Babybjörn Babysitter Balance Product Review

Even before I was expecting, I was researching to find the items I wanted to use with our baby. One of the items that I really wanted was a bouncer that could fold flat for storage and that was baby-powered rather than battery-powered.

Babybjörn's bouncer fit my criteria and more. We purchased our babysitter balance in Black/Pinstripe. My husband and I like the fact that it doesn't look "babyish" but instead blends into the decor of our house. The pinstripe bouncer is actually quite classy. My daughter is just under two-weeks-old in the picture above. She couldn't bounce herself yet, but it was a comfortable place for her to be when I took a shower or did other things around the house. Generally I prefer a baby carrier for working around the house, but I had a c-section with my 11lb baby girl, followed by significant hemorrhaging, so it was very painful to carry her for the first few weeks. Because the bouncer is designed to have the baby sit in the bouncer rather than hang by his or her crotch, my daughter fit right into the dip in the seat and I didn't have to worry about her slumping to the side at all.

One of my favorite features of the Babysitter Balance is its ability to be washed. I did purposely pick a darker fabric for the bouncer, just in case of stains from blow-outs, but I don't think it was necessary.  The entire cloth piece quickly and easily unhooks from the frame and can be machine washed. Ours has been washed many times and still looks new.
















The 100% cotton fabric is also reversible, both the main piece and the crotch piece. The crotch piece attaches to the Babysitter's fabric with two toggles and a button. The toggles and button are hard enough to undo that a baby won't accidentally unfasten them, but easy for an adult.

The Babysitter Balance has three different angles of recline, and a flat fold.  The frame of the Babysitter balance is sturdy and simple in design. To fold the bouncer, pull up on the angle adjustment piece and pull the red lever so that the metal bar can slide past it. The pictures below show you the bouncer in its most upright position and its flat fold.

The non-skid pads on the bottom of the frame keep our wood floors scuff-free and keep our sweet baby girl from scooting across the floor as she kicks and bounces. When she was young, I would put the entire bouncer on the kitchen island (which of course you are NOT supposed to do) so she could see me as I prepared meals and washed dishes. It is important to note that she was not able to bounce the seat herself yet, so she was in no danger of scooting off the edge of the island. Now I keep it right on the floor when she is using it. The weight capacity is a huge 19 lbs for a child using it as a bouncer (with crotch strap), and 28.6 lbs for a baby who can sit up and walk independently (using the bouncer as a chair without the crotch strap)! Notice the photograph of the tag that is located inside the fabric part of the bouncer.



The bouncer is 15" wide at its widest point, and the seat is roughly 13.5" wide.
The base is 31.25"long. From the seam in the seat of the bouncer to the top edge is 20" and the foot drop is nearly 9". In its most upright position (without the baby in it) the top edge of the bouncer is 25" from the ground. The middle position makes it 23" and the lowest position makes it just under 21". When folded, the deepest point is 4.25" across.

Now that our baby is older, she doesn't like reclining in the seat and often she forces herself into a more upright position. I do still use the bouncer for her while I shower, and she tolerates it even though she wants to be mobile. The hair on the back of her head was rubbing off (from the crib, car seat and bouncer, I'm sure) so I put a soft cotton t-shirt over the top to see if that would help. It didn't. We no longer use the t-shirt in the bouncer.

 


 You can buy a toy bar from Babybjorn that attaches to the seat and a cozy cover for after baths and such. There are also universal toy bars that do work with this bouncer, as seen on amazon.com. This bouncer is an investment, and it is on the higher end price-wise, but it really is a wonderful, minimalistic but functional piece. I do highly recommend this bouncer to parents!

I bought the Babybjorn Babysitter Balance myself and I am not in any way affiliated with the Babybjorn company. The opinions expressed in this post are my own.