Brief Start/First Impressions
From two week onwards Tobias started to take an interest in the world around him. He actively looked for things to entertain him so one of his first toys was the play gym. The play gym is perfect for letting him have a little bit of play time every day with the reassurance of his safety and an added bonus is that it grows with your child. The one we chose looks like a teddy and has the cutest hanging toys, the price is very reasonable that meant it was a must have in our household. The colours are browns and neutrals which is in keeping with my home. I found it really easy to put the activity gym together. It was just a case of assembling the bars, attaching them securely to the mat and attaching the toys.
When your baby is frustrated with laying down on a playmat and is desperate to sit up you can then progress to a Sit Me Up. They are said to encourage your little one to sit up unaided, and play in a protected comfortable area. However, I bought the matching sit me up at the same time as the play gym and in the end we never used it.
Features and Benefits
Overhead discovery
5 linkable toys
Sitting aid
Suitable from birth
Sensory stimulation
Helps encourage hand, eye coordination and movement
What Gavin and I Think
Tobias loved his play gym and kept him mesmerised for hours when he was a newborn. He loved lying on the mat looking up at all the hanging toys. He would chatter away at the toys and best of all it was giving him that much needed tummy time too. The play gym helped to stimulate his senses by hitting the toys, which resulted in him sometimes being shocked and happy faces being pulled when he realised what he’d done. It also was a place where we could play together, he could play with other babies or he could play alone – which gave me some much needed down time where I wasn’t holding him constantly!
Baby Playmat Activity Gym (Brown bear)
The Sit Me Up Cosy is basically an inflatable rubber ring covered in luxurious felt with a big teddy head on top. Designed to grow with your baby, it comes with a flower-shaped playmat for newborns and doubles up as a sitting aid when your little one is ready. Just inflate the cushions, join them together, and sit your baby inside, armed with the knowledge that if he tumbles it will be on to something soft. Later, you can sit the inflatable cushions on top of each other to make a supportive sofa. However, when we tried this Tobias always just fell over whilst sitting on it or the sit me up wasn’t strong enough to take his weight and wouldn’t stay behind him. We ended up not using it and have now thrown it away. I think if they could make a play gym and sit me up in one then this would be ideal and cover all bases should someone need and it will also then give people more options.
Pros
Encourages sitting without a hard fall.
Offers independence to play with toys alone.
Helps to sit up straight.
Develop hand-to-eye co-ordination and general physical co-ordination.
Easy to set up.
Grows with your child.
Good value for money.
Cons
Your baby can fall through the gaps where the rings are tied.
The inflatable cushions deflate.
Overall Feedback
Perfect for babies before they start rolling and mums who want a few moments of peace while their baby plays in a protected play area. The Sit Me Up Cosy is a cute product but we didn’t end up using ours. We would highly recommend an Activity Gym. The best thing about it is that it grows with your child and stimulates their development through play.
Much love
Rebecca
Motherhood In Farming 