Over the next few months I’ll be working with Taf Toys to bring you honest reviews of a couple of their products. Ordinarily toy reviews aren’t my thing because I’m quite fussy about the toys I let into the house (they do take up all the space after all!) But after having a quick look over their website I knew instantly that me and ‘Taf’ were going to get along just fine! A far cry from the usual neon colours you find in most toys, Taf Toys use a lovely pastel colour palette of yellow, turquoise and grey which is not only unisex (great for handing down between siblings!), but also suits my decor perfectly – and you don’t need sunglasses to look at them!
With the market so full of options for toys to aid your little ones development, its easy to become overwhelmed about what you actually need, especially if you’re a parent for the first time so I’m hoping my reviews will give a little guidance to help you decide what is worth investing in.
Taf Toys Musical Newborn Cosy Gym
The first of my reviews is for the Taf Toys Musical Newborn Cosy Gym. A 4 in 1 playmat and activity gym which Ollie has been enjoying for the past few weeks. I’ll be honest and say of all the toys we were sent, this was the only one I thought we’d probably end up passing on to my brother who’s recently had a baby girl. N ot because I didn’t like it, but because Ollie is almost three months old now and already has an Activity Gym, therefore I thought two would be a bit overkill. However (and it’s a big however), we’ve actually found that he likes this one better than the one we had, so the original gym has been moved upstairs and my poor niece has been left to find her own entertainment 😉
The Musical Newborn Cosy Gym is made from super luxe washable fabric and is really soft and padded making it perfect for tiny babies to feel right at home. There are two draw strings at either end which can be pulled tight to make the play mat into a cosy nest. I’ve found that Ollie likes this when he’s ready for a little sleep as I think he feels a bit cocooned (and sheltered from his sister). The drawstrings fasten with little plastic buttons on the inside of the fabric (kind of like those you’d use to hold together the strings on a rucksack), so the cocoon shape is really secure and remains cosy until you manually release the button.
This isn’t the best photograph, but I caught him snoozing and so wanted to take a photo. Ollie is a BIG baby so obviously he looks like he’s filling this, but the fastenings can be adjusted to relax the size a little to create more space if needed.
Tummy Time
When the nest is up in this position, it can also be used for tummy time. The supersoft fabric provides an ideal cushion for tiny chests and the hanging toys can be easily removed for entertainment. Also because the material is completely wipeble (and washable), you can easily clean up any dribble. Ollie is still a little small for extended tummy time, but he enjoyed having a go and I think the cushioning was just the right height for his little arms…
Detachable Sensory Toys
The mat comes with four detachable sensory toys that are double sided and designed using contrasting colours. Each of the toys offers a different form of sensory stimulation and I find them all really well made and lovely quality. The Penguin doubles up as a rattle with an easy to grab loop on the bottom, the bird has a chime bell on the inside, a teether on the bottom and crinkly wings and the rainbow is also a baby safe mirror. The fourth toy is the pull activated musical light which I will talk about in more detail below.
The detachable arches have various loops which the toys can be dangled from, meaning they can be moved around as your baby grows. At the moment we’ve been using the lower arches for the bird and the penguin so Ollie can reach them, but as he learns to sit up, the higher loops will be better.
Pull Activated Musical Light
I’ve saved the Pull Activated Musical Light to last because I think its the best part of the whole mat and am sure it deserved its own section! Like any first time parent we invested in ‘Ewan the Sheep‘ when Ettie was born and felt a little peeved when he didn’t deliver the full nights sleep we were promised! Because of that when Ewan went to a sheep heaven in the sky, we didn’t bother buying him again and so haven’t really got any musical toys for Ollie.
Because he’s a pretty laid back chap, we hadn’t really noticed he was lacking anything as he will quite happily play away on his own looking at his reflection in the mirror. But when we introduced him to the musical light, its like he became transfixed. He loves staring at the soft yellow, blue and green colours and the little jolly tune it plays really calms him down if he’s feeling a little restless. We’ve also found the white noise setting soothes him back off to sleep if he’s stirring a little and doesn’t want to wake up.
Another great feature is that the musical light is fully transportable and the velcro strap means you can attach it to most things. We’ve been taking it upstairs with us when we need to shower or get Ettie ready, as often the melodies will give us a few extra minutes to get out of the house before Ollie begins to get restless.
The Verdict
Overall there are very few negative things I can say about the Musical Newborn Cosy Gym. I do try to give and honest review when asked but having seen so many other options on the market (and used a couple with Ettie), I can honestly say that this is one of the best I’ve seen. The main negative for me is the fact that the base isn’t machine washable, but I suppose that comes with the fact that its a nest as opposed to the usual playmat.
The top selling points for me have to me the quality, colours used and adaptability. There’s no reason why this baby gym can’t be passed down through many siblings and cousins making it a great investment. The wipe down easy to clean fabric is durable and light, and the neutral colours really do make it perfect for either a boy or a girl. It also folds away really easy into a zippable bag meaning storage isn’t too much of an issue when the gym isn’t in use (although we tend to leave it out at the moment as Ollie is using it every day.
The Taf Toys Musical Newborn Cosy Gym is probably in the middle end price range of the activity gym market but I can honestly say there isn’t a thing I dislike about it. It’s perfectly designed and a lot of thought has gone into the process of making it.
If you’d like to know more about the Taf Toys Musical Newborn Cosy Gym then please do leave me a message or comment in the box below. If you’d like to buy one then they are available at Dunelm here, Jojo Maman here and Amazon here.
The Newborn Cosy Gym was kindly gifted to us in exchange for an honest review. All words, opinions and photographs are my own x
You can check out my other reviews of items in the Taf Toys range here:
That’s darling! My daughter loved her gym until she figured out how to take it apart.
Ha ha least that added a bit of extra fun 😉