Fabulous Finds: The PopATot

Oh my. I have struck gold. I have just discovered the most awesome baby product of all time - for real. So you're having a baby, and you write a checklist of your must-haves: a stroller, a crib, a car seat, diapers, onesies. Well add to it, my friends, the PopATot, a baby activity center that travels anywhere with you and folds up in a snap. The inventors are parents who came up with the idea on a camping trip. Their six-month-old daughter, like most babies, didn't want to be laid in a portable crib or locked in a stroller. She enjoyed sitting up and playing with toys in her Exersaucer; unfortunately, as great as the Exersaucer is, it's not very practical to fold up and take along on a whim. Enter the PopATot. It folds up and stores exactly like those portable camping chairs and comes with its own carrying case. With three kids in hockey, two kids in dance and T-ball, picnics, days at the beach, camping trips, and whatever else comes our way, I knew I had to try this thing.

I ordered the PopATot on a Friday; it was delivered {with free shipping!} to my door five days later. I loaded the kids into the van and headed straight to my mom's where I busted the PopATot out of its box. It was ready in less than a minute {no assembly}, and Miss Louisa was sitting in her new seat with a smile until Grandma insisted I take her out so she could actually hold her granddaughter during our visit.

Two days later, after dropping off our oldest daughter at kindergarten, my husband and I brought the PopATot and the rest of our clan to our favorite coffee shop for some coffee, hot chocolate, and treats. I set the PopATot up next to our table, added some of Lu Lu's favorite toys to the attached toy rings {it comes with five}, and enjoyed my breakfast date with my husband. All was well, unless you count our five-year-old and three-year-old trying to see who could jump the farthest off of the furniture at the coffee shop. {Can PopATot make something for them??}

The next day our family celebrated my husband's grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary with a big family picnic. Ordinarily, we'd be trading Louisa back and forth while we ate, trying to juggle a squirmy baby who relentlessly reached for our plates and our drinks. That day she sat right next to us in the PopATot smiling at everyone and chewing on her favorite toy while we enjoyed the luxury of eating with two hands.

In owning the PopATot for less than five days, I can't believe how many people have approached us to ask about it, talk about how genius it is, or say they're buying it for their own child or someone they know. And I don't stop them. I have nothing bad to say. It measures 27"x27"x24", so it has a large base that won't be tipped over easily, and it's very light and easy to carry. It works inside, outside, upstairs and down, on the grass, on the carpet, and in the sand. Two cup holders are great for holding Baby's bottles or sippy cups, and the five rings attached to the top are so handy for hooking on favorite toys.



So easy to carry!





Ready to make its move to the van for lots of use while we're on-the-go!

This puppy is going to live in the van and make its appearance at most, if not all, of our outings. Right now, it's available in four different prints: primary colors, camo with brown trim, camo with green trim, and pink leopard. Louisa, of course, opted for the pink leopard version. For $49.99, the PopATot is worth every penny. My only regret is that we didn't know about it when we had our first child.