Having seen a number of friend's babies enjoying their activity centres, I was keen to get Lily one too but was initially put off by a number of factors. Firstly they all seemed pretty expensive and as you can never be sure if your little un is going to actually enjoy the product I didn't really want to fork out so much. Secondly those that my husband and I saw on display looked quite big and I was a little concerned that it would end up taking over the living room (kid's toys inevitably do, of course!). Thirdly I was keen to source something that would offer a degree of portability, the idea being that we might be able to move the activity centre into other rooms such as the dining room.
I took a risk when I bought this activity bouncer as I did so having only seen it online. It 'looked' as if it wouldn't take up too much space, didn't 'look' like it would be too cumbersome to transport around the house and the price point was much more appealing. Thank goodness that once we had put the bouncer together – the only annoyance but thank goodness my hubbie is good at assembling things – my assumptions were proved correct!
As its name suggests this activity centre also allows little uns to indulge in a bit of bouncing which is right up Lily's street. The green platform on the underside of the unit provides the bouncing action ad this has three height settings too so can be moved down a notch as Lily grows.
When she's not bouncing to kingdom come Lily is spinning round in the comfy padded seat (which moves around the full 360 degrees) exploring the unit's various activities. There are five toys in total, each allowing Lily to explore her growing skills. Lily is particularly enamoured with the unit's piano. It's three keys are activated when pushed by the baby and light up while playing a selection of tunes (six in all). There is also a duck and turtle on a see saw for Lily to push up and down, a rattling spinning ball and two toys which encourage Lily to use her fingers to spin, push and lift.
Admittedly while this activity centre is pretty light, I wouldn't attempt to take it up and downstairs! It does tend to live in the living room, although we have put it out in the garden on the odd sunny day so Lily can have a bit of al fresco fun.
It's ideal for putting Lily in if I need to leave the room as I know she is safe and secure – and moreover she is so wrapped up in enjoying herself that she will happily play away almost unaware that I am zipping round the house with the hoover!! It must be pretty comfy in there because she's falling asleep in the unit on a few occasions!!
It's a shame the unit doesn't break down easier as I would certainly take it with me if I am staying away for a few days but alas once it's put together that is that and there's no way I would take the risk of disassembling and reassembling it!!
© 2011 Sharon Marie Denman
