I wish that I’d bought these a hell of a lot earlier; they’re absolutely brilliant! If you’ve ever wondered what to do in the toy/amusement department when your baby is too young to grasp hold of something, these are the answer. Little socks and wristbands with rattly, crinkly garden bugs on them. Baby A goes wild every time I put them on her – I have to limit the amount of time otherwise she gets too overexcited!

I think that the rattles are supposed to encourage interaction and movement and the bright colours and little sounds from the rattles are exciting and stimulating – I love the fact that you don’t need to actually hold anything in front of your baby, you just put the socks on and away you go. Beware, however, if you have cats and dogs because the noises seem to be absolutely irresistible to them – coupled with jerky little baby-leg movements and you’ve got animal chaos on your hands.

I take the socks everywhere with me, now, and pop them on when I need to provide a bit of distraction. They take up a lot less room than something like a playmat or a mobile, so if you’re out and about and need a “toy” for a newborn then it’s a great option.

I got my Lamaze Gardenbugs at Amazon here – they were £11.97