Being a second child, Ernie often finds himself (for want of a better word) plonked places. On the floor, in a bouncy chair, on a play mat. He spends a lot of his time just being somewhere while I deal with whatever crisis his older sister has created. He is a very laid back, easy going kind of baby so generally he’s quite happy just lying and looking around until I can come back to him. But as he is getting older, he is also getting more and more aware of his surroundings and so I’m starting to build up a collection of things that are just his, to entertain him in moments when I can’t. The current favourite ‘place to put Ernie’ is the Musical Newborn Cosy Gym from Taf Toys which was kindly sent to us to try out. There are so many things I love about this play mat so here are my thoughts on the product:
An Adjustable Cosy Gym
The Musical Newborn Cosy Gym is the only product of its kind that I have ever seen adjust in this way. There is a drawstring mechanism at each end of the mat which enable you to actually shrink the size of the gym. If you were using it from birth (or if your baby is just less of a beast than Ernie!), this would be the perfect way to help your newborn feel extra safe and secure while they lie on the mat. It is also the most soft and padded play mat that I have ever come across and it has bumper sides that are great for helping with tummy time or simply for stopping your baby from rolling off the edge. The toy arches adjust with the gym and they have space not only for the toys provided but also extra loops for you to add more too.
Music And Lights
Probably my favourite feature of the whole gym is the musical toy attachment which you can Velcro onto any part of the toy arches. You can also detach it to use in other circumstances, such as in the car or to attach it to a cot. The toy has a pull cord which activates either music and lights or just lights depending on the setting. You can keep pulling the cord to switch between sounds too, there is an upbeat tune, a more mellow sleepy one or a water/white noise effect. The lights fade between different colours and Ernie finds it absolutely mesmerizing. I haven’t ever seen a gym with this feature before and it really makes it a much more entertaining place for a baby to be.
Multi-Sensory Toys
The toy arches have loops to hang up to ten toys and there are three toys included along with the music and lights attachment. Prince the Penguin is a rattly toy with a furry tummy, Star the Seal is a teether with crinkly bits and then there is also a rainbow baby-safe mirror too. Ernie loves batting his hands around at all these toys and is ever so pleased with himself when he successfully grabs and gets a hold of one of them. As he gets older I know he’s going to love having a good chew on them all and exploring all the different textures with his hands and mouth.
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with this baby gym. It has everything you could want or need to keep your baby happy on the floor for a while and I know it will continue to serve us for a long time to come. Even Darcie (two and a half) likes playing with it as she’s fascinated by the pull cord for the sound and lights toy. It’s a really good toy for her to feel like she is ‘helping mummy’ with her baby brother as I can ask her to turn on the music for him and she is really happy to be involved with entertaining him. The product looks beautiful in the house too, the colours used are bright enough to be interesting for a baby but also tasteful enough to be pleasant to have in your front room.
You can purchase the Musical Newborn Cosy Gym at various retailers including Boots.
You can also follow Taf Toys on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for more products and play ideas.
*The Cosy Gym was kindly gifted to us for the purposes of this review but all opinions are my own.