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.

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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.

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

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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*

I was given the opportunity to review the new Fisher-Price EZ Bundle: a new 4 in 1 Infant Seat, Swing, High Chair, and Toddler Chair.  Yes, you read correctly.  4 baby essentials in one!  With a price point of 150.00 you get nearly every baby furniture essential for your home.

Here’s a revolutionary new space-saving idea that’s also a great value! The EZ Bundle 4-in-1 Baby System gives you 4 baby essentials in one! Start with one seat, then snap it into the infant seat frame, the swing frame, the high chair frame or the toddler seat frame. So easy to switch—and everything you need is included! Requires 4 C batteries.

At the moment, my baby tester hasn’t arrived yet, however he is anxious to try it out when he arrives.  In the meantime, I am going to give you the lowdown on what I have experienced so far.  I will let you know how he likes it when he gets here!

Infant Swing

• 6-speeds for variety

• 3-point restraint

• Comfy stain-resistant seat pad

• Approx. 0-6 Months, Maximum weight: 25 lbs.

• Use Swing from birth until child becomes active and attempts to climb out of the product.

High Chair

• 5-point restraint

• Comfy stain-resistant seat pad

• Approx. 6-24 Months, Maximum weight: 50 lbs.

• Use High Chair only with a child who has enough upper body control to sit up unassisted.

Newborn Seat

• Great for feeding or napping!

• 3-point restraint

• Comfy stain-resistant seat pad

• Approx. 0-6 Months, Maximum weight: 25 lbs.

• Use Infant seat from birth until child is able to sit up unassisted.

Toddler seat

• Holds toddlers up to 50 lbs.!

• Comfy stain-resistant seat pad

• Approx. 18 Months & up, Maximum weight: 50 lbs.

• Use Toddler seat only with a child capable of getting into and out of the product unassisted.

First Impressions:

The box the EZ Bundle comes in is rather large, however you have to remember there are parts to the 4 items inside.  Opening the box overwhelmed me a little.  There were what seemed to be a lot of parts.  I took a breather and came back to the box to tackle my project.  In reality, it was not that hard.  I am like a man in that I don’t like manuals.  I winged it.  I looked at the pictures and compared parts, laying things out that seemed to go together.  4 green pieces went together to create the base of the High Chair/ Toddler Chair stand.  No screws needed.  The infant chair/swing base does require a few screws.  I found it hard to screw them in with a regular screwdriver, so a drill if you have one around is definitely handy!  The swing needed a few screws, and my hubby actually did that part.  Overall it only took 20 minutes of assembly between all of the different pieces.

High Chair: Honestly, this chair is not missing anything in my opinion.  Some people like their chairs to recline but I have never found this necessary.  I believe if you like to give a child a bottle then this is something you need.  My baby never had a bottle and when he learned to use a sippy he didn’t need to be reclined.  The tray is large enough for any dish I own.  The fabric of the seat is easy to wipe clean, another bonus!

Toddler Seat:  My son loves this seat!  As soon as I put it down he ran over to sit in it.  I think toddlers in general love having their own, easy to access, chair.  Unlike our upholstery chair, I felt good when he ate in it knowing I could wipe it clean.  He did often try to sit a cup on the “arm” but it is sloped and just falls off.  He is used to the seat he already had which has a flat arm.

Infant Seat: Sometimes, you just need to put a baby in a safe spot.  Especially if you have this at a home where there aren’t other baby gadgets, this seat is going to come in handy.  Instead of putting the baby on a couch, bed, or floor, you can use this reclining seat which has a buckle.  It might not vibrate or play music, but they don’t always have to!  There is a little rattle toy attached which can entertain the baby.

Swing: The swing has 6 speed settings.  I will have to test out how it goes with a baby and how many pounds it can swing with, but so far it seems to be working great.  My son is just too large for it!

Big Picture: Ok, here is what I love about this.  Cheap, cute gender neutral print and color scheme, and space saving.  But what I really love is the potential for this to make trips to the grandparent’s house that much easier.  For 150.00 you or your parents can buy a simple item that will change how your visits will go.  Let me tell you, I would have killed for a swing for my son when we visited our family.  He napped in a swing at home most days.  There, napping took place on me.  I also didn’t have a place to sit him down…. there was a bouncer but it was upstairs more often than not, and carrying it up and down was a hassle.  There, there was the high chair conundrum.  My well meaning in laws bought a clamp on high chair that was fabric.  It works well for my son now, but it was so soft and low, eating was hard when he was younger, and clean up was a nightmare!  I wanted a regular plastic, easy to clean, chair.  I also think having a toddler chair is such a cool possibility.  There is a tiny wicker chair that he likes to use but it is more for decoration.  He sits on the floor to watch TV and the toddler chair would be much more comfortable!

150.00 is a small price to pay when you want the comforts of home!  And of course, if you are just starting out buying the baby basics and you have a tight space and/or a tight budget, this is a pretty sweet set up!

Where to buy: Fisher-Price.com

I was able to review this product through my affiliation with Mom Select. The item was sent by the manufacturer for the review free of charge.  No other compensation was received and all opinions expressed are my own.