Good Stuff.
Every child develops his favorite stuffed toy. Amidst the heap o’ ones in Ames’ room is his beloved stuffed Junglie Monkey by Jellycat. My son likes to hug his soft snuggly fur and more than once, I’ve caught him nursing on his nose. They are the best of buds as you can see.
Your Playmat or Mine.
I swore I would never have a living room full of kid clutter, yet my place looks like a Bally’s fitness gym for babies with a contraption of some sort every few inches. My son moves from one station to the next as if he had a personal trainer with a whistle.
When my son’s pediatrician suggested at three months old that I get a play mat so he could bat at objects, we ended up with three such devices. Two are by Tiny Love. The Gymini Duet is a double-sided playmat with one side suited for zero–three months and the other three–ten months. It has hanging toys that rattle and rock. And the mat has lights and a music touch pad and a large mirror on one side. The music includes ten minutes of Mozart and a medley of nursery rhymes.
We also have the new Gymini Total Playground, which is like having the circus in town every day. Among the multitude of hanging toys, it’s got a duck chime bell pull toy that is Ames’ favorite and a dual-position kick-and-play response pad. When Ames kicks or pats the pad, it belts out a crazy kooka-maney song (you can also set it to more parent-friendly classical music).
The Lamaze Spin & Explore Garden Gym puts a new spin on tummy time. A ladybug gizmo is perched lazy-susan style atop a playmat with squeaky, crinkly tactile toys. Babies spin themselves around to look at toys in circles, forgetting that they otherwise hate tummy time. It worked for Ames as kind of the lazy man’s tummy time toy. At five months, you can send the ladybug off to fly away and he can sit up and play on it.
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