A baby MUST have!

For all you mother's of newborns, moms to be, or those dreaming of a family in the future.  There are many items that you NEED when you have a baby, and then there are many items that you are told you need and yet never use.  One item that I would recommend to anyone that you probably haven't even really thought about that is a definite MUST have is a play mat or preferably play gym.

They range in price from $25-60.  You can find them at Wal-Mart, Babies R Us, Target, consignment stores and online.  They have a variety of themes, characters and colors depending on what you are looking for.  Most gyms come with 2-4 hanging toys and have loop holes so that you can add more.  In fact, I ended up with a TON of extra toys to hang from people using them as decorations on a wrapped present (brilliant idea).  I often swap out the toys between the gym and hanging on the car seat to keep Leeland interested.  We got our gym pictured below from Target.com, it is Infantino brand and cost around $50.  A little steep for us but we liked the design and to be honest we were using money from our baby shower to purchase it.

Leeland 2 months old playing

We started placing Leeland under his gym when he was about 3 or 4 weeks old and started staying awake a little longer.  He couldn't quite reach the toys but enjoyed looking at the colors and at himself in the mirror.  We also used the gym to introduce tummy time to him (which he did not like).

Now that Leeland is almost 8 months old he is STILL playing with his gym.  He can crawl now, so he definitely doesn't stay under it, but he will crawl through it like it's a tunnel and often stop to chew on (teething baby) the toys.  Originally I thought that $50 was steep but considering he has played with this toy for 7 months and still continues to play with it, it was well worth the cost.  It made a fabulous distraction when he was little so that I could eat, change over the laundry, or even just use the bathroom and now it has paid for itself simply because he still has interest in it.

A must have for any Mom!

Leeland 7 1/2 months playing with his gym