The Perfect Play Gym for my Baby Girl
Written: Aug 29 '05
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Pros: Bright, cheery and cute. Easy to set up and clean.
Cons: Perhaps a bit spendy at over $30
The Bottom Line: If you have an infant who needs a little time to herself (or himself), this may be the mat for you.
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| bonzobean's Full Review: Kids II Carter's Butterfly Play Gym |
Since birth, I have had a very independent little gal. Unlike her big brother, she isnot the snuggliest of children and never has been. She is now two but even as an infant, she was much happier having her time alone. She wasn't a big swing fan so we had to look for other ways to keep her happy while keeping her off our hardwood floors. We decided to try a play mat.
Having had two children, we’ve accumulated a few activity play mats for infants. However, our favorite and, more importantly, my daughter’s favorite play mat was the Carter’s Butterfly Play Gym
What is the Carter’s Butterfly Play Gym
I know, I know, you just cannot wait to hear about this play gym, so without further ado… The Carter’s Butterfly Play Gym is an activity play mat for infants. This play mat is a bit different from some of the others. The mat is in the shape of a butterfly with a large, padded head in a crushed-velvet like material that can be used as a pillow if you’d like to prop your child on her back. The colors of this play gym are primarily teal blue, purple and orange with splashes of magenta, light green and yellow. The face on the pillow is that of a bright eyed, smiley butterfly with big purple and green antenna. One side of the antennae crinkles when you squeeze the other side squeaks. Now, what’s not to love? The mat itself is made up of circles in bright designs. The orange arches with tiny yellow suns crisscross and have loops to hold up to eight toys.
This mat is perfect for infants who are still pretty stationary and not rolling around yet. Although, my daughter rediscovered this mat when she was more than a year and had fun sitting and playing with the toys.
The Attached Toys
My sister passed on our play gym to me. She had given my old play gym to another gal who had just had a baby and wanted to make up for it. So, I am unsure if any of the original toys were not included. However, with our acquired play gym, we received several toys for my daughter which she always enjoyed watching or batting with arms and feet. The first toy is a bright, yellow sun, which always grabbed my little one’s attention. The second toy is a purple star with a mirror in the middle. The third toy is a cute little colorful caterpiller, which doubles as a rattle. The fourth toy, which also doubles as a rattle, is another star this time in a bluish, teal color with a clear center filled with tiny balls. The last toy is a little pink, rubber-like butterfly, which my daughter clearly decided, was a teething butterfly.
Assembly and Care
Assembly of this play yard could not be easier. The arches attach easily to the loops in the four corners of the butterfly and the toys hook easily to links and then through the loops on the arches. I would guessimate total setup time is about five minutes tops. The mat is made of 100% polyester fibers. The directions say to remove the bars and toys to hand wash and air dry. However, being a busy mom who prefers to make better use of her time, I’ve thrown this in the washer on gentle cycle and it has cleaned up beautifully. The colors are still bright and there is very little fading.
What I liked about the Play Gym
Of course, I liked that this cleaned up so easily. I loved that my daughter loved her mat so much and would quiet down once I set her on her beloved mat. I had numerous toys stashed away from previous play mats and play yards and attached those as well to the arches. I would try to rotate out the toys to keep her interested but she pretty much loved anything bright and shiny.
What my Daughter liked about the Play Gym
She has always seemed to value her ‘alone’ time. She would lie there and just stare and bat at the various toys. Something about this play mat just seemed to bring out her best smiles. Without a doubt, this was her favorite toy as an infant.
What didn’t I like about this Play Gym
Honestly, I cannot think of anything I didn’t like about the butterfly. The design was cute and the set up and care was fairly simple. I suppose they could make this easier to wash but I managed to wash it with little trouble. Other than that, I’ve no complaints.
Interesting Note
I did a search online to see how much this normally costs (about $30) and according to Amazon.com, this toy was named one of the top100 toys by Dr. Toy. So, there you have it…a top toy and cute too.
Overall Thoughts
If you have a baby like mine who values a little ‘down’ time, I recommend the Carter’s Butterfly Play Gym. The colors suit either a boy or girl and the toys are very versatile. I think this would be a nice addition to any baby toy collection.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 30.00
Type of Toy: Baby Toy
Age Range of Child: 0 to 12 Months
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Epinions.com ID:
bonzobean
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Location: West Coast
Reviews written: 134
Trusted by: 220 members
About Me:
I think the mistake many of us make is thinking the-state-appointed shrink is our friend.
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