Customer Reviews

Infant Stim Mobile - Wimmer Ferguson

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

 

 

We found this at a garage sale and I read about it and it seemed really interesting so I bought it. This is for the first few months of a baby's life and should not move much, contrary to what the first poster said, because you want stimulation but you don't want to over-stimulate a baby. However, we did notice that sometiems our baby does like the mobile to move and it is summer here but the air conditioner blowing air around the room should be enough movement. When it's not moving, we can just put a small fan on its lowest setting about 6 feet from the crib and the small wiggling was enough movement to keep her stimulated but not so much movement that she can't keep track of the object (babies this young are not good at tracking so you don't want a lot of motion), but still we only do this once in a while, not at all times.

One of the best things about this mobile is that our baby only wakes us up at night to feed. If she wakes herself up she will sit and stare at it for a long time and be happy since we have a small nightlight in the room. Any time we put her in the crib we can see her staring at the simple shapes. Shown in the picture on the product page is the detailed shapes, you flip the cardboard from the simple to the detailed shapes when they are about 2 months old, then remove this mobile for a more 'traditional' one with movement and objects the baby can grab at about 4 months. This is a somewhat delicate mobile since it uses air currents to move, so you need to keep it safe from a grabbing/eating baby.

Also, one nice feature is that ours came with a travel pack, or at least that's how I'm using it. Besides the crib mount, there is an 8 inch circular plastic ring with fishing wire for hanging the mobile. You can hang it anywhere with a string, either taping string to the ceiling or tying it to any overhang. It also came with a cardboard carrying case thing which is very thin and easy to take with you on a trip.

For those with a math/science background, it's really interesting to note that first side of the cards have objects with very low spatial frequency. The 'detailed' sides are actually the same patterns, but with a moderately higher spatial frequency. After 4 months, you use standard mobiles, which have very high spatial frequencies, as well as colors and things the baby can grab to improve hand-eye coordination. Basically, you start showing the child very low frequency objects that are easy to observe and track, then gradually move up until they can use the high frequency information.

Now, I want to explain why I did not give this item 5 stars even though it's an amazing product. Before my baby was a month old, I noticed that she was already able to detect some colors and this stim-mobile is only black and white. This is from 1990, so I guess over the last 20 years they have refined the product so that the simple side has some red (first color a baby sees) and other simple colors, while the reverse side has more vivid colors, but uses the same idea of going from low spatial frequencies to higher spatial frequencies. I ordered the newest version but still kept this around for changing table and pack n play entertainment since she loves it. If I had not known about the improved version, I would have given it 5 stars, but there is something better available so I highly recommend getting the updated version for every newborn.

When we had our first child, we were told and read that little babies need high contrast objects to develop their visual cortex, so we bought this mobile. This is what this device is supposed to do. Now, after three kids I can say (three data points) that none of our kids cared a whit for it.

I think the big problem is that it doesn't move. This is really not a mobile (no motor/spinning). We have had more than 6 different mobiles for them. All the kids wanted something to move in front of their eyes. Mobiles with bright primary colors (blue, red, yellow) seem to do well.

With our third kid, my wife convinced me to mount a mobile on the changing table starting at about 2 weeks of age. That one plays a melody, has little animals (blue, red yellow) that rotate around, and has to be hand wound, which is a pain. However, that mobile totally transfixes her attention. In my view, this Infant Stim product and related other infant stim products with no motor and no sound are a waste of money.

Love this mobile! It is challenging and their eyes are drawn to it. My son couldn't look at it until he got older as he didn't like high contrast, but at @ 7 mo he got into it. If you are a parent who appreciates observing the small nuances of learning that occur in the development process--you will be able to witness it with this toy. I'm not a parent trying to turn my children into geniuses, but definitely into maximizing their capabilities to incite their own curiosities. Keeping children zoned out is not a priority--so for those who want to do that--turn on the tv and buy toys with bells and whistles. For others, get toys like this one.

The Infant Stim Mobile - Wimmer Ferguson is approved by our doctors! One of our baby's Physical Therapists suggested getting her a mobile to develop her eye sight and tracking. We chose this one as it is scientifically proven to help develop eye sight AND, we liked that you can change the images on the mobile so she's not stuck staring at the same old thing every day. We also didn't want something that played music in that annoying twangy baby toy sound. Come on, you know what we mean.

So far, her Neurosurgical team, Specialist Pediatrician, Physical Therapist and the very pregnant X-Ray Tech have been really impressed with the Stim Mobile and us for finding it for her. :)

The only thing I would change/improve is that it's designed to attach to a traditional crib with rails so it doesn't work on her bassinett. That said, I believe this is the case with most mobiles. Maybe someone out there needs to develop a mobile holder that would work on more solid surfaces. (Hint-Hint)

Finally, it's easy to pack back in its box and take to the hospital with us for our frequent stays. A little bit of home to make baby more comfy & not disrupt her development.