I am thinking about getting one of those gymini things (colorful mats with hanging toys above) for my 3 month old DS. He currently doesn't like tummy time and I want to make it more interesting. Does anyone have experience with these and are they worth the money?

We got one for DS when he was about 2 1/2 to 3 months old. For us, it totally wasn't worth it. If he's by himself with it, it takes about 5 min for him to get sick of it and cry. If we do use it I have to sit right next to him anyway, so for me it's easier just to take some of his other toys and hold them up for him. If I had to do it again I would have just waited until he hit 4 months or so and bought him an excer-saucer that he could sit upright in. DS totally prefers to sit up as opposed to lying down so he really likes his excer-saucer. Maybe one day when he can get himself up a bit he'll like the play-mat but so far it was a waste for us.

Our son loved his, but honestly, by 4 months, he was too "old" for it. They're kind of expensive, so I wouldn't waste your money for one month. Just lay a colorful quilt on the floor and dangle stuff for him....lol.

We had one which they are supposed to lay under with an arch over the top with animals hanging down but there wasn't anything exciting on the mat part to encourage tummy time Luckily we got ours handed down to us cause dd wasn't really interested but what she did love and was great for tummy time was an Animal Activity Mat/Blanket that cost us next to nothing. All the different animals had crinkly bits, squeakers or bells and she used that loads

I just bought this awesome thing today! Sorry, its not for tummy time, but its a fisher price activity gym. The baby lays on its back and toys hang down. When the baby kicks a toy, a ferris wheel above him lights up, plays music, and twirls. A friend had one when I went to visit and he went nutts with it! I went out and bought it right away.

We got one right at 2 months. Took her about 3 weeks to get into it...so she was almost 3 months old before she spent time with it. At 4 months old, she was bored with it and we got an exersaucer. In hindsight, we would have been just as well off with what Dizzygirl suggested...dangle things yourself...or rig something up on your own.

The exersaucer at 4 months old is just about right and will last longer for entertainment than that mobile thing.

Thanks for all the responses. DH and I went and looked at them tonight and decided not to get one - DS doesn't like being on his tummy as is. And as mentioned he seems to like sitting up/held upright more and more. We were given an exersaucer from my work's baby shower and I put it together a couple of days ago. Although he can't really sit up in it I put dishtowels/handtowels around him to help prop him up. He seems to like looking at all the toys, and I like the option of interchangable toys/height as he grows.

Happy Babies Everyone!

We bought ours for cheap off a friend when she was done with it. I started DS on it when he was about a month or so old and like all babies he didn't like it at first. He is just over 5 months old now and likes it. It has chew toys and animals that vibrate or make different noises that dangle down and if he rolls onto his tummy he has a brightly colored jungle with more animals to try and grab that make noises and theres a music switch that you can turn on that if he hits a certain spot music starts to play and 3 flowers flash lights, he was trying to grab the flowers each time they'd light up today. I really am glad we got it, he plays much more on the floor than our DD did (we had a different floor mat for her that was no where near as entertaining) and when he starts to crawl we can take the toys off and he can still play with them. I still have to alternate his activities though, he will play on the floor for up to an hour at a time then he will go in his exersaucer or his jolly jumper. At this age they get bored quite easily so offering alternatives is a great way to keep them happy.