THE INFANTINO GROW WITH ME ACTIVITY GYM AND BALL PIT! **REVIEW POST**

Namastè!

I'm groovy today and hope you are as well.

As you know, I love baby gear. Today the baby gear I'm loving is the Infantino Grow With Me activity gym and ball pit. This cute little turtle toy has been in my son's arsenal since he was born and we absolutely love it. (Note: I was NOT compensated by Infantino for the following review. This was a personal purchase, and this is my own actual experience with the toy.)

My son has had play gyms and tummy time mats since he was born, but they were relatively regular and didn't seem to hold his interest. When I saw this Infantino toy, I knew we had to have it. Check out this stock image from Infatino's website:

I went to several stores in search of it. I had no luck. THE ADORABLE TURTLE IS ALSO QUITE A POPULAR TURTLE. After bumming myself out with the brick and mortar search, I got the brilliant idea (insert "duh" face) to check online. There it was, in stock!!!!

I have never clicked "add to cart" so quickly in my life!

Baby Namastè is a curious young grasshopper. He hated tummy time so much that he learned, at about 4 weeks, to roll over to his back. The first set of cool points for the Adorable Turtle--Infantino put collapsible mesh sides on this toy. I could have him lie on the flat mat, or raise the soft sides to keep him gently corralled.

Now...getting to brass tacks.

I took the toy out, assembled it. (It takes like a whole minute to snap the toy bars on. They clip securely yet obscurely to the turtle's feet, which make a satisfying crinkly sound that Baby Namastè LOVES.) Here is a photo of him enjoying his Turtle at roughly 8 weeks old.

He still eschewed tummy time, but he took to this activity gym like a turtle to the sea! It's very colorful, very bright, and very engaging for little ones to study. Baby Namastè got a kick out of "talking" to the toys on the bars. (The toys are removable, and very sensory friendly! There is a mirror crab, a crinkly starfish and crinkly fish fish, and a rattle octopus.) His favorite has always been the crinkly star, but he loves them all. 

We are a traveling family. We are often found all over the US. We took our Turtle on a trip to NYC. Another big point boost for Infantino--the included balls and toys are stored in Turtle's head, and his body is collapsible so it takes up almost NO storage space. At the hotel, the staff complimented us on how cute our "large turtle toy" is. Baby Namastè remained happy as a clam during tummy time and actually spent more time on his Turtle than in his playard. (ALWAYS supervised BTW...while this is an incredible activity gym and tummy mat, it is NOT a babysitter and we must use normal precaution. Babies can and do get into things.) When we were on the go, we let Crinkly Starfish tag along. 

As Baby Namastè grows, he is able to enjoy more features. Namely the BALL PIT!!! The gym comes with 40 colorful, soft plastic balls that are perfect for baby's hands. Baby Namastè liked to just bat at them at first. (We typically only put in one of each color, just for the sensory experience.  The following photo is of him with all the balls, for the first time.)

This activity gym has far exceeded my expectations. It is portable. It is enjoyable for my Baby Namastè. It is downright adorable! It works for a boy or girl, and the child will truly enjoy it for years to come. I am so excited to see how Baby Namastè engages with it as he gets older and more advanced. At 6 months he still does tummy time on it, and he also sits up and plays with the balls. (He likes to take his Topsy-turvy Mirror Palm in there too. That's a different Infantino gem for another post, though.)

This is a great item, period. Five stars. I'd give more than five stars honestly, because I was at my wit's end about tummy time and how to get my son to enjoy it rather than screaming like a banshee. (Oy.) This toy has gotten him over that bad space and now he has namastè in his play.

The gym is available, of course, at Infantino.com. Walmart, Target, and Babies R'Us carry it. (Good luck, they sell quickly!) It's worth every penny, and your little one will enjoy it immensely. There are two color patterns also! We have and love the topsy turvy, but it is also available in the Go GaGa design.

Happy turtle'ing.

Namastè!

- Tayè K.