Houston, we have a crawler

6-months-old-crawling-on-patchwork-mat-the-children's-factoryI recently read that phrase on a blog (I can't remember which one at the moment...)...and I laughed.

Yes, we have a crawler in our house. She's not moving about on her hands and knees yet, per se. BUT she has determination and physical agility - and she can inchworm her way across any room, especially if there is something particularly tantalizing in view.

We have tile in almost all of our house so sometimes I worry about her little bare legs. Usually, I'm grateful that we have tile (carpet is so hard to clean and it definitely has the ick factor), but tile isn't very soft or cozy...

baby-on-patchwork-mat-by-the-children's-factorySolution: the Patchwork Crawly Mat ($139.95) by the children's factory. This 57" x 57" vinyl-covered mat is nicely padded and wipes clean easily so it's perfect for crawling, crafts, or snacks. The bright primary colors are bold, vibrant, and fun - purple, green, orange, yellow, blue, and red. Plus, the pad makes a great backdrop for photographs too. We use it every single day for picnics, pictures, and playtime.

patchwork crawly mat the children's factoryWIN IT! One winner will receive a Patchwork Crawly Mat by the children's factory. To enter, leave any topic-related comment on this post prior to Tuesday, September 22nd at 11:59 p.m. (Don’t forget to follow the rules…all generic comments like “Enter me!,” “Love it,” and “Cool stuff!” will be disqualified.).

*UPDATE* The winner is #102 Nini Lettner. Congratulations!

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170 comments on “Houston, we have a crawler”

  1. I'm having my first baby in 7 months and so this would be great to have in our nursery. We're not going to know the sex until after the baby is born so the colors are great.

  2. This would be perfect for my best friend's new baby. They're starting to get everything for the new little one. They're starting form the beginning.

  3. I like the colors in this. I like to have really bold colors around. I'm definitely not a pastels kind of mom. This would work perfectly.

  4. This is a really cute mat. I really love all of the fun colors. And the fact that it is gender neutral since we don't know what the sex of our grandbaby is yet.

  5. This would be perfect for our front room which we're turning into a play room. It would be nice to have this to cover the hardwood floor so it doesn't get ruined!

  6. I love the "houston we have a crawler" thing! It's so true that there needs to be a huge announcement because it is just danger waiting to happen! I'm always amazed by how much a child that small with that amount of mobility can manage to wreak havoc.

  7. This is so adorable! I have tile and this would be cute not only because it looks fun and vibrant but because trying to get juice out of grout is nearly impossible!

  8. I would love to win this for my sister who has twins that are crawling around everywhere! it would make me feel more at ease LOL

  9. They say esposing a child to bright primary colors stimulate their minds.
    I really love this [atchwork quilt with all the mutili colors.

    Reminds be of my blanket I had as a child!

  10. I love how colorful this mat is! We have the foam kind with shapes & animals which my son rips off so there's pieces everywhere. =/ My son has no interest in crawling right now but hopefully he will soon!

  11. This would be super for my goddaughter who has suddenly become mobile!!!! I could put it on my hardwoods for her to play on. Thanks for the chance!

  12. that is so cute and would be so great for keeping little ones off germy floors and those bright colors would capture any little ones attention :)

  13. I think it could also be used really well for teaching children about colors. My daughter could spend hours naming each square and placing different items on each square.

  14. My best friend is a preschool teacher and teaches the babies, 18 months- 3 years old. They always need things like this for the school! Even if not just for crawling, it looks soft and would be fun for them to roll around on@

  15. Oh, I really need this! My seven-month-old is a crawler and has lots of "urp-ups", so a good mat that is wipeable would be a blessing!

  16. Two babies born in the family this week and four more due throughout 2009/2010 so this would be good to have around when the babies come to visit.

  17. I love the colors and pattern of this mat and that it is lightly padded to keep baby off the floor (wood, tile or carpet).

  18. My son would love this, he loves bright colors, and this would be easier on the knees than our hardwood floor! After my son is done with it I have a niece that would be ready for it!

  19. I would love this for my toy room. We don't have food in the toy room, but somehow the carpet ends up filthy. This would be a great solution. Also, carpet isn't good for moving toys, maybe this would help? thanks for the giveaway!

  20. My daughter has just learned to crawl, but she's limited to doing so in our bedrooms where the carpet is. It would be great to have a cushy mat to put down on the laminate floor in the living room so we can hang out there in the evenings!

  21. This would be great for my youngest niece, just in time - she'll be 4 months old next week and she's already very agile :) I love the colors too!

  22. I'd love to win this! We've got carpets but even with cleaning and stuff I always worry that there'll be something dropped or baby will find something icky (or even leave something icky!)

    Thanks for the great giveaway :)

  23. This seems like a great thing! I have a crawler who would love this. I can see how later it would be handy under a highchair to catch messes or under a play picnic table to collect playdoh scraps.

  24. This would be perfect for Lil Kiwi's PT.. When she was crawling we used those foam puzzle like mats; while it was better than the carpet or tile it wasn't my favorite pick..

  25. We don't have tile, but we do have hardwood floors throughout - I also worry about how hard they are on little hands and knees.

  26. One of my best friends is about to have a baby and this would be perfect for when I babysit since its so easy to set up and tear down! fabulous!

  27. My 4 1/2 month old is starting to love spending more time on the floor, and I am already starting to worry about the dirt he's going to get into once he's crawling. we live in the woods and we (and our dog) bring in so much dirt. It would be so nice to have a spot like this for him, that I could keep clean and safe for him. Thanks!

  28. I would love to win this for my grandson. He is just starting to get around and I hate putting him on the floor because he scoots off his blanket. This would give him plenty of room to scoot.

  29. I am in desperate need of a playtime mat for my son. He is just starting to want to crawl, and I have three shedding dogs, so I can't let him on the carpet in my house. This would work so much better than a sheet or blanket. Thanks for the contest! codisweepstakes2 (at) gmail.com

  30. What a fun and beautiful play mat -- love those vibrant colors and patchwork design! I'd really like to surprise my friend Jan with it - she and her husband just converted their second bedroom into a playroom for their daughter, and this mat would make a perfect centerpiece for that space. Thanks so much!

  31. So I LOVE all the colors! LOVE them! And you say it's soft and squishy? We have laminate floors....still trying to figure that out since we lived with carpeting when my son was in the crawling stage....thanks for the info!

  32. Would be a great item to own ~ we are expecting our first in January...and most of our home is either tile or hard wood.

  33. How fun that your little one is already on her way to crawling! It goes so fast. I think #2 always wants to keep up with #1. It is hard to believe how fast it all goes. I am amazed that my #2 is almost 1 already...how did that happen!?

  34. I hope #101 is a lucky number! I would love to win this for my boy's playroom! Looks like they could do somersaults on it as well. Thanks!

  35. I have all hardwood floors in my home and I babysit a 7 week old and a 9 mth. old alot so oh yes this mat would be great to have. My daughter has purchased a couple items from The Childrens Factory and loves the quality, She would get so jelouse if I was to win this and she'd be on the computer buying one for the boys rooms, What a great prize!!!Hope I win and good luck to all

  36. I have recently gone into portrait photography. If I win this great patchwork crawly mat I will send you photos of the mat being used in my portraits, Stephanie! Thanks!

  37. I really hope I win this adorable mat, my daughter has gone into portrait photography and this patchwork mat would be a perfect gift for her to use for babies' and children's photos!

  38. This mat would be perfect for my toddler who I have to constantly tell to stop jumping (perks of apartment living), and my infant when she starts to crawl. Entertainment for 2 birds with one stone.

  39. I'm worried about the ow factor in our new house too. I'm used to having carpet everywhere (we live in the Midwest, carpet is warm!) but our new house has mostly all hardwood floors - so I know that whenever we have a new baby it's going to be a lot harder on their knees - I'm so glad there are products like this!

    autumn398 @yahoo.com

  40. We have hardwood, and some carpeting. I worry about our little guy (6 months) scooting on the carpeting because of rug burns and because we also have a yellow lab (lots of shedding) and no matter how often we vacuum, I just don't feel like I want our little guy on the floor. For now, we have made the living room a dog free zone so our little guy can do as he pleases, but there is still the carpet rug burn issue. This mat would be great!

  41. Oh I like how you can also buy them seperatly and not only as a set, to enlarge it! I'd love this for my 11 month old

  42. I've noticed this mat in the background of some of your pictures and wondered about it. My little one is the opposite of her big sister and zoomed right into crawling and now pulls up on EVERYTHING. This would come in handy for all of her falls and spills!

  43. we ended up getting those interlocking foam type ones. they work great too. we have all hard flooring in our house too. my other two starting moving around in the winter when we have our area rug out. not baby #3 though.
    don't enter me. just wanted to comment anyways.

  44. My 19 month old daughter is having a really hard time learning to walk, but maybe if she had something padded to fall down on she would be more motivated. Hope to win it!

  45. With 3 cats and 1 dog and 2 older brothers, I am always looking for things for Kaiya to hang out on while exploring the floor. This looks like a wonderful option that would be great while she's learning to crawl.

  46. I have been looking for an activity mat such as this one for my daughter for awhile. She won't be crawling much longer, but as you said, it can be used for lots of other things. And also for babies in the future!! =)

  47. Roger that!

    I can definitely relate to your post, and would LOVE to have one of these mats (I'd tried to find the 'puzzle mats' I've seen in daycares, but no luck.)
    My little Clare spends most of her day on our bamboo flooring (and albeit it's a renewable, easy to clean floor) it is not so kind on her pudgy knees, or helpful to her learning-to-crawl-skills.

    BTW, thank you for qualifying the 'inching' as 'crawling'-- I'm classifying Clare's as this scoot/army crawl :)

  48. This is an awesome product! My kids are ages 6, 6 and 5 (twins plus one). But this would be a great gift for the couple whose baby I am carrying (a surrogacy). :)

    Thank you!! :D

  49. How exciting--crawling already--thanks for sharing such a huge milestone with all of us.
    I like your idea about how the mat makes for a good picture background.

  50. this looks like a great flooring for little hands and feet....I just moved to a new house and I would love to have this for my daughter's playroom

  51. I'm very familiar with "the inchworm" move. I bet she looks adorable doing it.

    That rug looks great. With Lily just starting to crawl I'm constantly worrying about what she's on.

  52. This would be so great at my house, since we have wood floors and I watch a little guy at my house that just started walking. Extra padding would make for less boo-boo's!! :)

  53. I would love to put this in my sons room and bring it in the living room for my son and niece during the day. This mat could come in handy in so many ways.

  54. I'm thinking this would make a perfect "rug" area in my office that has transformed into the playroom to make room for the new baby on her way soon! Great idea.

  55. Very nice mat! We currently have a small set of the puzzle-like mats that are constantly coming apart. And then I have pieces all over the place. This would be an excellent solution!

  56. What a great idea! My son has just started crawling and we have wood floors! I am either constantly washing blankets I lay down or he will bonk his noodle!! Thanks!

  57. Wow! This is awesome! The majority of our house is now hard wood floors and I worry when our youngest starts crawling how she will do. I think it would be great to get one of these!

  58. We have all hardwood floors, which are pretty, but not the most baby friendly. I'd love to be able to put this down and let the little one play safely.

  59. I would really love this. My mother has really old hard wood floors and I loath to put the baby on them and this would work like a charm

  60. My house is entirely wooden floors (except for tile in the kitchen and bathrooms). I've been really worried about what to do when my little one starts crawling. This looks like a great solution!

  61. I have used something similar at a daycare I work at, and the crawlers love looking at all the colors, while being comfortable on the soft floor. These are great!

  62. This looks like a super good flooring for crawlers! We have tight carpet in one area and hard wood in another. Our daughter was not a huge crawler. She kind of hung out and waited to walk. I think this flooring would be great for play area so you don't have to worry about spills and falls.

  63. We don't have crawlers anymore, but this still looks fun for playtime! I'd love for the girls to have this comfy mat to play on.

  64. oh this is so fantastic. We have laminate floors so floor is too hard to have much play fun on
    tvollowitz at aol dot com

  65. I would just absolutely love to get this for my son,he is always rolling around and falling over this would be a great help to protect my baby while he plays,until he finally learns his motor functions

  66. Natalia is exactly like the baby in the original post! lol... She is 6 months (just turned)... and she is up on her hands and knees, and rocking back and fourth... but hasnt figured out how to *put one foot in front of the other*, so to speak. haha. This mat would help SO much! From her trying to learn, her toenails break off (even if I keep them short)... and she gets rug burns on her knees/toes. =( *crosses fingers for win!*

  67. I think those things are awesome! When I worked in a daycare I always thought that how I wanted one for my house. And I didnt even have kids yet.

  68. How neat and perfect for our carpeted house and would be easier on my son's little knees. He will be here in 3 days, so although crawling seems like a long way from now, it's actually just in a blink of an eye!

  69. Wow! I can't believe she's growing up so fast! I'm thinking that this mat might be a good idea for our infant nursery. Easy to clean, good for babies, yup, good idea.

  70. Isn't it amazing when they start crawling? I had seen tons of babies crawl but when my daughter started crawling I just stared and was in complete wonder that my tiny baby was growing up so fast!

    I have tile all through my house as well and it scares me quite a bit now that she's crawling, standing and walking around furniture. I'd feel much safer with carpet but it's definitely not as easy to clean!

    That mat looks super neat and would cut down the risks of boo-boo's!

  71. How perfect! I've been looking for something similar to this for our basement. My son (and eventually my daughter) love playing in the basement but we only have hard, cold concrete down there. I often catch him squatting while he's trying to play. Poor guy.

  72. What a great solution to all this tile. I've never had all tile with a baby and have already been considering soft options for her little knees.

  73. This is such a perfect thing to lay out on the back lawn so my son can watch his sister while she runs around, or on the hardwood for him to practice crawling on.

  74. This looks awesome, I've never seen anything like it. We have carpet, and I do worry about how clean it is...and its an older, deep carpet that seems to hide everything. My son is 6 months and he is just the same as your daughter...he can't crawl, really, but he certainly moves! Somehow he uses his arms and the tips of his toes and pushes himself around everywhere. One of these days I'm going to turn around and he will be running around the room...I can already tell he's going to be a mover.

    I just found your blog, through a comment you left somewhere that I can't remember right now...but awesome stuff! I added you to my feed reader right away and I'm looking forward to your future posts.

  75. Oppss... please delete my prior comment, it submitted before i was finished.

    This would be perfect for the bedroom that I plan on turning into a play room for my daughter and future kids.

  76. Mine aren't this age anymore, but my nephews could sure use this. The colors are great and it looks like it's big enough to give them some mobility. They are at that cute age where they don't sit still. :)

  77. Wow....didn't you just post that she is 6 months old? She's an early crawler! It's such a fun age.....when they learn to crawl and move around.

    That mat is awesome! I love how colorful it is. Like another reader it would become a gymnastics mat here for my 4 yr old. However, I also watch my 3 month old and 2 yr old nieces a few times a month so that would be perfect for them as well.

  78. Practically crawling, didn't you just have her?
    I would love to win this!

    I love when kids do that little sneaking crawl, where they aren't up but they scootch, too cute!

    This would be great for us on our hardwood floors.

    I wanted to tell you I LOVE the pictures from the birthing center, I have a cranky baby and a potty training girl so I just wanted to tell you here.

    Thanks

  79. I see amazing baby items like this colorful mat and wonder, why didn't I think of that?! We have mostly wooden floors which I think are not the most wonderful floors to scoot/crawl on. Please enter my name in your always fun drawing.
    Many thanks.....Cindi

  80. Sounds like a nice thing for young crawlers to learn on! I have a niece expecting soon so she would get this and use it!

  81. well that mat would be perfect for somersaults, dancing, and hopscotch! how GREAT that it's easy to clean.

    i think i enjoyed watching my son do the military belly crawl the most. he could MOVE! congrats on a mobile little one...world, watch out!

  82. This would be great for "picnic" night. That is when my daughter and I let loose and eat our dinner on a sheet placed on the floor.

  83. We have icky carpet in most of our house (it's not really icky, I just don't like carpet) but this still sounds like a great product that we could put to use - especially for snacks and crafts!

    Your baby is almost crawling already! It goes by so fast doesn't it!

  84. What a great item! I always put down blankets, but you can't just wipe them down with sanitizer. This is such a cute idea!

  85. I love that this seems multi-purpose and is so colorful. We also have all tile and I could see using it as a play mat or as an easy way to contain messy projects. We are just starting our family, but I'll definitely have to remember to look for one of these.

  86. This is incredible. We were looking at those interlocking alphabet foam things... but this is phenomenal. My little one has had so many tumbles. This would be the perfect solution. And crawling?!?! Wow. Mine is totally not interested. He wants to walk (with out helps, of course), but not crawl :)

  87. We used something similar to this in the early childhood classrooms where I worked a few years ago as a substitute educator. They were wonderful, and really did contain spills and cleaned very easily. I would love something like this for my daughter. She's very interested in patterns and texture, and I love the fact that the mat is padded. Thank you for the giveaway!

  88. I love this idea. I also have all tile and this seems like the perfect solution. Congratulations on your daughter's milestone.

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