Building a Baby Mobile for my Son

Conan Mercer Site Reliability Engineer

Building a Baby Mobile for my Son

27 May 2021 - Conan Mercer

My son is still a very young man, just a smidgen over 2 months old. Everyday he becomes increasingly more aware of his surroundings, his eyes are opening and he is looking.

It had been on my mind for a few weeks to buy a Mobile for his cot. After looking around online I saw the typical plastic looking contraption. I was less than impressed by the environmental cost (my son will only be interested in this for a small amount of time) and also the cheap looking feel to most of the offerings.

I live close to some beautiful beaches, and I often see drift wood near the shore. I knew these drifted pieces would make for a wonderful little project. One day after work I drove to my nearest beach and spent about half an hour hunting for suitable fragments.

Once home I sanded down the rough edges and cleaned each piece with water and multipurpose spray. I left them to dry in the sun for a few days. Once dry I used nails and string to construct what you can see in these photographs.

My wife cut out colorful pieces of card and hung them from the branches of the Mobile, along with one teddy.

The total time spent on this project was about 1.5 hours. Well worth the effort for this unique result, and at no cost to the environment.

Needless to say, my son loves it!