Archive for 'Gear'

great fun for tots
This was a Christmas present for my (then) 21 mon. old daughter. I wanted to get this because she loves playing with these kind of things at the doctor's office when we have to go for checkups & such. It kept her busy & this one seemed to be exactly the same as one she really liked. The delivery was very fast. The product itself is very sturdy and keeps her entertained with the variety of things to do on it. We frequently hear, "Daddy, play!" as she puts her hand in his to take him back to her room to pull him down and make him push beads around or turn alphabet tiles over. Or if it's not him it's one of her older sibs. The only thing I wish could be different would be that it was heavier. She likes to push toys between the cracks on top or the triangular pieces on the sides and then try to tilt the entire thing up to get whatever it is out again. Sometimes she's set it back down on her toe. And this thing isn't exactly light but I guess it'd have to made out of lead for her to not be able to pick it up. But she's never gotten really hurt so I'm not complaining at all. Kids find all kinds of ways to hurt themselves, it seems. I'm very glad that there aren't sharp corners on the sides though, so there is less of that chance. I'm extremely happy with this purchase - as she is too.

Great product. Unfortunately, didn't keep the attention of my 8 month old.
This product is exactly what I expected, except perhaps a bit smaller in size than I imagined - but that's not a problem. It's a fun toy, and my 8 month old daughter LOVED it when she first received it at Christmas. She played with it quite a bit for a couple of weeks, and enjoyed pulling herself up on it. She has since seemed to lose interest. However, when she has playmates visit, it is often very popular with the other babies. One of the main reasons I bought it is because I can see her "growing into it" and using it in different ways over a few years, and I'm confident that this is still the case. She temporarily has stopped using it, but she'll grow interested in it again, I'm sure.

It's a sturdy and very colorful product. I don't see any danger in terms of loose parts, etc... The only caution I have is that it can tumble when a baby pulls him/herself up on it. When on hard wood floors, I tend to put a sheet of rubber underneath it. This protects the floor from scratching, but I also think it minimizes tumbling. The product never tumbled on my daughter (with the rubber sheet under it) in all of the times that she pulled herself up on it. But, when we moved it to a different room without the rubber mat, it tumbled on her playmate the first time that he tried to stand from it. I'm not sure if it was a weight difference, a difference in how they pulled, or if the rubber mat is the key. Anyhow, with supervision, there was no harm to the baby.

I have recommended the product to others, and one Mom insisted on receiving information about the product so that she could buy one for her 8 month old child.

Highly Recommend
Before purchasing this activity center, I read several reviews, some were glowing and some complained of what I think are minor problems. I purchased it as a Christmas present in December 2009 for my 1 year old. He is now 15 months and still plays with it every day. I can't say enough good things about this toy. It challenges his mind and creativity. Besides being a great toy that he just enjoys playing with, it's a great learning toy. It helps teach motor skills and with some parental help, it is a great tool for teaching words, letters, colors, etc... I know with all my praise, it sounds like I probably work for the company, but I assure you, I don't. It's just a great toy, worth far more in hours of learning and play than you'll pay for it. Also, it's a heavy well built toy and we have not experienced any of the problems others have mentioned. If you have little ones, this is a great addition.

Busy Zoo Center Review
My daughter is actually having more fun knocking this thing over than playing with all the bells and whistles.

Great Choice
I bought this activity center for our 2 year old daughter for Christmas. She LOVES it. Her older brothers (4&6)are constantly playing on it too. It is a very good size, not too big. I also really love that any corners have been rounded off to avoid hurting those playing. The construction and paint quality seems to be of very high quality which would allow several years of good use. This cube offers great detail, and great opportunity to further develop their fine motor skills. Overall, this was a HUGE hit with all of the kids. I would highly recommend it.

item given as a gift
my five star review refers to the shipping and service. the item was a gift, securely packaged and i did not open it. i am assuming it will be o.k. Thank you for the promptness!

A Must Have!
I love this carrier! Sturdy construction, light weight, easy to put together and use. This will certainly come in handy on airplanes, trains, shopping, or just walking around the house.

very satisfied
I really like the carrier but it is a little complicated to get on and off.

Well made, kills my back and shoulders
This Carrier is a good idea, well made, and easy to put on, but frankly i can't wear it for more than 5 minutes with my 3 and a half month old. Also when she faces out (she's looking around now and doen't want to face in anymore and has great head control) the material pinches her legs. I'd say if you don't have back problems it's great. I will say the mesh material washes well.

The way it works is fantastic... face in the baby's head is cradled for when they are newborn, and face out the flap folds down to brace the shoulders. I just can't wear it. Grandma and Dad tried it too and they had the same problem. Back pain within 5 mins.

I also tried the PeanutShell carrier and forget it, being lopsided (over the shoulder) my back lost it right away.

I'm going to try Moby next... we shall see!

BabyBjorn Air
Carrier is comfortable, material breathes well, easy to adjust and baby loves it. Baby very secure. The bibs are a must as our son loves to put his mouth on the top tab.

Love it!
Graco Sweetpeace is one of the best swing in the market. My son received the Sweetpeace as gift, we loved it so much I have decided to purchase the same thing for our newborn nephew. Thank you Graco and Amazon!!!

My baby loves it, but the sound part stopped working
I love love this swing. I love that it has vibration. I love the cozy head rest area. My baby sleeps in it 2 out of 5 nights a week. I love the different speeds, and I love(d) the sounds it played.

Pros:
-mac daddy of all swings.
-plays ipod lullaby playlist!!
-comfy and snuggly
-doesn't scream "baby in the house"
-great soothing sounds
-has vibration! a great feature
-I love the directions it swings
-5 point harness!!
-sturdy


Cons:
-I bought mine used/new from a woman who said she never used it more than twice.
-the whole sound thing stopped working after 2 months. No Ipod, no rain noises, NOTHING. It's okay.. i mean I can live without that as long as the vibration works and the swing itself swings... but when you pay this much for a swing and now I cant even really resale it when I am done with it.. boo.
-HEAVY and bulky. Not something you want to even move from the living room to the kitchen. Ever. Way way heavy.
-basically impossible to transport over to grandmas for the weekend due to large size and weight and bulk. Even unassembled, this thing is a beast. So we just left it at grandmas and bought a rainforest swing for our place. Rainforest swing collapses flat practically, and can be crammed in a closet for a day if needs to be. it just doesn't have the vibration. Or the ipod feature :)
-the toys SUCK. I just took the toy bar off and tossed it in a closet. Completely in the way and useless. i'll reattach it when i give it away. Since I can't resell something that doesn't play music. sigh.

The look of it is better than the actual product
I saw this swing and had to get it because it did so many cool things. It had a really easy assembly and it was not battery powered which i was excited about! When i turned on the swing i noticed that the motor was extremly loud, I could hear it in the next room. I thought that maybe with some weight in the swing the noise would die down. I was wrong. My daughter absolutley hates the swing. she was never soothed by the swing it acutally did the oppisite, it made her scream.She enjoyed the tradiontal swing more then the one with all the supposively "soothing" attributes. I bought the fisher-price papasan swing after i realized she hated the Graco one and she loves the Fisher-price one. Luckily I found the Graco one on sale!

AWESOME UNIT
While researching all other swings I would always see an ad for this particular swing.

I did the research and on average 8 out of 10 people would say that they loved it.. 4 out of 10 people would complain that the motor is WAYYY TO LOUD.

Before the baby was here I took the unit out the box and assembled it within 20 minutes or so ( thats because im stubborn and didnt want to read the instructions) but assembly was very easy and simple.

Placed a 6 - 8 pound sack of flour into the unit and tested it. MOTOR WAS LOW but has a smal little clicking sound which can be masked with the music that is being played out of the unit. But def purchase the unit before the baby is here for testing. If you get a unit with a loud motor you can always get a new one and you have enough time for that.

You have 3 ways of placing the seat and so far we place the chair as if we are holding her and rocking her side to side.

1 week tomorrow our baby is here and sleeps for HOURS until feeding time.

Disappointed in noise and music volume
I have a Sweetpeace and a FP Papasan side by side. The Papasan, while it too makes some noise, is much, much quieter than the Sweetpeace, and my babies prefer it. The music is SO loud too! Even at the lowest volume, it's too loud to be soothing. I am so disappointed in this product.