For those of you expecting soon I can highly recommend a good baby bouncer. I didn’t have one for Molly for some unknown reason and it was one of the first things I purchased for Alice.
They are a god send for giving you somewhere safe and secure to place your baby and was the only place Alice would actually go to sleep.
There are a vast variety of bouncers out there so I thought I would share my favourites with you all.
Fisher Price
For Alice we purchased the Fisher Price woodland bouncer and it was great. Mainly as we had a bit of a woodland theme going on! Simple to put together and the cover was nice and soft. Plus it’s machine washable which is definitely a bonus. It had some woodland toys dangling over it which kept Alice amused and a soft vibrate option. I’m not 100% sure if this is what helped her to sleep but I wasn’t chancing fate by not turning it on!!
Bababing
This Bababing bouncer has a great contemporary design and I think it looks more expensive than it’s £30 price tag. With a sturdy base and self bouncing mechanism I think any little one would be rather happy in here. This design has a super cute safari animal outline in a stylish grey cover and comes complete with two sweet little animal characters.
Baby Bjorn
The Baby Bjorn Bouncer has been a firm favourite with many of my friends and the one I wished I had bought. Pricier than others but definitely a good buy. It has a self propelling rocking motion which means that the little movements the baby makes help the bouncer to rock without the need for batteries! It has a really soft cover and has been specifically designed with paediatricians to make sure it has the right support for baby. Plus it can fold flat to make it easy to store or take with you.
Levo Rocker
The lovely Lorna pointed me in the direction of this gorgeous Levo baby rocker. I am a little bit in love. In a gorgeous beech or walnut wood you can then choose from a whole host of beautiful colours and designs for the cushion. The rocker follows your baby’s own natural movements, encouraging him or her to actively bounce.
MamaRoo
Ok, so this is a)pricey and b)extremely large and technical but go with me on this! My sister-in-law had this MamaRoo for my nephew and she swore by it. I fear it may have been this that put me off purchasing a bouncer for Molly but actually there is method in her madness. The Mamaroo has been designed to mimic the actual body movements of a parent. After all we don’t vibrate like the majority of bouncy seats do we?! My nephew adored his and would happily while away many an hour in here.
NunaLeaf
This Nunaleaf is a rather clever piece of kit. Firstly it has a lovely simplistic look to it and secondly it has a wonderful swinging motion (of a leaf I presume!) that doesn’t require any batteries at all. Just give it a simple push and the gentle sliding motion will continue unaided to help soothe and relax your little one. This is also a pretty study piece and can take waits up to 60kg so can become a perfect little chair for your toddlers.
Mothercare
I love the gorgeous norwegian wood print on this bouncer and it is also a great budget buy. Molly and Alice’s Grandma had a version of this at her house and it was perfect. It didn’t take up much space and was actually very sturdy. There is a simple vibrate button to soothe baby and some cute hanging toys to keep them occupied. Mother care do a few different versions of this if pink isn’t your thing.
Stokke Steps
After Lolly raved about her Stokke Steps highchair the other day I thought I should include their gorgeous bouncer. This is a beautifully designed piece and has all the style and functionality you would expect from Stokke. It is a available in a range of colours so you can choose your favourite. The bouncer looks super comfy and can also be attached to the Stokke Steps highchair so that baby can be raised up to eye level at mealtimes (or when tackling that next mountain of washing up!).
Mamas & Papas
Mamas & Papas have always had a great range of baby bouncers at a variety of price points. They also often have discounts and sales so definitely worth checking them out. This one is a good buy for a simple bouncer and I love the cute animal silhouette in fun blues, mustards and greys. There are also some rather funky arrow toys to keep baby amused. It has a vibrate option and also plays four different lullabies so you won’t get bored with the constant songs on repeat!
Bloom
The Bloom Coco baby lounger was one of my coveted pieces but I couldn’t quite justify the £160 plus price tag. It does look rather lovely though. It’s made from a single piece of curved wood with a smooth self rocking motion. There is also no assembly required which you will appreciate when you have tried to get those blinking metal legs in to other baby bouncers! You can choose from different coloured seats in a leather or fabric design. I am also very taken with their new Coco Go which looks like a rather fabulous baby rocking chair!
Have you purchased a baby bouncer for your little ones and any favourite recommendations to share.
I can recommend the baby bjorn. It was given to us and so it’s been through 3 babies, is as good as new, and I still pop my 11 month old in it for a few mins if he just won’t stop crawling up my leg and I need to quickly do something! In the early days it was a god send and he would fall asleep in it. That said I really love the Stokke and the idea of them being at table level with us so maybe for no 2 I could convince my husband…
We got the Bloom Coco off eBay and I bought a new insert for it and it turned out to be one of our best purchases, as it was the only place M would sleep (apart from on us!) and it looked nice in our living room!
We also became dab hands rocking it with one foot while trying to quickly throw some hot(ish) food down our necks……..!
Very jealous as I loved the Bloom Coco. xx
We were given the Bjorn second hand after being used for 3 previous babies. Came up as good as new after a wash. We used ours a grand total of about 5 times as my daughter hated it. Maybe second baby will use it more. She preferred the fisher price musical playmat as she could kick and it played music.
Most of those above are blooming ghastly looking things. I’d be worried about her zooming off to space.
Has anyone had the Levo rocker? I love the design, looks super comfy and a nice position for baby, can’t find any reviews online so if anyone has had one or know a friend who has had one and has any feedback would much appreciate hearing your thoughts. It’s a lot of money but soooo much nice than some of the plastic tat on the market!!
Love a good bouncer! I’ve got the Mamaroo and, yes it’s expensive, but omg it’s a lifesaver. Keanu loves movement so it’s the perfect place for him when I’m busy with stuff and can’t put him in a sling. Mamaroo and the Sleepyhead are the two pricey baby things that are worth their weight in gold!
I also got a second hand Baby Bjorn bouncer and love this as well – the only drawback being that you have to bounce it yourself. Keanu loves it and will sit in it happily for a while though. If you’re worried about costs then check out second hand options because they are so well made that they will last forever and the cover is totally washable.
My sister in law loved her Mamaroo too! Sometimes it’s worth paying the price if it works for you! xx
Hi, we have the Levo rocker which I bought when I was pregnant and loved the look of it in contract to the other bright tat on the market. We were also given a ghastly bright old Mothercare rocker with tons of toys attached, vibrate setting and electronic “tune”. Guess which one our 3 month old son prefers?! While the plastic ones might offend the carefully thought out interior design I’ve realised they are like that for a reason. They keep the little one entertained. While I love the look of the Levo rocker I just find he gets bored sitting in it. If you want to purchase a barely used second hand one let me know… 😉
They always go for the bright plastic don’t they! Not sure why we all attempt to have something stylish, we should just learn xx
Hi Nicky, thanks for your very honest opinion, I was so tempted just to buy it and have just seen your message now. Which one do you have and what would you be looking to sell it for?
Hi Claire
Have it in Aruba Blue and yes would be willing to sell it! Perhaps Lottie could put us in touch via email?
Would be happy for it to go to a new home and hopefully be used!!
We’ve got another version of the Mothercare one and I don’t really rate it. The vibration goes at the slightest touch – a fly could land on it and it would go off! – and the mechanism to move between lie flat and up right requires two people. Not that great when usually you don’t even have two hands, never mind two people!
Oooh, interesting to hear. I had no idea it had two positions. As you say, useless when you need two hands!! x
We went for the Babymoov Swoon Up, as it has a higher setting, which we needed as we have a dog and I didn’t want him at nose height with the baby. I loved the Swoon Up as the baby would nap in it but also it’s table height so he could sit with us at mealtimes rather than one of us holding him (sometimes)
We got a “Bababing Rockout” bouncer because it was reasonably priced and not garish. We got quite a bit of use out of it and even used it as a first high chair when weaning as it has 3 settings – one of which is pretty much sitting up. We really liked it and have stored it away in case of baby number 2. I cannot abide the hideous bright ones covered in dangly plastic things and I think the “stylish” ones are just an excuse to charge the earth. Also what’s with the Mamaroo “mimicking the movements of a parent”??! For that price you could just hold your baby yourself and pay a cleaner to do your chores for the duration of your maternity leave!!! Crazy.
Totally recommend the nuna leaf. We used from birth and my now 1 year old still loves sitting in it and we hope she’ll use it for years to come. It also makes zero noise and looks super swish; we are always getting compliments on it.
The only downside is that the rocking motion only lasts a few minutes, but a quick nudge and it’s off again. This has never bothered us and one or two nudges was always enough to soothe my daughter to sleep when she was tiny. I’ve also convinced myself that because it didn’t swing constantly she got used to the idea of self settling and falling asleep/waking without being rocked from a young age.
Thanks for info. Great article