My blog has seen better days. While I have been getting accustomed to caring for an adorable 8 month old, and sharing time and affection with my love-bug, almost 2 year old, I rarely have time to shower. I have had some time to brain storm posts I would like to do, so here is one of them.
I spent some time, a few months trying to find the perfect mobile for my then, 1.5 year old and my newborn. I tried, it felt, them all. So here is the list of mobiles I went through. Find the cost,and the pros and cons. I hope I can remember all the reasons why I then sent some back. There are 3 on this list that I did keep, and have been pleased with. You will find at the bottom some sites I have found that have been time saving when trying to find a product and my favorite shopping site.
Price: $39.95
Pros
1. Colors where fun
2. Easy to assemble and disassemble , snaps into or out of place
3. Good selection of music and sounds
4. 20 minutes of continuous music
Cons
1. There are plastic rings that clank when the mobile moves. It kept me up, so I assumed it was keeping my newborn from sleeping. (reason I returned it)
2. Night light seemed a little bright
3. Changing batteries better be done during the day, not easy.
Price: $47.91
Pros
1. Comes with a handy remote so you don't fiddle with buttons or disturb your baby
2. The motions, sounds and lights were great. They worked well to sooth.
3. Grows with baby-converts to a music box and night light
Cons
1. Have an electric screwdriver, cause this was a pain assemble. I almost shipped it back assembled.
2. One of the leaves (all three move) stopped working on day 2. Reason I returned it.
3. Could the name be any longer. :)
Price: $29.98
Pros:
1. Nothing to assemble
2. Play music without lights
Cons:
1. Polar bear makes a grinding noise as it moves up and down (could of been just on this one)
2. How it attaches to crib. There has to be a better way. Most of these types of mobiles attach with (2) plastic strips that you have to bend and loop. Not easy to do.
3. When on "motion and sound" it plays only 5 minutes (reason returned)
Price: $29.98
Pros:
1. Really does play up to 18 minutes of music, projection
2. Batteries have not been changed yet, (4 months of using it every day for naps and night time)
3. Super easy to travel with. I used a pack-n-play and it sat on the floor. Worked great. Detaches from base.
4. Once you figure out which buttons do what, easy to change from projection/sound, just sound, and off.
5. The music is very soothing. I use the classical mostly, but the nature is soft and fun animal sounds.
6. Night light is soft. I use it every night when I need to find where he is to change his diaper.
7. Projection has two cute animals/scenery images that moves back and forth (night and day images).
Cons:
1. How it attaches. Same as previous reviews. The plastic straps are thick and hard to maneuver to secure.
2. Base has a mirror (has have used it yet) Don't really know why if the projector works. Maybe will like once he gets older. Nice to have another option.
3. Nothing moves on the base. Thought this might be useful when the baby gets old enough play with the mobile or turn it on and off.
(kept for my then 1.5 year old)
Price: $35.95
Pros:
1. Best feature: The toucan bird on the leave you can touch to turn on and off. My now almost 2 year old, loves it.
2. The sounds are great as well as the movements. All the animals move in a sequence as well as the waterfall.
3. 18 minutes of music and motion. You can turn the motion/lights off and just listen to music.
Cons:
1. Attaching it is a pain and when replacing the batteries.
2. I think the blue light (night light) is a little bright, but my oldest doesn't seem to mind.
3. I bought two and returned one because the water (some sort of oil) had leaked. The one I have now, there has not been a problem.
(kept kinda)
Price: $23.77
Pros:
1. Great for early sensory and multi-sensory development.
2. Easy to assemble and change out or reverse cards.
3. Grows with baby. Images can be lowered for a newborn to see.
4. No batteries to replace! Simply add a cd player with your favorite lullabies or sounds and you have a perfect soother!
Cons:
1. Might seem simple to most who are used to the more stimulating sounds, and movements.
Note: I used this mobile with my first child until he was 3 months old. I thought it was a great mobile as it was used for the early development of the baby. I did not use it for my second, because we moved and I could not find the darn thing. Once I found it, I had found the above mentioned soother.
Sites that do the looking for you and have great reviews.
Kid Crawl has a wonderful community where you can find answers and ask your own. As always, I have to mention
Cool Mom Picks. This site is like the icing on the cake, or the comfy pajamas I never want to take off, it just make me happy. The CPM finds the sites, products, services, and MORE, I wish I could locate in my SPARE time. You can find the coolest mobiles too. If you have not checked them out, it should be on your to do list before you step away from your computer. The link below gets you started in your mobile quest.
1. Amazon.com
The links above for the different mobiles all go to Amazon.com but you can find most of these at your local department store. You can also google the names and usually find the different stores that is carrying them, or log into KidCrawl and this site does that for you, with reviews. Well, I am going to mark this post off my to-do list.
