This review and giveaway is part of the New Baby Event Part 2!  Make sure you check out all of the other giveaways!

It wasn’t that long that my first son was a wee tot who I was constantly holding or rocking.  The only time I got a break was when he was in the car seat or in his swing.  His dad developed a bouncing and swaying motion that would soothe my son.  Other than nursing it was the only way to get him to sleep.  My hubby’s back would always be in pain from this tried and true method.  He used to say that he was going to invent a machine to mimic the motions of a car seat.

When my son was older I went to a large children’s expo and met the Mamaroo. A baby seat that is not a swing, not a bouncer, but a miracle of modern technology.  The seat soothes baby by moving just like we do.  It bounces and sways like my husband, or mimics a ride in the car.  Or turns in a swing like motion, or an ocean wave, or……. lots of possibilities.

The seat itself is pretty enough to sit in my livingroom!  I used to tidy up the ugly bouncers, swings, bumbos, etc before guests came over.  With 2 kids now it isn’t realistic to do this.  I leave the Mamaroo out and wait for guests to “ooo” and “ah” over the coolest baby gadget they have ever seen.

About “4moms”

Are they real? You bet. And actually, there are five of them. But “4moms” sounds better than “5moms,” so one mom goes by “The Stealth Mom.” They’re friends from Mt. Lebanon, PA, and they’ve got 15 kids between them. One has five kids. One has two (yes, two!) sets of twins. So when it comes to baby products, they know their stuff. Their experience – plus our amazing team of engineers and designers – is why our products are so innovative.

The Mamaroo is innovative, stylish, easy to assemble, easy to use, and takes the place of a traditional swing and bouncer.  The price tag seems steep- 199.00- but you would easily spend that for a bouncer and swing if you buy new.  And neither do the things the Mamaroo can do!  With 5 unique motions that mimic everything from the bounce and sway of mom or dad, to a ride in the car, you will definitely find one to soothe your cranky baby and give your arms a break.

What does my new son think of it?

My new little guy has already been testing the Mamaroo out pretty thoroughly.  I believe he was 2 days old the first time we used it.  I got to eat dinner in peace and he was rocked very,very gently.  I LOVE that I adjust the speed.  It doesn’t go very fast, which might annoy some of the older babies, but for the youngest ones it is nice to have the option to really slow it down.  You can find the Mamaroo in 6 stylish and modern colors.  And, the cover is easy to remove and clean.

Assembly:

I assembled the Mamaroo myself, while largely pregnant!  Unfortunately, I made one small mistake and had to redo it.  Still, the instructions were easy to follow (had I done so the first time) and it was less than 20 minutes from opening the box to assembling correctly.  I deducted the time I spent assembling it the first time.

Music:

There are numerous nature sounds to choose from, as well as an option to hook up your own MP3 player via a short cord.  We have used the built in music as white noise and I noticed there were times it helped, other times it didn’t.  But having the option is nice.  I have not tried hooking in an MP3 player yet.

Mobile:

Above the Mamaroo there is a mobile with 3 soft orbs.  Each one has a work of art from Van Gogh, Monet, and Seurat.  One side features a black and white version, the other, a color.  The black and white side is for infants.  As they baby gets older you can switch sides.  My toddler really likes these and finds putting them in and out to be a lot of fun. That isn’t their intended purpose but it is a bonus.

Noise:

The motor of the Mamaroo is not extremely loud, but I wouldn’t say it is silent.  It is a very tolerable white noise.  Depending on which motion you are using, the sound will change.  For non liquid motions like the Tree Swing and Rock-a-bye there is a small “click” sort of noise when the seat reaches the top or bottom.  For moves like Ocean Wave and Car Ride you don’t notice this because it goes in a circle motion and doesn’t stop.  Since the baby enjoys the white noise, and since it isn’t very loud, I don’t consider this a negative.

Power:

The Mamaroo does not bleed your wallet dry by draining batteries!  It hooks up to an outlet!  I think this is one of the smartest features!  My first son slept in his swing often and we used a ton of expensive batteries.

Specs:

The Mamaroo can accommodate a baby up to 25 pounds.  My toddler is just now 25 pounds and he is 2 years old!  The seat reclines for the naps and can be put into a more upright position for play time.  The base seems larger in photos, but it is smaller than I remember it being.  The seat itself has plenty of room for a growing baby.

Potential Drawbacks:

The biggest drawback of the Mamaroo only comes into play if you have other children, specifically- toddlers.

The whole mechanism that allows the Mamaroo to move in the amazing way it does, also poses a pinching risk for small and curious fingers.  The moving plate slides side to side, and if a toddler places his hand or fingers towards this pinch point there could be an injury.  For this reason I do not use the Mamaroo unsupervised while my toddler is awake.  If I need to leave the room and my newborn is in it, I turn it off and lock it from the back.  It has to be locked because my son knows exactly how to turn it on and make it go!

The other drawback is also related to having another child.  The ability to use an MP3 player is nice.  You could add soothing music that is more adult friendly.  However, I would not put our iPod Touch into the Mamaroo while my son is around because he would go unplug it and start playing with it.

I also wish the seat reclined just a little more for newborns.

Everett in the Mamaroo

Honestly, having the Mamaroo has made my job a little easier.  I do tend to hold my babies a lot, or wear them.  But this isn’t always doable.  Having a soothing place to put my new son while I go to the potty, get some work done, etc, has been a huge help so far.  It doesn’t always do the trick, but usually he does sit in it long enough for me to get something done.  And most of the time he falls asleep!  In fact, for most of this post he slept in the Mamaroo so I could work.  What a lifesaver!

Do you need an extra hand?  4Moms is going to give one Extremely lucky DDL reader their own Mamaroo (ARV- 199)!

***Winner will pick color.  This contest is only open to US Residents.  No PO Boxes.

Mandatory Entry:

Visit 4moms Online and see everything they have to offer!  Please tell me a fact about the company or a fact about one of their other products and leave it as a comment.

***This entry must be performed for extra entries to count!  One word answers will not be counted.

For extra entries do any or all of the following.  Leave a comment for each you do.

(1 entry) Follow @KimRosas on twitter and tweet this giveaway. Please tweet, “Enter to #win the soothing @4Moms Mamaroo from @KimRosas.  A mom’s best friend!  http://hycyi.th8.us Ends Nov 25.”  Leave a comment with a link to your status.

You can tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Leave a comment with your status for each tweet. 1 entry per day.

(1 entry) Follow @4Moms on Twitter. Leave a comment.

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A product sample was sent for the purposes of this review.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions are 100% my own and genuine.  Giveaway ends on Nov 25. Winner will be chosen using random.org. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be drawn. *Open to US*

Because I can’t think of a snazzy name, we are calling the next newborn baby event the “New Baby Event, part 2.”  6 months ago we hosted lots of fun reviews and giveaways for the new mom and baby.  In November we are doing it all over again!

This event has some very exciting reviews and giveaways coming up.  I am going to let you in a few of them so you can get all excited!

4Moms Mamaroo, Woombie, Sugar Sweet Baby Wraps, Knoodle Knits, Hushamok Baby Hammock, Oeko Glider, Aden+Anais, Binsi, and more!

Over 1,000$ dollars worth of giveaways so far!!

I am still not sure how I am going to organize the newborn cloth diaper reviews, but as of now I am going to review:

Kissaluvs (KL0), bumGenius! XS, Fuzzibunz XS, Lil’ Joeys, Sustainable Babyish XS Flats, Thirsties Duo Size 1, Smartipants newborn, Nifty Nappy newborn, and Tiny Fit from Bummis. Some of these I purchased, some have been sent for review.  You can expect to have a few fun itty bitty cloth diaper giveaways too!

There is still time to participate in the event as well.  Any PR inquiries can be sent to me at dirtydiaperlaundry@gmail.com.

Having a second baby, at least for me, has been a completely different experience.  With my first son I obsessed over what I would buy, what I would do, and what life would be like when he came.  This time, I haven’t done a lot of looking around.  Life with a toddler makes it hard to sit back and daydream about your next baby.

Life with two children close in age also presents challenges.  I have many of the basics left over from my first son, but I have to add things like double strollers into the mix.  I also know that toddlers aren’t delicate with babies.  I need baby containers that protect the littlest one while I do chores or am not in sight of both of them.

And then there are the things I just want!  I am making a list for my own entertainment.  You can critique it or praise it and let me know what you think.

4Moms Mamaroo Infant Seat

I had the immense pleasure of seeing this infant seat in action while attending the ABC Kids Expo.  The idea behind it is simple: recreating the natural movement of mom or dad.  Instead of a swing which goes in a line back and forth, it mimics the bouncing and swaying of a parent.  I am almost afraid it will work so well the baby will never want to leave it!

Go GaGa Slide Tote

I first saw this bag on Twitter.  The idea instantly made sense to me.  A strap that spreads across your shoulder like a sling to evenly distribute the weight is genius.  I did get my hands on one while I visited Diaper Lab (an awesome cloth diaper/baby store near Boston) and fell in love with the design and strap.  A good diaper bag is worth the money.  Currently I own a Petunia Pickle Bottom (and a Baby Kaed I never use) but I’d love to own this before the next one gets here.

Sakura Bloom Silk Baby Slings – Artisan Collection

I admit that I have expensive taste.  I don’t always get what I want, but a girl can dream.  I have a Maya Ring Sling I found as a consignment store for, wait for it, 12.00!  However, nothing compares to the Sakura Bloom sling.  I got to try it on with my son and was personally assisted by Lynne of Sakura Bloom herself.  This sling and this lady made me realize I had a ring sling that was hard to adjust and I wasn’t doing it right (not the maya, another one).  I changed my ring sling tune after that.  The rails glide through the rings like butter.  Mmmmmm…..  I would love to wear the new little guy in one of these.  I am not planning on buying one unless I,  a. win the lottery or b. find a great deal on a used forum.

Footed Onepiece in Chocolate by Baby Soy

My son lived in one piece sleepers and I assume the next baby will as well.  I love Baby Soy.  I get tired of some of the baby boy clothes out there, and finding “plain” clothes is hard.  I especially love the kimono style tops they make.  I want to add some of their pieces in Newborn and 3-6 months to my shopping list.

Hot Mama Gown

After delivering my first son in a *gasp* ordinary hospital gown, I wish I would have known about these sooner.  I remember vividly how pilly the material was.  I hated it so much I dunked part of it in my own pee.  Well, subconsciously that was why.  Really, I was hooked up to so much crap I had a hard time peeing and holding my gown.  The mama behind these gowns is one of the nicest women on Twitter (you should follow her @hotmamagowns) and she is an awesome advocate for breastfeeding!  The gown is hospital friendly and designed for easy nursing.  I want to look and feel special on delivery day so this is on my wish list for sure!

Also on my list are a few necessities.  I need a large dresser/ changing table combo that is long (not tall) with no hutch.  It needs 6-8 drawers.  I am having a hard time finding something with enough space.

I also need a double stroller.  I am going to be honest and say I will probably never find exactly what I want.  I don’t want a side by side.  I want a stroller with rubber wheels, that glides well, and that folds easily.  I am currently looking at the UppaBaby with the Rumble Seat and the City Mini with the Jump Seat and adapter.  I have high hopes for the new Mutsy Double but it hasn’t hit the market yet!

If anyone has ANY suggestions on what else I should be considering for the next little guy please (or the rest of the pregnancy) tell me!