4Moms 2012 MamaRoo

by 4moms

• 2012 has a new locking bar for greater security
• Choose one of five unique motions (Car Ride, Kangaroo, Tree Swing, Rock-A-Bye, Ocean Wave)
• Five speeds let you slow down for sleep or speed up for play
• Removable toy mobile with three plush toy balls decorated in the style of classical artists (Van Gogh, Monet, Seurat)
• Five built-in nature sounds, plus a hookup for any MP3 player

Product Description

Color: Classic Black

Babies love to bounce and sway, and that's what the mamaRoo does. It still moves like you do. The mamaRoo is meant for babies from birth to 25 lbs (usually about 6 months), or until they start to sit up unassisted.

The mamaRoo is truly remarkable. From planning to production, it was shaped by the expertise of designers, doctors, nurses, and most importantly, hundreds of parents. Our team used motion sensors to measure movements of real moms and dads as they soothed their babies, and guess what was found? Parents don't vibrate like bouncy seats or swing like swings. They bounce and sway.

When w4moms set out to create the mamaRoo, they put motion sensors on moms and dads and measured the ways they moved to comfort their babies. While there's no one universal movement that everybody makes (that would have been too easy), there are certain types of calming motions every parent uses. That's why the mamaRoo has five different motion settings. Each one is a variation on the up-and-down and side-to-side movements research found parents making over and over again to soothe their infants. It's not just a tagline: the mamaRoo really does move like you do."

The next study involved the speed of these movements. There's a very real difference between how a motion looks and how it feels. Think about the swinging pirate ship rides at amusement parks: they look like they're moving slowly, but step on and you'll find that's not the case. The mamaRoo's motions were chosen for how they feel, and most importantly, for how they feel to an infant. What seems slow to an adult may be just right for a baby, and that's what we've seen time and time again with the mamaRoo. Using extensive field research, babies consistently love the mamaRoo and find it very soothing. As such, speeds are widely adjustable to control movements.

The mamaRoo's seat reclines to any position along its axis. The machine washable f

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

162 of 165 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 out of 5 stars August 16, 2012

By Marcus Wickes

Color Name:Silver Plush

There aren't a lot of reviews around for this product so we were a little hesitant spending so much money on something like this when we already had a Fisher Price swing. But so far it's working well. We leave the swing downstairs or take us with us on vacations, but this Mamaroo stays upstairs near our bed. It's very handy for times when the little guy is fussy and wants to be rocked but we need to do something else (laundry, shower, etc.). We wrap him tightly and place him in the Mamaroo with a little music coming from our attached ipod. Most of the time he is pretty content for about 30 minutes or so. He does seem to sleep longer in the cheaper swing downstairs, but that might be because of the times that we are using one vs the other.

We purchased it at a local retail store because we had store credit and coupons (hint: get 20% coupon for signing up for their mailing list). We got the Blue Plush color and it looks pretty nice.

The only con, although not necessarily a real con, is that when our baby is bundled in a blanket and we place him higher up in the swing, he tends to slink down and wakes himself up because he is uncomfortable. You just have to play with the settings of how far back or how flat the swing part is setting and then he doesn't move as much.

If you have a baby that sleeps well in a moving car or in your bouncing/rocking arms, he will probably like this product.

UPDATE: 11/30/2012

After a few months of average use (maybe 1-2 hours each day), we are hearing some strange sounds occasionally. Like a clicking of the motor when it's on a car ride cycle. We are considering taking it back and getting a replacement because we like the product. But when the clicking gets loud, our baby wakes up thus defeating the purpose of the gentle, sleep-inducing motion.

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36 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mamaroo is a nice splurge June 7, 2012

By Shopping for the kids

Color Name:Classic Black

I bought this thinking it would be a nice swing-car ride to get the baby to sleep- replacement. I am finally ready to review it now that she is 5= mos old and we have used it the whole time. At first, she didnt take to it. So much that we dubbed it "the scream machine". :-) Then, at about 3 and a half mos old, she decided she liked it and its used more than any of our other baby equipment since. Other than our kokpax carrier, this is the best. She plays in it, and sleeps beautifully in it now. The sounds are nice, and it has way more motion options than is really neccessary. Go for the plush ones, they are super soft and easy to remove and wash. Money well spent. Check out otherwebsites for better deals though. albeebaby.com is cheaper than here.

37 of 47 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Looks Great; Falls Short. September 11, 2012

By Tim

Color Name:Classic Black

The mamaRoo looks "sleek" and "trendy". And it's designed to be "versatile", with a seat that can swivel from having the kiddo sit virtually upright to reclining almost flat, and virtually any angle in between. And if you're considering purchasing this, you've almost certainly seen the slick little video they have on their website, talking up their 5 "motions", which are "more natural / more like mom or dad's motion" than a classic swing. It looks/sounds so appealing for a new parent.

And to be honest, it's not all that bad. The problem is, the "mamaRoo" isn't priced as a device that should be "not bad". It's priced higher than other "classic-style" swings/chairs/etc. And for the price, it doesn't deliver, in my opinion.

Positives:
1) It's lighter weight and less cumbersome, with a tighter center of gravity, which makes it easier to move. I'm fully capable of lifting/moving heavy/awkward objects, but that doesn't mean I ENJOY doing it. The "classic-style" swing we have is heavier, and certainly more awkward to move up and down stairwells and through narrow hallways. The mamaRoo moves from our upstairs bedroom down two flights of stairs to our basement with relative ease while I'm trying to set up to watch "the big game". Certainly more easily than the other swing we own.

2) It's "sounds" are louder, more varied, they don't "time out" and shut off the way the sounds on our other swing do, and therefore are simply more effective at calming a fussy child.

Negatives:
1) Two or three of the five "motions" that the mamaRoo can do have never once proven useful at calming my son while he's fussing. The only one that works with any level of consistency is "car ride". And "car ride" simply is not as effective at putting my son *down* as that "classic-swing" is. The mamaRoo has a "swing" mode, so I don't know if it just doesn't sweep out as wide of an arc, if it doesn't move as fast, if it has to do with the design of the seat and how he feels down in it, but it just doesn't work as well.

2) I paid $30 less for that "classic swing", which does a better job, than I did for this device.

If this thing was priced at more like $150ish, I'd be happy with the purchase. As it is, I feel like I overpaid. If you want to splurge, go for it. If you have another swing, as we do, it can be pretty useful in that it moves a lot easier than your other swing probably does. But if you only want to buy one "swing", and this device is clearly advertised, in my opinion, as a device that claims to be capable of replacing/outperforming said swing, this might not be the way to go...