Star Light, Star Bright
When Beanie was about three months old, we went to visit my parents and they had this awesome activity mat for him. It had things that hung down in his face, things that he could swat at, things he could pull on. He loved it.
When we came home from Nana and Granddad’s house, the first thing I did was go onto Amazon.com and begin my hunt for something similar for our house. What I found was perfect.
He was pretty little at the time, so all the stuff that he could hold onto and play with with his hands didn’t really interest him much. What he loved was that star at the top in the center. It blinked and played music and would keep Bean entertained for as long as we left it on.
Needless to say, we went through batteries like crazy with that star.
Sadly, after only a few weeks, the star stopped playing music. We tried changing the batteries. We tried fiddling with the wiring. Nothing helped. It never played music again. But Beanie didn’t really care. Now, he would stare at the blinking star and I would sing to him instead. He didn’t even notice.
I’m pretty sure Bean is tone deaf cause I sound nothing like that soft, sweet lullaby music…
Eventually, I realized that Bean would play with the play mat and stare at that star with or without the music, so I gave up the singing. Sometimes it freaked me out. What if it was like Poltergyst? What if that blinking star was sending him messages?
But then I’d remember that that star had kept Bean happy for many, many hours so I don’t really care what that stupid star is saying to him.
We finally got smart and started moving the star around. It was detachable from the play mat, so we would move it to wherever Beanie was. Usually, it was on his swing. Whenever he was fussy and tired, but just couldn’t settle himself down, we’d turn that star on and he would stare at it long enough to calm down and eventually fall asleep.
I loved that blinking, possibly possessed little star.
But this past week, tragedy struck.
The star stopped blinking. That’s right. It just stopped. Like before, we tried changing the batteries and messing with the wiring, but its just broken. Occasionally, randomly, it will just start blinking again. But you never know when its going to be. And, as luck would have it, its almost never when Beanie is around.
Now, Bean still stares at it. Just waiting for it to magically blink again. Its kind of sad, really.
So I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried to order just the star from the company, but it only comes with the $50.00 play mat. And I just can’t bring myself to buy another mat only to get the star. For now, I’m just crossing my fingers that something else will get the Bean’s attention and we can move on past the star.
But I don’t know if Bean is falling for that…
18 Comments
Maria
Aww, poor Beanie. Have you tried calling the company who makes the activity mat? I’ve found that a lot of baby companies have excellent customer service and will send you replacement parts for free. Especially if you’ve had problems with it from the beginning.
It’s worth a try!
Nate's Mom
I’m with Maria. Call that gosh darn company! We got our pack’n’play bassinet replaced free of charge with a really quick phone call. And then tell them you’re a blogger. Remember the hell that dooce.com broke loose with her washing machine? Well. This could be StarGate. 🙂
Caroline
Have you tried looking on craigslist? I just craigslisted “star mat” in Atlanta and found your exact mat brand new for $30 – I know you don’t want to buy an entirely new mat, but maybe someone is trying to get rid of a special blinky star just for the bean!
Toni S.
Yep, I agree with Maria and Nate’s mom. Call the company! The worse that could happen is they say no.
Hilary
Arg!! We have the EXACT same playmate and had the EXACT same problem. I found out from my sister-in-law who also had the EXACT same playmate with the EXACT same problem that she got a replacement star and it broke as well. I cannot believe the company is still selling this clearly defective product. That star was like crack for my daughter and I wanted to cry when it died.
Mindee@ourfrontdoor
Christmas ornaments should be in the stores. You can probably find a twinkly, blinking ornament.
Meredith
i agree with mindee@outfrontdoor. i bet there are several batterie operated blinking stars already on the shelves at target and home depot. don’t fret mr. bean! the stars haven’t given up on you!
Christina
Heck yeah, call the company! It sounds like a defect. They should do something about it.
And you can always tell them you are going to do a product review on your blog that’s read by millions of people…
Stacey
My daughter is 12 months old and still has to listen to the star before going to sleep. I have not had any issues with ours. My friend said hers stopped working shortly after buying it. The company did replace it. Good Luck!!
Kate
Is this one close enough? http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Einstein-Discover-Play-Star/dp/B000TFNH60/ref=pd_sim_ba_2
Maybe Beanie will like it just as well. It has rattly (sp?) things and buttons and stuff. The dog just ate one of Bridget’s favorite toys so I know the sadness of losing what makes them happy.
Katie
Oh my gosh! Santa Claus has this on his Christmas list for Beanie!! This exact same star!! 🙂
Emily
I call my grandparents Nana and Granddad too!
whitney
HEEEEY! Levi has the SAME mat and the SAME star, and he is MESMERIZED BY IT, TOO! My goodness, he is obsessed!! I, too, love the star. It makes me sane in my crazed moments.
Heather
I’m glad to hear you guys are doing better! You could try replacing it with a glow worm toy, or the IQ Baby Buzz’r.
Miss M!
My friend had the exact same playmat and the exact same problems with the star, which of course, her baby loved too. I know she was able to get a replacement for it though. I can’t remember how she said she did though. I’ll ask her next time I see her.
Amanda
We have the same mat and the only two toys Cam ever paid attention to were the star and the red bird. For the first 8 weeks he cried around the clock (doctor said colic, turned out to be reflux) and the star was the only thing that would quiet him down.
14 months later ours thankfully still works but Cam out grew it about 4 months ago. I took out the batteries and packed it up in case we decided for baby #2
Kate
My daughter is 2 months old and she LOVES the star, and I’ve never even put batteries in it!! No blinking, no music, but she will look at the star and talk to it for ages!!
Rebecca M.
We have the same playmat and have been using rechargeable batteries with the star for the last 6 months or so. My son loved watching the lights and listening to the music. He’s mostly outgrown it now, but we’ve never had any issues with the lights or music (except when the batteries are dying, then it acts erratically).
The star that Kate posted looks the same, but doesn’t play music or light up. I would suggest this item:
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Einstein-30704-Takealong-Tunes/dp/B000YDDF6O
It plays the same kind of classical music as the star, lights up, and is portable. It will hook onto rings that you can attach to the car seat, high chair, etc., and the handle makes a nice teether.