Tiny Love Soothe 'n Groove Mobile, Blue 0-24 months

This was for baby #2 so I knew exactly what I wanted in a mobile. I was very skeptical this would meet my needs but it does! Here's a list of what I was looking for and how this mobile fits the bill.1. Must be automatic!! - With my first child, I used the one where you have to manually wind the mobile every few mins and it was a pain in the butt! I saved all my baby stuff so I could reuse it for baby#2, but the manual mobile went straight into the trash!2. Must be cute and not too girly looking. - I bought the blue one for my daughter and it's very cute and not to "boyish" for a girl.3. Must have bright colors - In order for you baby to be intrigued with a mobile/toy when they are a newborn, it must have bright colors.4. Must be easily removable - The reason why this is a must is because I don't want my baby to be overstimulated. Overstimulation makes it hard for my daughter to fall asleep because she's too wired and her brain has a hard time shutting down. When she starts to yawn or look away after 30 to 40 mins of playing, I simply remove the pole out of the music box. It's very easy to remove or reattach. It's great that I don't have to remove the whole unit.5. Must have multiple options for sound and nightlight combination- This mobile does almost every combination you can think of. You can turn on night light, sound and rotate animals at the same time. You can turn off night light and just have sound and rotating animals. You can have nightlight and rotating animals on with no sound by just lowering the volume until it becomes mute. You can have just sound by removing the pole from the music box.6. Must stay on for at least 20 mins - I am thrilled this stays on for 40 mins. I haven't seen any other mobile that stays on longer.7. Must entertain my baby - My daughter is 2 months and it entertains her for at least 30 mins! There aren't many toys that entertain her at this age but this one does! There has been many times where she play for 40 mins and then passes out!8. Must be versatile - This is my 2nd and last baby (I think) so I hate the thought of buying baby stuff that can only be used for a few months. Since this can be used as a music box for a toddler, I was sold. Not sure if it's going to really be useful but hey it's better than nothing!9.Must fit on my crib! - My crib has thicker slats and I have found it hard to attach toys to it. I have no issues with this mobile. Fits like a glove and it's very secure.There are 2 things I thought I wanted in a mobile but after using this I realized I don't need it.1. Since babies like toys that light up, I thought it would be a good idea to have a mobile where the animals light up. I realized during the day that function is useless and at night I want my baby to sleep not play!2. I wanted a remote control but since this mobile stays on for 40 mins, I don't need it. I thought not having one would be inconvenient but it's not bad at all.If you're debating between this one or the popular Fisher Price one like I did, I say go for this one! It's cheaper, cuter, plays music longer and it grows with your child! You won't regret it!P.S. - Only the giraffe on mine makes a clicking sound. I am not docking a star for this because the clicking is not a loud annoying click. It's a soft click so it doesn't bother me or the baby. Maybe if all 3 did it, it would be annoying.Update 10/9/13 - I still love this mobile, but I wish it had a timer for 20, 30 or 40 mins. Sometimes 40 mins is just too long and I have to go into the room to turn it off manually.

Our baby loves this. It has kept us sane. Cannot say enough good things about it. We've had it for a bit over ten months now, since baby was almost two months old, I think. When he was little, it kept him entertained long enough for us to sneak in quick showers. Imagine that, being able to shower even though you have a newborn. It helped him fall asleep at night when he was a bit older and we were trying that "drowsy but awake" nonsense (does that really work for anyone?). When he was around four months old, he figured out how to turn it on by himself, and that was a huge bonus, because sometimes he'd wake up and just listen to music, buying us a few more minutes of sleep.Even though he's a little older now, we still have it in his crib. He went through a brief stage where he tried to hold onto it while standing, but stopped pretty quickly. Now he just turns it on, sets it to the "nature" setting (his favorite), and gabs with his "mobile friends" for a bit most mornings. It also helps him fall asleep, now that he's able to do that on his own.There are only four teensy negatives, in my opinion. More like room for improvement. First, the animals click a little when they rotate. My baby doesn't seem to mind it, though, and we've learned to tune it out. Second, the light is REALLY bright when the batteries are new. I wish it was a bit dimmer. Third, the lowest volume is still a little loud. I wish it had a quieter setting. Fourth, I wish you could stop it without turning it off or muting it. Before the baby figured out the on/off switch and was still just using the buttons to turn it on, there were times where I wanted to shut it off, but still wanted him to be able to turn it on himself when he felt like it. Muting it or turning it off with the switch required you to turn it back on or un-mute it later, which baby didn't figure out for a while.Again, very minor criticisms for something that has been so fantastic. The most important thing is that our baby LOVES this mobile, and therefore we do, too.

This mobile is the best for a number of reasons. First, it plays for about 45 minutes continuously, which is great. Second, it has several different types of music (lullaby, nature sounds, classical, etc), and each track is pretty generous in terms of length. Third, the music on it is insanely catchy -- I find myself humming some of the tunes throughout the day. Fourth, I like how the mobile will grow with my baby since the bottom part is detachable and portable. Finally, I love it because it completely engages my daughter when it's on: she'll stare at the dangling animals (which I initially thought were kind of lame but which she seems to like) and turn her head to look at the flashing lights on the console. It's great for when I need to get things done around the house to turn this on and know that she will be entertained. (There's a volume control and a button to fast forward through songs -- it's also really easy to put up and take down, and we do so several times a day.) Overall, I would highly recommend this to anyone.