With a baby comes a lot of stuff. You have all of the essentials for sleeping, carrying, diapering, feeding and even corralling — but what about playing?
A baby’s environment can be entertaining in itself, but us new parents love tools that help with development. If a toy can help facilitate tummy time, encourage the baby to roll over and improve hand-eye coordination, it will get a second look. Also, if the toy allows mom and dad time to take a breather while baby is occupied and entertained, it’s a winner.
In my opinion, the baby play mat is one of those must-have items. We tried out several with my daughter. After trial and error backed up by research (scrutinizing a ton of reviews), we found a really good one.
Tiny Love Gymini Super Deluxe Lights & Music Play Mat
Back in December we ran an Amazon giveaway gifting this wondrous device to one of our Twitter followers. That’s how much we love it! There are tons of play mats out there and it may not evident how one could be better than the other — outside of the obvious characteristics such as size and overall aesthetics. 
Let’s go over a few of the things that made the Tiny Love Gemini Super Deluxe mat standout:
Size
A big play mat can be cumbersome, but the bigger, the better in my book. After all, you want your baby to stay on it, not roll off with just a few turns. This play mat is a bit larger than most at the same price point.
Price
You are buying a lot of things for baby. With a play mat, you want something that’s quality, durable, but not too expensive. For me, if a relatively large toy is under $50, I think it’s a good deal — especially when its something that will be used daily.
Portability
This mat is super easy to tote to the grandparents’ house. It sets up and breaks down quickly and travels well in the case its packaged in.
Comfort
The padding on the mat is pretty thick (not as thick as others, but pretty good), making it comfortable for your little one spend time on. My daughter would often fall asleep on it after an especially exhausting playtime.
Toys
The Gymini comes with 5 cute hanging toys that vibrate, rattle, spin, and roll. They can be moved from one area of the play mat to another. My daughter enjoyed the toys so much that they were our take-along toys clipped to the high chair when out at a restaurant and stowed in the diaper bag for short trips. The play mat comes with a mirror that she also loved.
Extras
Who doesn’t enjoy music and lights? The Gymini includes both along areas of the mat that crinkle and squeak that your little one can explore.
There are definitely a lot of play mats out on the market, but I definitely suggest the Tiny Love Gymini. Both you and baby will be glad you did.
~ Kim