Some Assembly Required, Batteries Not Included

Every couple of days, something happens that makes us realize, "WE'RE REALLY GOING TO BE PARENTS!!" This weekend it was setting up Mia's new Graco Playard (that's the modern version of a playpen, in case you were wondering). Donna's family sent us the play yard, and it is really cool. It has lots of attachments, including a bassinet, changing table, mobile, and a unit that plays music or nature sounds. Donna did OK at first. She got the base unit up in no time, then she got to the bassinet, which has several different sized metal poles. The instructions have those lovely black and white line drawings where all the parts look the same and you can't tell which end is up. Fortunately, there is a Daddy in this house who is a bit more mechanically inclined than the Mommy. Plus, he has a Ph.D., so you KNOW he knows how to figure stuff out. Well, eventually Daddy got it all put together. (All the while Mommy was saying, "Don't force that, you might break it!" and "The supplies caddy should be next to the changing table, not on the opposite end. You can't take your hands off the baby while you are changing her!").
But then we couldn't figure out why the sound and light show didn't work. Daddy said it must need batteries, but Mommy argued, "It doesn't SAY you need batteries." (Don't ask Donna exactly how she thought this thing was powered. Solar panels, maybe?) Well, you guessed it, eventually Jeff figured out where to insert the batteries, but I assure you it was NOT obvious. I might add that the music maker has quite a classical repertoire, including Brahms' Lullaby and Debussy's Claire de Lune. We're sure Mia will like it a lot.