The Best Baby Mobiles to Stimulate Your Newborn
What to Expect selects products based on real-life testing conducted by staff, contributors and members our user community, as well as independent research and expert feedback; learn more about our review process. Prices and details are accurate as of the published date. We may earn commissions from shopping links.
- Best Musical Crib Mobile : Tiny Love Meadow Days Soothe & Groove Mobile
- Most Tech-Savvy Crib Mobile : Nurture Smart Crib Mobile
- Best Crib Mobile for Newborns : Wimmer-Ferguson Infant Stim Mobile
- Best Multi-Purpose Crib Mobile : Tiny Love Classic Mobile
- Best Portable Crib Mobile : Tiny Love Meadow Days Take Along Mobile
- Most Earth-Friendly Mobile : Haba Nursery Room Wooden Mobile Rainbow Balls
- Best Ceiling Baby Mobile : Little Love by NoJo Aztec Ceiling Mobile
- Most Design-Friendly Crib Mobile : Sorrel and Fern Baby Crib Mobile Starry Woodland Night Nursery Decoration
- Best Projection Baby Mobile : Fisher-Price Butterfly Dreams 3-in-1 Projection Mobile
- Best Baby Mobile for Strollers : Manhattan Toy Wimmer-Ferguson Infant Stim Mobile to Go Travel Toy
- Best Character Crib Mobile : Disney Winnie the Pooh Mobile
It might not seem like newborns do much aside from eating and sleeping for the first few months of life — but they’re actively learning all about the world around them using their five senses. You already give those senses a workout every time you and your baby interact, but certain toys are designed to give your baby an additional boost, such as a crib mobile.
Mobiles aren't just a fun design touch for the nursery — they can be beneficial for baby. “In the first few months of life, babies are attracted to bold and contrasting colors, which make mobiles ideal for their visual development,” says Steph Lee, M.D., a community pediatrician, preventive medicine specialist and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
What to look for in a crib mobile
Baby mobiles come in three basic designs: They clip onto the side rails of your baby’s crib, attach to your baby’s car seat or stroller, or dangle from the ceiling. While pretty pastel mobiles might catch your attention, babies prefer black and white for the first six weeks or so followed by other bright colors. Designs that are bold with sharp contrasts tend to capture babies’ attention best. Many come with music to stimulate your baby’s hearing, while some have projected lights to comfort baby at night.
Ensuring crib mobile safety
Since a crib mobile is in your baby’s sleep zone and potentially accessible at times when you won’t be monitoring him, you need to make sure it doesn’t pose a potentially dangerous strangulation, suffocation or choking hazard. Before hanging your mobile, check that all of the mobile’s parts are firmly attached, with nothing loose that may fall off onto your baby. Dr. Lee recommends avoiding mobiles that have small parts, which may come apart with time and pose a choking hazard.
Hang a crib mobile no more than 12 inches away from your newborn’s face and slightly to the side of his line of vision so he sees it. Always ensure that all parts of the product are far enough away so that he can’t reach up or grab the mobile and pull it down.
When installing your mobile, be sure to read the product manual to install it correctly. Dr. Lee suggests pushing the mounted area to test that it’s securely attached and unmovable.
Remove the mobile as soon as your little one reaches 5 months old or can get up on his hands and knees (whichever comes first). “Infants at that age are just so curious. Even if they can’t push up completely, they may be able to roll onto their side to gain some height and grab at the mobile,” says Dr. Lee.
How we chose the best baby mobiles
We considered feedback from thousands of parents in the What to Expect Community, as well as our own research focusing on innovation, design, quality, value and ease of use. Additionally, we ensured all mobiles met the safety guidelines outlined above, and that the products featured the bright, contrasting colors that are most likely to capture a young baby's attention, according to experts.
Best Musical Crib Mobile
Tiny Love Meadow Days Soothe & Groove Mobile
Hoping to encourage baby’s love of music? This mobile has 18 tunes and up to 40 minutes of continuous, non-repeating music, with two high-quality speakers and easy-to-control volume. As an infant, baby can gaze at the colorful forest creatures and nightlight. Later, he can carry around the detachable music box.
Weight: 2 pounds
Dimensions: 4.75 x 16 x 13.5 inches
Most Tech-Savvy Crib Mobile
Nurture Smart Crib Mobile
Designed by doctors to be used in children’s hospitals, this safety-first mobile has no detachable parts. Baby will be comforted by soft nursery lighting and audiologist-calibrated sounds like an in-womb heartbeat. Three black-and-white and three colorful panels (plus a moveable arm) adjust to baby’s evolving eyesight, and a large mirror is sure to entertain older infants.
Weight: 3.8 pounds
Dimensions: 29.3 x 9.4 x 8.5 inches
Best Crib Mobile for Newborns
Wimmer-Ferguson Infant Stim Mobile
Newborns are especially attracted to high-contrast colors and images — first black and white and eventually bold colors. This mobile comes with 10 interchangeable graphic cards with complex color patterns, plus an adjustable cord so you can adjust the distance of graphics as your baby’s vision develops.
Weight: 1.25 pounds
Dimensions: 13 x 3.5 x 13 inches
Best Multi-Purpose Crib Mobile
Tiny Love Classic Mobile
Mobiles should only be used for the first five months of baby’s life, for safety. This crib mobile has a detachable, stand-alone music box that plays 20 minutes of continuous classical music that your baby can enjoy well into toddlerhood. As an infant, he’ll enjoy a soothing spinning black-and-white design, with a soft nightlight for comfort at night.
Weight: 2.4 pounds
Dimensions: 4.8 x 16 x 13.4 inches
Best Portable Crib Mobile
Tiny Love Meadow Days Take Along Mobile
This mobile entertains at home and on the go: It attaches to the side of the crib and comes with an additional hook-and-loop fastener so you can attach it to your infant carrier, and there’s even a large clip that fastens to his stroller. Your baby will enjoy colorful spinning toys and a music box that plays five melodies for 30 minutes.
Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.7 x 13.4 inches
Most Earth-Friendly Mobile
Haba Nursery Room Wooden Mobile Rainbow Balls
These shimmering rainbow balls will capture your baby’s attention, while the simple but sophisticated design will please your adult aesthetic. Made from beech wood from a sustainable forestry in Germany, this mobile is a gorgeous addition hung high above your baby’s crib or changing table.
Weight: 1 pound
Dimensions: 14 x 14 inches
Best Ceiling Baby Mobile
Little Love by NoJo Aztec Ceiling Mobile
This sweet fox mobile, with dangling wooden arrows in shades of teal, navy and orange, hangs directly from the ceiling for a chic touch of color in any nursery.
Weight: 12 pounces
Dimensions: 4 x 4 inches
Most Design-Friendly Crib Mobile
Sorrel and Fern Baby Crib Mobile Starry Woodland Night Nursery Decoration
Looking for a way to up the game on your baby’s nursery décor? This woodland-themed mobile — featuring trees, clouds, stars, mountains and a moon — fits the bill. The bold colors attract baby’s attention, and there are adjustable settings for baby’s developing sense of sight. It comes with a sweet garland in the same theme to hang high on the nursery wall, where baby can't reach.
Weight: 6 pounces
Dimensions: 10 x 10 inches
Best Projection Baby Mobile
Fisher-Price Butterfly Dreams 3-in-1 Projection Mobile
Babies love night lights, but ceiling projections are too far away for little eyes. The close-up projected images on this mobile make it easier for newborns to focus. It features classical lullabies and 20 minutes of other soothing sounds. A remote control allows you to adjust to baby’s tastes from afar. Later, the mobile converts to a crib-side music box and ceiling projector.
Weight: 2.6 pounds
Dimensions: 9.8 x 13.4 x 18.9 inches
Best Baby Mobile for Strollers
Manhattan Toy Wimmer-Ferguson Infant Stim Mobile to Go Travel Toy
Looking for portable hanging entertainment for walks? This lightweight toy features a sturdy plastic clip that easily clamps onto your baby’s car seat bar and stroller canopy. Baby will marvel at the black-and-white and color graphics on three reversible discs. Just be sure it’s hung well out of reach if you’re not directly supervising your baby.
Dimensions: 7 x 7 x 7 inches
Best Character Crib Mobile
Disney Winnie the Pooh Mobile
Disney lovers in the family? On this hanging homage to the Hundred Acre Wood, baby will get to gaze at plush Pooh, his "hunny" and an adorable bee. It's done in baby-friendly bold yellow and red hues, and plays a soothing rendition of Brahms’ Lullaby.
Weight: 13 ounces
Dimensions: 12.3 x 6.4 x 4.2 inches
- Steph Lee, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Penn State Health
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