My daughter punches rabbits (Eden Beatrix Potter Mobile)

Member Name: sersha

Product:	Eden Beatrix Potter Mobile
Date:	29/03/05 (920 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: keeps your baby amused

Disadvantages: only suitable up to 5 months, music doesn't play for long

Don't some baby things just make you melt? It's the pastel colours, the soft squishy textures, the softness of it all. I was given this mobile when still pregnant with my daughter, and it was the first thing that really made me realise I was going to have a little person around to appreciate it. I even used to play the music to my bump so that she would get used to it!

I loved Beatrix Potter stuff as a child - and it's timeless 30 years later, and immensely popular for young children and babies. My two year old nephew gobbles up the stories and knows all the words. And of course although my baby girl is VERY advanced, LOL, she isn't reading stories quite yet, but when she does get to them she'll already be familar with the Beatrix Potter characters which hang from her mobile.

There are four soft characters hanging from the mobile - a frog (Jeremy Fisher), duck, (Jemima Puddle Duck) , pig (Pigling Bland) and rabbit complete with carrot in his paws (Peter Rabbit, of course.) They are all soft and beautifully dressed in detailed fabrics and are in varying pastel shades. A teapot forms the centrepiece.

Musical and moving mobiles help babies develop auditory, visual and fine motor skills, but mainly, they are fun to bash!

The mobile winds by hand, and plays what I call the "baby" tune -I've no idea which piece of music it is, (perhaps Brahms lullaby?) but it seems to be found in every single baby toy or changing mat or mobile - they all play variations on the same thing! It's soothing and restful music. It lasts for around 5 minutes (long enough to go to the loo!) which is a shame as it would be better if it went on a bit longer - I have to keep popping in to wind it up again to stop Leah getting agitated!

The characters spin round in a clockwise direction at a slow speed while the music plays, which fascinates Leah - she is just learning to try and bash them as they go round. The mobile won't be suitable for her once she is five months old in case she gets tangled up in it and hurts herself, but she will have had great value from it before then. You should remove it from the childs cot as soon as they get old enough to push themselves up on their hands and knees. It's something to keep her occupied just now while she is being changed, or needs a distraction for a few minutes when you go to the bathroom! The instructions do advise you not to leave your child alone with the mobile on, but they also say this applies to any soft toy, and I don't think there is a mother in the world who hasn't left their child alone with a soft toy?!

It was very easy to attach it to her cot and once in place it is very secure, so you don't need to worry about it falling off. It's a simple clip mechanism which you twist until tight to secure. You could easily transfer it from room to room or cot to playpen if you wanted to.

Washing the mobile is easy - although it doesn't come to pieces, you can just sponge the characters with a damp cloth. Since it only has a lifespan of five months, hopefully its not likely to get that grubby!

I'd recommend this as a great gift for a new baby of either sex (it's a little on the girly side, but for a new baby it wouldn't matter too much) . And lets face it, there are only so many clothes aged 3-6 months a baby can wear in one lifetime!

Cost: £20-30, available at lots of toy stores - try newbabybaskets.co.uk

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