I happen to hang out with a lot of moms either online or in person and that's how I discovered that babies can get their own gym memberships. I'm not talking about at the YMCA; I mean they have gyms specifically for babies. I tried to imagine my tiny tot lifting foam weights and doing squats for a pacifier. What the heck do they do at a baby gym?
I went about investigating. I was stunned to find there were THREE different baby gyms in the area: Gymboree, The Little Gym, and My Gym. I've heard varying reports about each, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and go undercover to discover which baby gym offers the best bang for your buck. This will be a three part expose!
Today, I visited the King of Prussia Gymboree location for my free "Play and Learn 2" class for babies 6-10 nonths old. First, the location is a bit confusing to find, I'm very glad I took extra time to find it. Look for signs because the building is set way back off the street.
Once I get there, I'm greeted by an overworked woman who explains that she's trying desperately to get her lunch in between her five classes of toddlers. Someone called in sick. Still, despite the exhaustion she must have felt, she kept it upbeat and cheery. I appreciate that.
I'm told that the babies can go into the gym barefoot, but parents have to wear socks. I look down at my sandels. Who wears socks with sandels in the summer? Not me. Fortunately, they have a basket of loaner socks for parents. Seems like this faux paus is common enough to require a back up system. If they had mentioned it on the web site, I might have come prepared.
The gym itself is a huge padded room with huge padded jungle gym toys. There's tiny slides, a wooden train to ride in, stuff to crawl over and around. It really does look like nirvana for babies.
The class of about 14 babies starts with circle time and songs. We stretch the babies out while singing songs. My baby absolutely loved seeing so many babies doing "airplanes" on their mommy's shins. Then the babies played with balls, while the mommies went around the circle and discussed child care options we've tried. That was a nice touch, because I got some really valuable info.
Afterwards, our teacher brings out little scooters and explains that the week's theme is "riding." Hence, riding a scooter will help with balance. My child really hated this part, but a lot of babies loved it. I have to admit they looked really cute on scooters.
After scooter time, they "rode" the slide (with parental support) and other movable objects like big wheels and trains. While my little girl liked this, it took us out of the circle where the babies could play and crawl together, and forced us to interact with our babies alone again. The whole reason I go to these things is so Callie can play with other babies, so this was a minus for me.
We did get back into a circle for bubbles and parachute time. Once again, we sang songs and then it was over. The babies all looked a little worn by this time. A little over stimulated to say the least. I know babies don't have the longest attention spans, but you really do move through activities kind of fast and furious. I felt tired afterwards too!
However, if you are going for a trial run, be prepared to get the sales pitch afterwards. Classes are fairly expensive at $71 a month and that includes 4 classes (1 a week) and free "open gym" times. However, for my girl's age bracket that would be twice a week. If you took advantage of ALL the "open gym" times and the four classes, it amounts to about $6 a visit. But if you are only going to the classes it's about $18 per visit. There's also $45 new member fee too to take into consideration.
There is a $10/month discount for buying a four-month subscription membership. So you'd pay $61 a month. But I can't even get my own ass to a gym for four months in a row...I'm not sure I can manage that for my daughter either. And in all honesty, MOST of the activities we did at Gymboree, we also did at the Phoenixville Library's Baby Story Time, and that was FREE. Just saying.
Meet me back here for Part 2 of our exploration of baby gyms when I visit the Collegeville Gymboree and The Little Gym in Exton.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Kimberton Fair is in the Air!!!
As I was searching the net for fun things to do in my boring old life, I stumbled across the website for Kimberton Fair. Had I driven on Rt 113, the Kimberton Fair's existence would have been made painfully obvious to me. The traffic is always horrendous, and I usually steer clear at all costs. This year. however, all that has changed when I discovered:
I'm not one to brag, or to be a future Toddlers and Tiaras mom, but my baby is pretty darn cute. Why shouldn't she be recognized for the sweetheart that she is? I mean look at this face:
WHOOPS! I meant this face:
It should be hilarious! Come out and see Callie take on the babies in the Class 2 division on Saturday, July 30 at 3:10pm! And get some of the famous fair donuts while you are out there cheering us on!
POST CONTEST DETAILS:
I have to say, we were lucky the day of the contest. Callie took a BIG nap before leaving so she was as fresh as a daisy on the first day of spring. We cycled through a few outfits before loading into the car.
We arrived early so I could scope out the competition. It was hotter than hell outside, and we were all dripping sweat in the bingo tent. Surprisingly, the babies kept their cool! I expected it to be the tent of human wailing, but I think these babies knewthey had to keep it together for the judges :)
The "contest" was carrying your baby up to a table of judges and hoping that your baby would smile or do something cute. Thankfully, my baby is a known flirt. She can wrap any waitstaff around her finger within minutes of sitting in a high chair, and the baby contest judges were no match for her either. I am proud to say, we took 2nd place in the Class 2 (6-9 month) division! Read more about it in The Phoenix!
POST CONTEST DETAILS:
I have to say, we were lucky the day of the contest. Callie took a BIG nap before leaving so she was as fresh as a daisy on the first day of spring. We cycled through a few outfits before loading into the car.
We arrived early so I could scope out the competition. It was hotter than hell outside, and we were all dripping sweat in the bingo tent. Surprisingly, the babies kept their cool! I expected it to be the tent of human wailing, but I think these babies knewthey had to keep it together for the judges :)
The "contest" was carrying your baby up to a table of judges and hoping that your baby would smile or do something cute. Thankfully, my baby is a known flirt. She can wrap any waitstaff around her finger within minutes of sitting in a high chair, and the baby contest judges were no match for her either. I am proud to say, we took 2nd place in the Class 2 (6-9 month) division! Read more about it in The Phoenix!
The baby contest was honestly my highlight of the fair. The carnies were mean, the food was ok, and we didn't get any donuts. If we hadn't taken home a red ribbon, I would have called this a bust. Was it baby friendly? They did have a large "baby changing tent" (cards tables with butcher paper tablecloths) available connected to the smelly petting zoo and a very scary looking "Elmo" circulating the crowd. I'm not sure I'd call it "friendly", but there was an effort!
Friday, July 8, 2011
YMCA Little Swimmers
I've been a bit busier this summer than anticipated, however, I have found time to get baby girl into the PHX YMCA's swim lessons. Our particular class is very low key (only 2-3 kids) and the instructor is very good with children. I was nervous (and still am) about the baby drowning, but I guess the lessons are as much for the parents to learn how to be less neurotic in the water with their kids, as it is for the kids to get used to being in a big pool.
Classes are about a half hour and involve a number of nursery rhymes adapted to be about swimming. They learn about kicking their feet, paddling their arms, and blowing bubbles in the water. We play hokey pokey, motor boats, ring around the rosy, and London bridges. At the end of the lesson, the instructor brings out a basket full of toys for the kids to play with.
The only warning: family changing rooms don't have changing tables for babies. You'll have to use the little girls or the little boys locker rooms.
If you aren't up for paying for a lesson, the outdoor Baker pool offers a wonderful toddler pool that ranges from a few inches of water to two feet. There are also tons of pool toys floating for the little ones to enjoy. I like being able to let the little one run around the grass outside and despite how gross it may be, I can discretely change her on the lawn without having to mess around in the changing rooms.
Well the baby wants to type her own blog post, so I gotta run! Enjoy your swim lesson!
Classes are about a half hour and involve a number of nursery rhymes adapted to be about swimming. They learn about kicking their feet, paddling their arms, and blowing bubbles in the water. We play hokey pokey, motor boats, ring around the rosy, and London bridges. At the end of the lesson, the instructor brings out a basket full of toys for the kids to play with.
The only warning: family changing rooms don't have changing tables for babies. You'll have to use the little girls or the little boys locker rooms.
If you aren't up for paying for a lesson, the outdoor Baker pool offers a wonderful toddler pool that ranges from a few inches of water to two feet. There are also tons of pool toys floating for the little ones to enjoy. I like being able to let the little one run around the grass outside and despite how gross it may be, I can discretely change her on the lawn without having to mess around in the changing rooms.
Well the baby wants to type her own blog post, so I gotta run! Enjoy your swim lesson!
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