Activity Centre Octopus

I bought this baby float for my son, and it was a total hit! It made our pool time so much more enjoyable and stress-free. The float feels very secure and well-designed, with great support for babies who are still getting used to the water. The canopy with UPF protection was a huge plus—it kept him shaded and comfortable even on sunny days. He absolutely loved the little octopus activity center; it kept him entertained while we floated around together. It’s easy to inflate, fold, and pack up, making it super convenient for travel or pool days. I highly recommend this float to any parent with a little one—it made our summer memories even better!

We were really impressed with this baby raft. After looking at a few online we decided to go with this one, as it came with toys to help keep our little munchkin entertained. She’s 7 months and she fits perfectly and totally loved it! She loved the toys even more. She does sit up by herself so we didn’t see any safety risk, but we noticed she preferred to lean back and chill a lot, but regardless we never left her alone without one of us nearby. It quick and easy to assemble, I can’t speak for putting it back away as we have left it blown up for ease of re-use. The sunshade is great for our sunny Texas rays, we ended up unsnapping the back snap of the shade though so it would be completely covering her head and face and this worked perfectly. The blow-up toy on the front is cool, it spins, and the toys attached to it by loops. Our favorite toy is the flounder looking squeaking one and next up is the teething fish. She can teethe and swim at the same time and she loves it! There is also a beanie toy and some foam ones. We haven’t tried the foam ones as our little one is teething, and we didn’t want to risk her biting a piece off and choking on it. This is going to be a raft that will be used for quite some time.

We're really happy with this purchase. My 7 month old son used it in the beach for the first time and he enjoyed it as well. We live in the Philippines and it can get really hot. The canopy really helped in protecting our son from the harmful rays of the sun. He also enjoyed the water around the floater which he got to touch and play with. He waded by himself and would lean back and rest his head at the back when he want to just float around. He'll lean forward when he would want to play with the toys which came with the floater. Aside from that, we get to put his toys around the floater (on the mesh dark blue part of the floater) without the fear of losing them in the water. My only 'complaint' is that the teether which came with it doesn't float. Not really a big deal but since it doesn't float, I might opt not to use it with the fear of losing it -- which defeats the purpose of including it as part of this floater. The squeaky blue puffer fish is really cute and it floats as well, except that water can get inside even without pressing it underwater. So I'm not sure how it would hold up with mold after awhile.

[[ UPDATED REVIEW - 7/2/2014 ]] So my daughter is now over 4 months old and she fits in her float much better than when I wrote about it in my previous review. She's able to hold her head up much better and in combination with her growth, she's able to fully "lean forward" or "recline back" while in the float. She's still a little small for the float (last 4 month visit showed she weighed slightly over 14 lbs), but I anticipate she will only improve with it. As I mentioned in the original review, we bought this float for our beach vacation and I'm definitely pleased with the float. So pleased in fact, we found that Swimways was the brand used by several other parents of infants at not only my pool, but the two other condos where the rest of our extended family were staying at. Of course, they were different "models" with different colors, but you could definitely tell that they were Swimways floats identical to the one we had. Since we were concerned with sun exposure, the canopy did a perfect job of keeping my daughter in the shade no matter the position of the sun. I'm definitely pleased with this purchase. I still wish the valves were easier to blow in. Since my original review, I've yet to actually deflate the float. I actually had to blow in it once more due to the natural air loss over the past several weeks. That's my only negative remark! [[ ORIGINAL REVIEW - 6/13/2014 ]] As of this review, my baby is around 3 months and 3 weeks old and my wife and I are first time parents. Since it's summertime, we wanted to introduce her to swimming since we both love the pool and with a beach vacation coming up later in the summer, it just made sense to get hour baby acclimated to swimming. Talking with our pediatrician, she recommended that we keep her shaded if at all possible and to not use any sunscreen products (because of her age). The first time we took our baby swimming, my wife held her the entire time. While this works, we both came concerned about slipping (accidents happen) in the pool. Not wanting to take that kind of risk, I was tasked with looking for baby floats. On Amazon, Swimways, Speedo, and Intex are the popular brands. However in regards to baby floats with a *working* shade (Intex & Speedo customer reviews stated that the shade pieces were worthless), I decided on the Swimways float because other buyers stated it worked well. My daughter was born premature and therefore is small for her age. Swimways floats are manufacturer recommended 9 months old and up & because of that, she's a little small for the float. The support that goes around her bottom is fine, it's just the opening around the waist is a little big. Without holding her upright, she's a bit wobbly unless she lays back in the reclining position. Of course we would never ever leave her unattended, so each time we've used the float, we've been holding her upright with our hands. Putting the float together was a breeze. It came compact & already folded with a carrying case but repacking it back in the case is another story. I've only successfully put it back together once. It's such a hassle, I've just left it inflated the whole time. The only CON I have with this float is that it is a PAIN IN THE BUTT to blow up. The valves are not like other blow up valves I've used in the past. For some reason, you really have to blow hard to get air in the float. I thought that perhaps, it was one of those valves where you have to lightly "bite" the base to get the valve to open up, but it's not. Be prepared to strain to get the float inflated. I ended up buying this one over the others due to the pricing. This was the only Swimways Baby float that was cheaper than what was listed on Swimways' website. At the time of purchase it was $30.30 (retails for $39.99). Highly recommended for those needing a well built float for your little one. As she grows into it, it will only get better.

PERFECT for the baby in the pool

I bought this for my 15 month old son to float in at the lake. We tested it out this past week and I am pleased with the purchase! We had a similar float for my daughter when she was an infant, but this one is definitely an upgrade. First of all, it's amazing that the entire contraption folds up almost flat to go into the carrying bag. We inflated it at home to see how it goes together and I was just sure I'd never get it back into the bag. It was not a problem, though! The only tricky part is getting the baby into the float when in the water. It would be very easy at the pool, but in the lake it was a little harder. We managed but it took 2 people. However, once we got him in the baby was very secure. Under the sunshade, he was well protected from the sun (although of course he was covered in sunscreen and had on a swim hat). The toys are a nice bonus. He was content to let us paddle him around in the water. The lake was choppy at times, but the float is plenty buoyant enough to go up and over the lake waves. Altogether this is a great purchase and really a must-have if you're going to put your baby in the water!

This works great as long as your baby can’t touch the bottom of the pool. If they can stand in the water, then there is not enough weight pulling down on the inflatables and your baby can easily reach forward and push the inflatable under the water (no matter how much air you put in them). But if you are using it in water deeper than your baby can touch, it works great! Sun shield is easy to use, it blows up easy, we have had no issues with “rough water” threatening to capsize the raft (but I’ve only used it in a pool), the little toys are nice and give idle hands something to handle as theY float around and watch other kids (I think it helped my baby be a little less nervous having something she could hold on to). Overall I’m really happy with my purchase.

Love the float itself but the plastic storage packet zipper broke the first time we tried opening it. It’s unfortunate.