Hi,
You're absolutley right, they are ridiculously expensive.

We bought a Baby Einstein one from Target, half price for $50. But it was worth that money, even though it seemed excessive. Ds loved it for months, we will probably use it for #2, and it's good to have have for when friends come over with their little babies.

Sometimes I wonder what our grannies did to entertain a baby without all this 'stuff'