock and add more cotton balls. Then sew up the sock or use a no-sew method such as fusing bonding tape. *Make sure to actively supervise babies with DIY items*
A crinkle bag was the first item my baby reached out and grabbed. Babies just love the sound of the crinkle paper. It is perfect for their herculean grip when they first start grasping and their involuntary movements. No matter how they move, it crinkles, and they love to hear that interesting noise!
DIY: To DIY crinkle paper, I bought black and white fabric from the dollar store. I cut out a large rectangle. Then, I cut up wipe bags and placed them on the rectangle. I folded the rectangle over and used a no-sew bonding tape to seal it shut. Voila- crinkle paper! *Make sure to actively supervise babies with DIY items.
This activity pad is great for encouraging the exploration of touch as well as encouraging your baby’s visual development with high-contrast colors. The high contrast colors, the ring, and the folded item allow for lots of grasping, pulling, and batting.
DIY: When my baby was around 5 months, I made a DIY board that she loved! I think this would be a great option for newborn babies in black and white. You could do this in one of two ways: you could do one large board with several textures glued to it, or you could do several small square cards with one texture per board. If I were to do it again, I think I would use small square-shaped boards. The board was a bit problematic because she couldn’t reach all the items as she wasn’t able to crawl or scoot yet. Some black and white textured materials that are available at the dollar store to glue to your board or cards are yarn, netting, pompoms, feathers, jewels, fabric, and foam. *Make sure textures are firmly secured to the boards and actively supervise babies with DIY items. *
4. Hanging Balls and Hanging Stuffies
These items are great to place on a play gym and encourage your little one to reach up and bat at them. Place the item above your baby’s head as he lays on his back. You can even gently move his hands through the motion so he can notice how his hand makes the item move.
DIY: This is a very easy DIY. You can use elastic to hang your baby’s favorite toys from a play gym or hold the elastic yourself while playing with your little one. *Make sure to actively supervise babies with DIY items. *
Black and White Newborn Kits
These kits are helpful to get some variety in your black and white toys with one purchase. We purchased the Lovevery kit, and I loved it. It had high-quality items, and the play guides are my jam since I love learning about all things child development. However, I don’t love the model of this company as I think they restrict access to their items by making it subscription-based. Additionally, the price point just isn’t accessible for families-especially families that just had a baby!
This kit from Amazon is more affordable and provides many of the same types of items that the Lovevery kit provides.
Final Thoughts on Black and White Newborn Toys
As you can see there are SO many options for black and white newborn toys. I hope this makes your life easier by helping you sort through all the options or I provided ways to make it more accessible for your family through DIY. What do you think you’ll try? Let me know!
