Customer Reviews

Galt Playnest - Farm

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this for my active, strong baby boy to use starting at 3 months once he started being able to strengthen his core sitting muscles towards sitting. It was definitely one of the best gear items/toys that I bought for him, it's been in the center of our living room since he was 3 months old (he's now 14 months). It has a lot of interesting, educational details in the Farm scene that runs along the circumference of the Nest, I'll details those below. It's had a number of different uses for us as he's physically matured since 3 months:

The Sits but Only With Assistance age: At 3 months, he was a bit hesitant of it at first, because he could only lounge in it, with the sides of the nest supporting his little back, but once he realized that he could use it to look out our patio door, it became a little station I could plunk him into while I supervised him closely, but from a few feet away (fold laundry, etc.). I believe it (in conjunction with his little infant seat) helped starting to strengthen his core sitting muscles.

The Sits with Assistance, but Almost Without age: He really grew into the nest at 4-4.5 months, because I could finally sit him in the nest, he could watch some Elmo and I could pop to the kitchen (or imagine, the bathroom) briefly and know that he was staying put. This was a great help all the way almost six months, when he started trying to crawl out, at which point I couldn't leave him even briefly, he knew how to time his escape attempts.

The Sits Independently age: I'd read him books in the Nest, and also he could lounge and drink his formula bottle in the Nest. The Nest is just a great place to hang out and play with toys or watch Elmo. Once he could crawl around, he'd crawl around outside the Nest and then crawl back in when he wanted to rest and cuddle.

The Walking/Running age: He started tipping the Nest up over his head and crawling around with it on his back with just his head sticking out, we'd call him our little Hermit Crab. He still does that today. Also, he flips it upside down and throws himself on it like it's a mini-bouncer, he does that all day every day. He's about 25.5 lbs. at 14 months, and it doesn't show any sign of being too small for him. When it is right-side-up, he throws himself backwards onto the bouncy edge of if and then falls into the center, it makes him laugh. In the evening, he cuddles into it with his blankie and drinks his bottle as we settle him down for bed. It definitely is one of this favorite toys, he's practically inseparable from it.

Farm scene Playability: The Farm scene is very colorful and the illustrations are highly engaging and excellent for teaching Baby about animals on the farm. I especially like how all of the animals and the two Farm people have big broad happy smiles. There are a total of 12 different types of animals, along with a Farmer Boy and a Farmer Girl. Also, there are five different textures on the surface of the Nest that I wanted to detail because they aren't described in the product description, and aren't that evident in the photo:
Sheep: Has a fuzzy plush texture, that resembles wool texture
Duck: Has a squeaky in his beak. The beak extends above the surface of the Nest so that you can grab (or bite) the beak and squeak it.
Bee: Has a crinkly shiny white bee wing (it's between the Horse and the Cow in the photo)
Pig Pen: Has a big crinkly 6" cloth flap which serves as the Pig Pen. You flip that flap, and there is a little piglet smiling out from the underside of the flap and then you can see that the Mommy Pig has two other little pigs nestled close to her.
Farmer Girl: Bucket being held by Farmer Girl has a softy smooth fabric surface.

Assembly: Very easy. As the directions state, you place the inner tube inside *first* and then inflate. I realize there was a reviewer who was stumped at this, but I think at this point, with so many reviews point out the process, it really isn't a tricky thing to do. I've inflated it by mouth a couple of times, it takes about 15 minutes or so. Using a hand pump makes it quite a bit easier.

Travel: We traveled with this toy, we took it with us when we relocated, and then back again when we came home. You deflate it by pinching the valve open, and then start rolling it up systematically to get all of the air out. Not tricky. Takes up hardly any space in your luggage.

Durability: One of the ways we play with this toy is that we sit the baby in the Nest, and then we hold the cloth handle on the side and pull him around our living room -- it makes him laugh. He now weighs around 25.5 lbs, and we haven't had any problems with ripping or tearing, or inner tube puncturing. Ditto for when it's flipped upside-down and he throws himself on it.

Product Comparison with Gyms similar to the Fisher-Price Rainforest Play Gym: We also had the Rainforest Play Gym, and I'd say this Nest has a completely different purpose than the Play Gym (which is excellent, by the way). The Play Gym is superb for the 1m - crawling age babies to practice looking at lights, kicking, batting little hanging toys etc. The Nest is for developing sitting muscles, and then providing support for reading books, drinking bottles etc. Whereas a Play Gyms playability is starting to wane at 5 months, the Nest is just taking off in terms of being fun for the sitting up, crawling, and later walking/running baby. In short, I'm saying that you can't choose *between* a Nest and a Play Gym, they have different developmental purposes, and I'd highly recommend getting both.

Storage: As a note, it has a cloth handle on the side, which could potentially be used to hang it up out of the way without needing to deflate it.

Overall, my little boy adores his cuddly safe Nest, *especially* now at 14 months. But it was definitely helpful even at 3-5 months for helping him develop his core sitting muscles. Excellent buy with lots of longevity, I would recommend it to anyone.

Edit 5/18/2011: My little boy is now 16m old and he's apparently done with the Nest, he hasn't noticed it in about a month, so it's going away. Still, it was a full year of fun... He's moved on to playing with his Rock Around which interestingly enough is just about exactly the same size in diameter, but is climbable, spinnable, and you can roll your cars around in it, so I guess it's the next product up for the active toddler....

I love the playnest! My daughter has hip problems and we could not put her in an exersaucer type activity center. This playnest was exactly what we needed! It's perfect for babies who aren't sitting up completely on their own but who are ready to move past lying on their back on a play mat. I can set her in it and she literally just hangs out, happy as a clam and I don't worry about her tipping over and bonking her head. Within a week it improved her 'sitting skills'. I don't understand what the other reviewer found hard about the assembly of this product. There are two pieces; the inner tube and the cover. You slide the empty inner tube into the cover and then you blow it up. Couldn't be easier.

I received an Amazon gift card for Christmas, and after browsing through the large array of baby items that are offered here.. I came across this little gem. It was on-sale at the time for only $19.99, and I decided to try it out. My little bean is almost 8 months old. He's curious. He's crawling. He's extremely active. And I was very interested to see how he'd respond to what basically boils down to a fabric-covered inner-tube.

WELL.

It is, without a doubt, one of the best purchases I've made for him thus far. He absolutely adores drinking his bottle in it (he lays on his back cushioned by the donut). He loves trying to get out of it. It gives him great exercise, because he pushes with his arms on the "pillowed" surface. Even when he does finally manage to work himself out, it's low enough to the ground that it isn't a danger to him. He literally will stay occupied and happy for nearly an hour in the thing!

Any baby --with proper supervision-- will go "ga-ga" over this toy! Even at full price, it is well worth your money!

My sister-in-law bought this for our first son and now the second boy is enjoying it. It is perfect for an active little one who doesn't want to just lay around but can't go anywhere on his own. My 5½ month old is sitting up, turning around, and doing push-ups on the edge. It really helps a little one build upper body strength and safely learn how to move his/her body. Babies do eventually dive over the side, so make sure the playnest is in a safe place.

This is the only place that I could put my baby down without him screaming to get back in my arms. He Loved it! Even after he learned to crawl and get out, he would love to come back on his playnest with other toys he would bring into the nest. This was really a life saver for us. As far as the assembly, I have no idea why the other reviewer had a problem. We used the pump we use for our bicycle's tires and there was nothing complicated about it at all. I highly recommend this product!!! Well worth the price!

At first I got this from a friend when my daughter was about 4 months old. At the beginning it was just a place to put her and make sure she wouldn't go anywhere. With time it became her favourite spot for playing, looking at books and even napping (although this is not recommended). Now she is 2 and she still plays in it and when she is done playing, we put all her toys in it for the next day. After all these months it is holding its shape really well and I just have to take the cover off and wash it in the washing machine when needed. Now it is one of my favourite gifts for new moms.

We got this when our daughter was around 3 months old. At that point she needed a bit extra support in the playnest (a rolled blanket or small pillow) to be propped into a stable position. Initially the colors and contrast of the nest seemed to interest her. But we would usually also give her an additional small toy to play with. When she got a bit older and able to sit better, she would interact with part of the nest like the crinkley ear on the elephant or the coiled tiger tail. It provided a great alternative to using the bouncey baby seat type activity centers. We have one of those, but it was nice to put her in something stable where she could examine and play with her feet. Now at 9 months of age we are starting to grow out of it. She had gotten more mobile and can climb out a bit too easily.

This is a great idea for little ones. It gives them a bit more of a feeling of independence while keeping them in one spot. Plus it provides good back support while they're learning to sit up and it deflates for easy travel.

it is a great idea, and i loved it when i got it, the fabric is good quality, but the inflatable ring that goes in the fabric was very poorly made and deflated on its own within a day. not sure if there is a hole or defect, but it is going back. i may try to buy it one more time because my 6 month old really seems to enjoy it, but very dissappointed about this problem.


********** update ***************

got another one, no problems, love it! my son is 6 months old and absolutely loves it.

This was a huge hit with both of my twins. I usually give them a toy to play with while they are in it. Now they are almost 8 months and they like to play with the stuff on the sides. It's great for working on sitting too. They prefer this over the bumbo. When they are not yet sitting, this can still prob them up pretty good. It's nice too because you can deflate it and take it super easy to travel. This is one of those must have's that I purchased and don't regret. If I had more space around my house I would have bought 2!