Jumperoo - is that even a word?

Jamie and I try to hold out against the kind of plastic, multi-coloured craziness that they sell at Babies r Us. We like cloth and wood and European toys, as well as a more minimalist style - we have a small space and it can really quickly look very cluttered. Plus, we just aren't big fans of the in-your-face distractions that are part of most mainstream baby toys.

However... We did just go out and buy Cole his very own Rainforest Jumperoo. You can kind of tell from the name that it's going to be pretty wacky, but this thing actually has about 12 kinds of brightly coloured craziness! And music! And lights! Oh dear... :-)

It's really just a take on the classic Jolly Jumper - basically a seat on springs. I decided against the Jolly Jumper because the original version is hung from a door frame, and to me anyway, that didn't seem very safe. We have very narrow molding around our door frames, and really none that we don't need to walk through many times each day! And the modified version of the Jolly Jumper that comes on a swingset-style a-frame would take up too much space in our living room...

The Jumperoo, on a circular base, uses a 1x1 metre area in the living room (we relegated a chair to the bedroom to fit it!). Around the seat are several activity centres with toys that make little noises, rotate and spin. The seat itself can be rotated 360 degrees to give baby a new view. It also takes batteries - movement activates lights & rainforest noises, which are not actually as annoying as that sounds, although we've often left this turned off just so Cole can hear real music playing in the background.

Despite the craziness and name - the Jumperoo is great! Cole really loves it. We've been putting him in it once or twice a day, for about 5 - 10 minutes each time. Sometimes he goes wild for bouncing in it, and other times he's more intent on exploring the brightly-coloured toys surrounding him. He's starting to use his hands more purposefully and also to really focus on objects he's interested in; it's so exciting to see him learning.

I'll soothe my feelings of plastic-related guilt with the thought that I can pass it along or sell it when Cole is finished enjoying all of the crazy.