Birth to Three Months
Newborns need very little aside from sleep, food, and time with their parents. Children in this age group don't need toys, and they're easily overstimulated by light, sound, or movement. The best gifts for newborns provide comfort, safety, and convenience. In addition to the listed items below, gifts of time are often welcome in the form of meals, errands, grocery delivery, or a paid cleaning service.
For this age group, avoid gifting toys in general, or anything with potentially overstimulating light, sounds, or textures, and products that rock, shake, or swing the baby. Also avoid gifts that impose lifestyle choices (like conventional vs. cloth diapers) unless the recipient has specifically asked for them. You may consider gifting a product from another age group, as these first few months go fast!
This page contains affiliate links, which help make it possible to bring you this Montessori gift guide. If you purchase an item through one of the links below, we might earn a small commission for referring you, but it won't cost you any extra.
Book: Baby’s First Year Milestones
This is an excellent resource for parents, grandparents, and caretakers of babies. For each month, the author, Aubrey Hargis, has outlined general development and simple activities that help support these skills.
While this isn’t labeled specifically as a Montessori book, Aubrey has extensive training and experience as a 0-3 Montessori guide and her recommendations are right in line with a Montessori-friendly home.
Book: The Montessori Baby
Here is another excellent book for new parents interested in Montessori at home. Simone Davies is a trained 0-3 Montessori guide and runs a parent-child program. This is her second book, and it’s as helpful as the first (Montessori Toddler). The Montessori Baby offers a brief overview of the Montessori method applied to parenting and practical advice on designing spaces and routines for your infant.
Image from The Topponcino Company
Topponcino
By far, our favorite gift for newborns is a topponcino. Babies spend their first few weeks outside of the womb disoriented and overstimulated, and this security pillow helps ease the transition. Cradling a child in a topponcino maintains consistent warmth, texture, and smell when passed from person to person, or from a person to a surface. Parents quickly find that using a topponcino helps their newborn feel comfortable and secure. You can make one yourself, or order a high quality one from The Topponcino Company (organic option available too!) Don't forget to include a few washable covers!
Play Mat
A play mat is a comfortable, safe space for a child to spend time when she is feeling rested and content. A thin crib mattress works for this (and doubles as a floor bed), but our favorite play mat for these early months and beyond is from Lovevery. The play gym is larger than many other models, and has the ability to highlight one interesting feature at a time, and has removeable and changeable toys and accessories to keep it interesting well into toddlerhood. For these first three months, keep it super simple with one item to observe at a time.
Black and White Images
Newborns can't see very clearly or very far, so they tend to find high-contrast black and white images interesting. These simple art cards from Wee Gallery are a good choice for hanging next to a play mat. Look for the sets with just one animal image per card for newborns to three months.
LOVEVERY Play Kit
If you are looking for a larger or all-in-one gift, the play kits from LOVEVERY are perfect. This first one features appropriate items for a newborn until age three months. Play kits include directions for adults and heirloom quality materials. US orders over $75 ship for free!
Wall Mirror
A wall mirror is a recommended Montessori material for a child's space from infancy onward. It's typically hung horizontally at the child's level on the wall next to the play mat. An unbreakable acrylic mirror sheet is the best choice for this, since it's impossible to shatter or chip.
Image from Mamamade by Elisa Etsy Shop
Munari Black and White Mobile
At three weeks, your newborn is ready to start the Montessori mobiles. The first one in the sequence is the Munari, a simple black and white design with a clear ball. This mobile is lightweight and will flutter and rotate by itself, creating an interesting object for very small babies. You can make your own, but like all mobiles in this series, it can be a bit tricky. Purchase one from a woman-owned Etsy shop below.
Read Aloud: New Books for Newborns
While you can read anything aloud to your newborn, these adorable short rhyming books are perfect for the entire first year. Featuring diverse, relatable characters and events and beautiful images, you won’t mind reading these over and over. Be sure to select paperback board book as the format option. Digital books do not offer the same sensory experience for young babies and should be avoided.
INDESTRUCTIBLE BOOKS
These are our favorite kind of books for young babies. Not only do many have beautiful pictures and simple, realistic text, the book itself is perfect for the way babies read. The indestructible books are washable, rip-proof, and feel and act like a paper book.
Diaper Bag
A diaper bag is a useful "grab and go" baby accessory. We prefer a gender neutral design that isn't obviously a diaper bag. This canvas backpack is a good choice with an included diaper bag, bottle pouches, and lots of easily accessible storage.
Travel Changing Station
This travel pouch folds out into a changing pad with one hand, and has space for a few diapers, wipes, hand sanitizer, and a tube of cream.
Dry Bags
Useful for containing wet cloth diapers or soiled clothes, dry bags are worth keeping around for life's little mishaps.
Body Suits
A one piece body suit is the go-to base layer for babies. The simple shirt with a snapped bottom allows for comfortable, free movement. Avoid any clothing with functional buttons (more difficult to put and take off) or potentially scratchy materials.
Newborn Gowns
These are our personal favorite for this age. Unless you are in a particularly warm climate, newborns need warmer clothing to regulate their temperature. When you aren’t having skin-to-skin time, these gowns make it easy to keep warm and allow access for frequent diaper changes. On cold days you can add leg warmers or socks for extra warmth.
Fleece Booties
While it is helpful to have your baby’s feet uncovered, especially closer to three months and beyond, sometimes it’s just too cold to do so. These booties are warm and cozy and easy to take off and on.
Footie Pajamas
A great choice for all-day wear until a baby starts to roll over. Once babies start to move around, they need time with bare feet to develop muscle coordination. But footie pajamas are still good for sleeping at later ages.
Sleep sacks
A sleep sack offers a wearable, safe way to keep your baby warm while she sleeps. You can find ones with and without sleeves. We personally like the long-sleeve fleece sacks for pajamas and the sleeveless cotton sacks for naps and a thin extra layer overnight.
Leg Warmers
Leg warmers are incredibly convenient for frequent diaper changes, since they're one less thing to take off. A onesie with leg warmers is a great outfit for mobile a mobile baby, since it protects her knees without covering her feet.
Sun Hat
Babies need protection from the sun, and a hat is far more convenient than constantly applying sunscreen. This sun hat has a nice wide brim, and is adjustable through a wide range of sizes.
Portable Play Yard
A play yard is more of a RIE material than a Montessori material, but it offers a practical solution for creating a clean, safe space for a child to move around and explore. This collapsible play yard with a bottom is a great option for parents to take to an outdoor space.
Picnic Blanket
A portable water-resistant blanket is handy for creating a clean, comfortable space on the floor or on the grass.
BABY SHOWER TIP:
If you're looking for a baby shower gift, you can also consider gifts from the three to six month, and six to twelve month stage. They might not be able to use your gift right away, but they will soon enough.