In the post-Christmas haze that my household has become, the baby stuff we have is just now beginning to take over. I'm not slipping on roller skates or stepping on Legos like some sort of cartoon (yet), but the blankets to roll around on, activity gym, baby swing, and seemingly endless amounts of toys all take up room. I realize I only have myself to blame, but it's starting to get out of hand.
I suppose all of this is why I was resistant to getting an "excersaucer" (which is apparently an Evenflo trademark) or "stationary entertainer" (as Babies R Us classifies them) for the baby. There's no way I'm getting her a walker which just seems dangerous, but something where she can safely hang out (no pun intended) and play while I deal with dinner sounds pretty good to me. It's going to take up even more room, but I'm now to the point where I think the good is outweighing the bad.
So I did some research on-line which wasn't very helpful (I think they created the expression "take it with a grain of salt" specifically for Amazon feedback), and I went to my local Babies R Us to check them out. I think I'm going to go with the Baby Einstein Caterpillar Discovery & Play Center, mostly because it doesn't have a million things on it like the Evenflow Exersaucer, and the sounds it makes are in multiple languages (and I'm definitely down with that). The guy-who-used-to-be-in-a-band in me wanted the Leapfrog Learn & Groove Activity Station (dude - it's got a kiddie turntable), but the dad in me realized after a day or two those noises would drive me nuts.
So the Baby Einstein version it is. I'll let you know what I think of it in a few weeks.