It can be difficult to know what to do with your baby once they hit five months old. They may not yet be able to sit unsupported and yet they are desperate to do more playtime activities. This article discusses the 5 month baby activities we got up to when Dex was a five month old baby. We will be trying all these again one Felix turns five months old!
Tummy Time with Ducks
To encourage tummy time my friend Samantha inspired us to try this. I filled an oven dish with water and put some ducks in it. Dexter tried to grab at the ducks and splash his hands in the water. It was a great sensory experience for Dex while developing those important neck and arm muscles.
Tummy Time on the Playmat with Toys
Another fun way to encourage Tummy Time is to invest in a lovely plush play mat, ours is from Mamas & Papas.
- Thick and Soft Material: The luxurious polyester lining and cotton padding of this soft floor gym play an important role in protecting your babies in the process of learning to stand and play. Parents can also enjoy a comfortable and safe playtime with their children with this activity gym
- Detachable Toys: This play gym for toddlers includes 3 detachable hanging toys with can hang on the car seat, buggies, pushchairs and strollers. The toys are specifically designed for tactile and gripping experiences to develop fine motor skills. Also comes with a baby mirror, squeaker, a crinkle, a teething ring and grosgrain grippy ribbons
- Beautifully Designed: Other play gyms fall into the trap of being too busy in terms of colour and design. Our baby play gym is tastefully designed to fit in perfectly with the decor of your home. The play gym is easy to set up and can be assembled in 20 seconds. It also comes with a carry case for easy transportation
- Safety First: Here at MiniDream, your babies safety is our number one priority. Therefore, the baby play gym Complies with EN71 regulations and has an anti-slip surface for your little one’s protection. The baby mat contains non-toxic materials for your peace of mind
- Stimulates Your Baby’s Senses: This gym mat for boys and girls is designed with multiple activities for sensory perception development! Smart colours are included to enhance visual skills. Playful fun tunes, music and textures stimulate baby’s senses of hearing and touch
You can dangle all sort of toys from it which helps baby with his neck movement, giving him the strength needed to one day sit up, crawl and walk.
Dexter loves reaching out and grabbing he toys and rolling from front to back to front again.
Here, he is playing with his Lamaze Rusty Robot. A fab toy with lots to see and do. He likes to grab hold of it and give it a good talking to!
- 2 ROBOT FRIENDS IN 1 – Rusty the Robot is a cuddly toy which features a soft velour body and a twistable head giving your little one not one but two robot friends to play with and discover. With lots to see, hear and touch your baby will never get bored!
- SENSORY TOY – This baby toy comes with high contrast colours and patterns, ribbons, discovery mirror, busy beads and textured rings to keep your baby entertained while stimulating their senses
- BABY FIRST GIFT – This newborn toy is the perfect newborn baby gift, helping babies through the vital first stages of sensory development. Give the gift of learning with this beautiful girl and boy baby toy.
- CAR SEAT, COT, PUSHCHAIR, STROLLER & PRAM TOY – This highly versatile plush toy comes with a ring that can be attached to any type of pram or cot, as well as to your baby’s activity centre
- MADE BY LAMAZE – All our baby toys are created through dedicated research with the help of development experts specialising in sensory play to encourage those moments of wonder and create that spark of development
With Felix we had a Fisher Price Jungle playmat which we adored and a Tiny Love Gymini which was absolutely stunning.
It’s well worth investing in a decent playmat which can keep baby busy and protects him from a cold hard floor.
- This Fisher-Price toy is a deluxe newborn gym with more than 10 baby sensory toys and activities plus a removable, take-along toucan with music and dancing lights
- This baby activity toy has three ways to play: Lay and play, tummy time and take-along; an engaging baby toy for 0-6 months and upwards
- Fisher-Price playmat encourages baby’s movement with music and lights in short-play setting
- Removable toucan features colour-changing lights and up to 20 minutes of music in long-play mode
- This Fisher-Price toy includes deluxe baby gym play mat with more than 10 baby development toys and activities, plus a removable toucan
Playing in an Activity Centre
During Leap 4 the Wonder Weeks app encourages you to invest in an activity centre and it was the best thing we did.
This is the Baby Einstein Around the World activity centre. It keeps Dexter busy and gives me five minutes to sit down next to him and have a hot cup of tea.
- 4 modes to grow baby’s curiosity: Walk-Around Discovery Center; Discovery Table; Art Table; Removable Floor Toys
- 3-position height-adjustable seat travels 360° around the table, supporting baby’s first steps
- Provides a mix of physical and sensory experiences that promote movement and cognitive skills
- Encourages auditory, visual, and tactile discovery through 15 nature-themed toys and experiences
- Quick and easy assembly
He hasn’t yet learned how to use every function yet so there is always something new to learn. Look at the concentration on that face!
Wrist and Foot Rattles
These Lamaze wrist and foot rattles are so much fun. Before I invested in these Dexter had no idea what his feet were, the next day he was putting them in his mouth!
The bugs on the rattles are brightly coloured and caught his eye immediately. They also encouraged him to roll. He tries to reach out to grab his wrist or foot and in doing so flipped him from back to front. Another great idea from Lamaze!
This is one of my favourite activities for a 5 month old baby!
- 🧠 STIMULATES BABY’S SENSES – With bright colors and contrasting patterns, our foot rattles toy for babies helps encourage your baby’s visual development and color cognition. Our baby rattle toys & sock’s fun, crinkly textures also double as a sensory activity to entice your newborns to touch and explore and enhance learning!
- 🦶 DEVELOPS BABY’S MOTOR SKILLS – Besides aiding in brain development, our educational baby wrist rattles and rattle toe socks are designed to encourage infants’ fine motor skills development. These hand and foot rattles set will entice your little ones to reach, grab and kick; efficiently stimulating hand, eye and foot coordination
- 🐰 ENGAGING LITTLE FRIENDS – Your little one will be enchanted by the cute, colorful animals on these baby wrist and foot rattles! Soft jingling catered to baby’s delicate hearing is created with every movement. Additionally, the pet’s tiny little apron is made from a lightweight material that makes delightful crinkly sound upon touch.
- 👍 IMPROVED VELCRO DESIGN – Your baby’s playtime gets better even with our feet finder socks and wrist rattle toy. These baby rattles for boys & girls fasten easily and securely around your little one’s wrist and feet with the upgraded velcro, so you don’t have to worry about the infant rattle socks falling off mid-play
- 🎁 PERFECT GIFT IDEAS – Super comfy to wear, our infant rattle toys for baby boy & girl can help keep track of your newborn and make the best congratulatory gifts. Since these soft rattle toys for baby are packed nicely in a box, our baby rattle socks are a popular choice as last minute presents
Tummy Time on Laminate Flooring
I read online that to encourage crawling you could try some tummy time on a laminate floor. Because it’s more slippery than a carpet, babies might move and suddenly understand what they need to do to crawl.
Anyway, I thought it was worth a try. I’d always avoided putting Dexter on the laminate floor before. I guess I thought if he face planted he would need the soft carpet to land in.
As you can see, his arm strength is very good and face plants are very rare. I also used his Early Learning Centre ball to encourage him. He adores this ball because of the bright colours and the noise. When it rolls out of his reach he really tries to move towards it.
He’s not quite ready for crawling but there is no harm in letting him practise and building the muscles he will eventually need.
Back Time on a Playmat
We are told about Tummy Time all the time but we also shouldn’t forget to give baby some back time. This will encourage him to move his neck from side to side and give him the opportunity to roll from back to front.
Here he is on his play mat again with a few toys to encourage neck movement. One of them is the wonderful Whoozit. When Dexter was a newborn it was all a little bit too much for him, now that he’s older, he loves the stripes and the rattles.
- FROM THE CLASSIC WHOOZIT COLLECTION: Manhattan Toy’s multiple award winning Baby Whoozit continues to intrigue and engage babies worldwide – Baby’s Favorite Friend since 2003
- MULTISENSORY CLUTCHING BABY TOY: Baby Whoozit is a classic, soft multisensory activity toy. Features include high-contrast fabric arms, rattles, squeaker, crinkle paper, grasping loops, and a hidden self-discovery mirror under the bid red nose
- INFANT AND BABY TRAVEL TOY: Whoozit’s large yellow embroidered eyes are unmistakably welcoming and other bright colors, star patterns. Baby Whoozit has a top loop that attaches easily to cribs, car seats and strollers with hook and loop closures
- BABY ACTIVITY TOY FOR 6 -12 MONTHS: Baby Whoozit is suitable for newborns and up; surface wash only – not machine washable; travel toy measures 12.7cmL x 25.4cmH x 7.62cmW (not including arms)
- STANDING BY OUR BRAND: If you’re reading this, you’ve found a safe toy from a real company and a brand that cares. Since 1978, Manhattan Toy has been a trusted source of imaginative toys for babies, toddlers and kids of all ages
Sensory Box
I search on Pinterest a lot for sensory ideas for Dexter and one which was cheap and easy to do is below. I bought a washing up bowl and filled it with different coloured shower puffs. He loved the texture of the touch and the bright colours. Now he’s a bit older he also like to pull them out of the bowl one at a time. Simple but effective.
Playing with a Tummy Time Toy
We were gifted an Infantino Prop-a-Pillar tummy time toy and it was a fantastic item for Felix who loved being propped up and being able to see what his brother was up to. You can read our full review here, but again, this is another handy tool to develop baby’s neck and back muscles while looking super cute too!
- SUPPORTIVE DESIGN – Prop pillow supports baby during tummy time and helps develop head and neck muscles.Securely stacks into a hugging “C” shaped positioner with security belt for seated support.
- CUTE CATAPILLAR CUSHION – Babies love the cute as a bug catapillar shaped cushions and will happily pass their time cuddled up while staying secure
- TWO DETACHABLE AND REPOSITIONABLE TOYS – A Crinkly sound sun toy and a Soft BPA-free textured teether will keep your baby amused.
- IDEAL PRESENT FOR DEVELOPING BABIES – Age grade 0 months +
- TRUSTED BY PARENTS – Infantino, smartly designed products for happy parenting: We design smartly, we have fun and we’re overjoyed when an idea evolves full circle into a product loved and used daily by parents everywhere
Baby Body Painting
A fun activity for the whole family. We bought some child safe paint from Wilkos and set to work capturing his feet to create pictures to give to family.
At first I tried to make some edible paint out of baby rice and food colouring but it didn’t really work. As long as you have wipes handy to clean the feet before he attempts to put them in his mouth you’ll be fine!
We took some foot prints then my husband and I turned them into witches by adding hats and broomsticks.
I put splodges of paint on a piece of paper and inserted it into a plastic wallet. Then I taped it to the floor and placed Dex in the tummy time position. He was able to finger paint without the risk of getting paint in his mouth. He still tried to eat the plastic wallet but at least I knew he was safe.
I put the finished piece of art on the wall and Dexter loves looking at it as we walk past. The bright colours really catch his eye.
Read more about this activity in more detail here: Baby Finger Painting
What sort of activities for a 5 month old baby do you do? If I’ve forgotten something, let me know in the comments!
Things to do with 5 month old - Who Travel
Monday 19th of September 2022
[…] Activities for 5 Month Old Baby – 8 Fun Playtime Ideas […]
Christy
Friday 9th of April 2021
I agree with anonymous about the activity center and here's why: http://mamaot.com/exersaucers-the-good-the-bad-the-better/ Its not good for a baby to be in that position. I can't wait to try the rubber duck activity!
Nicola | Mummy to Dex
Saturday 10th of April 2021
Thanks for your comment Christy and for sharing the link to the blog post. I agree, for baby to be in the activity centre for a long time is no good thing - isn't everything about balance? Also, every baby is different so where some might be ready to go in an activity centre at five months old (Dex was!), others may not...my second certainly wasn't ready at that same age.
Hope you enjoy the duck activity :)
DeAnn
Friday 31st of May 2019
Anonymous, are you referring to the activity center? It's made for his age! It has a seat! They only "stand" if they choose to push up onto their feet. It's obvious he isn't being forced to stand.
Thursday 16th of May 2019
I wouldn’t put a baby that doesn’t stand on his own by itself in a standing position if it doesn’t do it on his own the back bones muscles are not prepared, all the other activities are cool And will try !
Saturday 23rd of February 2019
Use plastic container with ducks