Gymini by Tiny Love... Is the Red black and white better??

[Grace_underfire]

Hi,

I want to get a Gymini and was wonder if I should register for the Noah's ark or the red, black and white one.

Truth is I think the red, black and white is quite ugly but if it is better for babies then I would go for that.

Will the Noah's ark be as engaging??

Thanks!

New mom to be - doesnt know what she is doing!!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

We have the deluxe with the lights and music and she has liked it since birth. At first it was the mirror that held her attention and she has just started to notice the animals.

I say get the one you like.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel 2/27/91
Logan Elizabeth 3/25/03

[lukkykatt]

I would get the Noah's Ark, if that is the one you prefer. I had that one and both my boys used and enjoyed it. Really, your baby will probably not start using it until about 2 or 3 months, and will use it for many months after that, so the whole contrast thing will not be so important.

[justlearning]

I got the Noah's Ark one and am very happy that I did. First, it looks very atractive (unlike the Red, Black, and White one) and looks adorable left set up in his room (even though it's very easy to fold and put away). I've used the Gymini with our son almost every day since he was 3 days old, and he seems to really enjoy it for about 5 minutes or so (sometimes longer, sometimes shorter). Besides just looking at the dangling toys, he also really enjoys batting at the rainbow which hangs down low with a ball that rattles a bit. (It hangs low enough when you use the two clips to hold it, making it hang longer than just one clip--the extra clips come with the Gymini). My hope and guess is that DS will enjoy the Gymini for even longer periods of time as he gets older. Hopefully, your child will like it too!

Oh, by the way, this input might help too... I have a crib panel/book from Lamaze that has all kinds of black and white designs on one side for newborns, but it doesn't seem that DS is any more interested in looking at that than the bright colors on the Noah's Ark Gymini. I know about the research suggesting that the B/W should be more interesting during the first two months but it hasn't seemed to be the case with my son at least.

[akc]

Hi -

I was really not a fan of the red & black one (nor the mobile), so I went to our usual source for info, the pediatrician. He told me that the red & black does attract attention b/c it is easy to differentiate the contrast & help with some visual stimulation, but he said it was more of a "fad" in toy development. It will not, he added, make your child have advanced vision or mental skills. We got the Deluxe in a shower and my DD loved. I will tell you that she didn't really get into it until later (3 mos or so) - really when she could reach up and bat it. And, she was way into the mirror...or looking at herself! Then, by about 5-6 mos, she got into the music. The music was too much stimulation for her earlier. We JUST packed away the Gymini now - at 11 mos. Once she learned to sit, she'd sit at it AND then crawl over to get some of her favorite things. Now that she's pulling up, it's got to go b/c it's not sturdy enough (obviously). I'd get the one you want - you'll see it A LOT. Ours was out permanently for about 6 months! Plus, I liked the animals that came on ours - they've been separated and go with all her toys now. She loves the giraffe so much, it's our favorite travel toy. Some of them even hang in the car! Noah's Ark is plenty engaging - especially by the time the baby gets to that stage.

The Tiny Love hanging stuff is awesome in general. I got extra little links and a couple more animals (thx to showers, she had a mobile, a Gymini, a crib bar, a car bar, and a stroller bar - all Tiny Love!) and they have been our main toy staple. They are great b/c they are small (can be thrown in a diaper bag or even a purse, also mean the kid doesn't get attached to some HUGE toy), clip onto anything (car seat, shopping cart cover, high chair, even once on Daddy's shirt button!), and are completely interchangeable. Just thought I'd pass that on -

Good luck!

Alexa

[LisaS]

I had the Red White and Black (got it as a gift) and DD loved it. We used it from the time she was 5 days old. She enjoyed it right away - first for just a few minutes, but slowly, she worked her way up to spending 30 minutes happily kicking and gurgling w/her "friends" as we called them.

As far as b&w vs. color, I was actually happy to have something that didn't look like a rainbow of colors, that didn't have lights and make music b/c so many of our other toys did. She became very attached to her Octopus from the gymini and we bought a few more in colors and attached them to her car seat, carriage and kept 1 in the diaper bag. I also received some colorful gymini attachemnt toys that I added to it later on. The Gymini was a permanent fixture in our living room for the first 5 months. Once she could sit up, she lost interest. But, it was fantastic while it lasted.

Its a great toy, no matter what colors it comes in. Its really just a matter of personal preference. Black and white may be more appropriate for the very beginning, but colors will be fine too.

[iriebride]

I'm an optometrist, so I'm a little biased when it comes to visual development in kids. Worked in a pediatric optometric practice at one time. When we measure infant's vision, we use high contrast charts with b/w bars and it's so obvious that babies are attracted to this type of stimuli. They need to be visually stimulated so early on to develop good vision. Color vision doesn't develop until later. I registered for and received the b/w gymini for my baby-to-be. Bottom line, it's up to you I guess!

BTW - developing good tracking skills is also important to prevent strabismus (eye turn, lazy eye). Play with your babies! Also, I have the Symphony in Motion crib mobile that has colors, b/w, moves in a non-planar angle and little shapes that slide as it moves...all very visually stimulating for babies!

Just my 2 cents!

Joyce

[sarasprings]

Hi. I just want to second EVERYTHING akc said. It was pretty much exactly how it was for ds. He got so much use out of the deluxe gymini, even the mat when we had to put the cross bars away because he was using them to pull up. The giraffe and monkey are still favorites now (13 months) and regularly get hooked to my hip hammock.

[JustMare]

I was just at BRU and discovered that Baby Einstein now makes an activity mat. It's adorable! It has lights and music (Bach, Mozart). I really liked the design of it so much better than the Gymini. It just looked more entertaining.

It's not on the BRU website yet, but I saw it in the store.

Just something else to consider.