Gizmos and Gadgets Part One: The Toys

I thought I would tell you what gizmos and gadgets we use with Kayley, and give my review on the items. I’m hoping this will be helpful for parents, those expecting, and those who want to have children. And of course to let you all know what Kayley thinks of her gizmos and gadgets too. Please keep in mind though that every child is different. For example: I was a child who loved my swing, bouncer and jumper. Andrew on the other hand hated all of his.

Swing – Fisher Price (old model) 3 in 1

My cousin gave us a Fisher Price swing that he got for his son at a consignment store. It’s in great condition and is a 3 in 1 model. We got it from my cousin because his little boy hates it. Kayley on the other had loves it. She loves to just stare and sometimes babble at the owl and lion toys that hang down. She has also taken many naps and snoozes in the swing. She does not care if the music is playing or not, so I rarely turn it on. We have discovered that she can be happy and content in the swing as long as she was happy prior to putting her in. It does not calm her from crying in other words. But she does spend time in her swing practically every day.

Taking a snooze

Bouncer – Bright Stars InGenuity Automatic Bouncer – Briarcliff

Features: 2 bounce speeds, choice of music or nature sounds, and volume control.

We were given this bouncer as a shower gift and it is great! Kayley loves to bounce away in it in the morning and listen to her music play. The bouncer lives in our bathroom and I swear it is the only reason why I am able to take a shower every day. I strap Kayley in and she stays happy and content as I get ready for the day. She loves to either watch me or look around the room. She could care less about the dangle animals on it. As her motor skills have improved, she has discovered that her motion can also make the bouncer move more. 

Bouncing time!

Floor Gym Mat – Fisher-Price Rainforest Melodies and Light Deluxe Gym

Features: Hanging toys (you can change the location of where they hang), battery powered color lights and music with 3 settings (music, nature sounds, and motion activated sound) and volume control.

We have used this shower gift since Kayley was about two weeks old. At first she used to just lay there and look at the toys. Now she reaches for them and interacts with them. We only recently got batteries for it, so the flashing color lights and music has been something new for Kayley. She seems to enjoy the lights quite a bit, but her favorite part is still the hanging toys. It’s easy to get out and put away (it folds in half), a feature I really like because it means there is less chance of it getting covered in cat hair, plus when it’s not in use it takes up very little room and it leans against our wall. Kayley seems to love to have floor play with this gym, and she has tummy time with it too.

Just laying and looking

Reaching and interacting with a hanging toy

Jumper – Evenflo Johnny Jump Up: Frogs

Yes, Kayley is small for this, but she loves it so much! Since Kayley is a baby who wants to stand up and use her legs, we went ahead and purchased this for her. We have put Kayley in this since she was able to hold up her head (10 weeks) and we just put blankets around her to make her fit. Kayley isn’t physically developed to jump yet, but she does like to move her legs, shift her weight from leg to leg, make herself turn, and occasionally hop in this jumper. I love that it’s easy to put up and take down, though I do have to use a step stool since I’m short. Kayley really likes to exercise in her jumper, babble and laugh. I think it was a great purchase. Plus it’s easy to clean. 

Pushing her feet around. This is before she figured out she can take out her arms.

She likes to chew on the side. We now cover it with a cloth so we just have to wash that instead of the jumper all the time.

Bumbo Baby Seat

Since Kayley likes to be in an upright position we thought we would go ahead and get a Bumbo for her so it can help her sit up when we can’t hold her. I have a niece who loves to sit and look at the world, just like Kayley does, and my niece loves her Bumbo. Well, there is one big difference between Kayley and my niece; my niece loves to sit and watch and isn’t too interested in moving yet, Kayley on the other hand really likes to move. I have thus had some good times with Kayley in her Bumbo that are very short, and many bad times. She is fine and happy in it until she realized she cannot move. Then she starts to cry. And she has recently discovered that she can arch her back and practically get herself out of it. This fact scared me. So while the Bumbo does do a great thing and helps your child to sit and build up muscle strength to sit on their own, I do not believe it can safely keep a child in who would rather be moving around. We are thus returning the item. 

Prior to realizing she could not move. The it turned from this to tears.

I'm planning on three more Gizmos and Gadgets entries: On the go items, Sleep time items, and care and feeding items.

*Note: These reviews were given when Kayley was 11 weeks old.