Customer Reviews

Combi Pod Bouncer

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

if eames designed a baby bouncer it would look something like this. i think vibration is essential in a bouncer which is why i couldn't buy one of those sweet oeuf chairs. but this pod has it all. this is my most used baby item at the moment for my 2 1/2 month old daughter. i'm very happy with it's design and function. i don't use the hanging toys or hood. i didn't give this five stars because the vibrator seems to be getting noisier with use and sometimes is a loudish buzzing. not a huge problem, but a bit annoying. also, the music only plays one short (30 second) song per button push, which is strange. my daughter likes the chimes and we'll have to keep hitting the button so the music doesn't stop. anyway, great chair that looks good in our home.

I purchased the pod for my son who is due this month. The pod is aesthetically pleasing and appears it will do the job. I do recommend reading the entire instruction manual and laying out all your parts before attempting to put the seat together.

Cons:
1. The support bar has a notch on one side that if you don't pay attention to and incorrectly assemble it can either ruin your new purchase or take a highly determined pregnant lady to fix. I accidently put the wrong part of the support bar in and it took me a pair of hair scissors, (to press in the silver button) and all of my 9 month pregnant woman strength to remove the bar. I read that someone had the same issue in a review and Combi told them too bad because it was stuck. This is kind of irritating since all the other parts won't go in if they are the wrong way. I think Combi should label the notched side.

2. The toy bar comes off easily.

3. The music does not play that long.

Overall, if you are having problems with the main parts not staying together, i.e. the base, it is because they are in the wrong way. The toy bar, well it just seems that it will come off it touched the wrong way. Every support part that I put together clicked to show me it was together. I man handled the pod once I put it together, because I need it to work when my son arrives.

I initially loved this product. I liked the modern style and the light-weight structure, which allowed me to move it to another room using one hand. My son was able to sleep in it for short periods of time after falling asleep in our arms. Though my son was big for a 6 month old at 19 lbs. and in the 95th percentile for length, he was within the recommended weight limit of 25 lbs. One day I had him strapped into the chair with the belt on securely in the more upright position. I turned my back to him for about 10 seconds and he managed to pull the end of one strap and lean forward, which caused the chair to catapult forward. When I turned around, he was not moving and the chair was pinning him at his neck to the floor. He was still strapped into the seat, but the seat flipped forward. Luckily, he takes after the men in my family and has a hard head. He only bruised his forehead, but this could have been a lot worse. After inspecting the base of the seat, I realized that there is nothing keeping the base of the soft seat from being pulled forward and reversing. I would not recommend using this bouncer.

This is a nice looking bouncer and fits in well with the living room. My baby loves it and I did too until the base started falling off every time it was moved to another part of the room causing the person moving it to trip with a baby in arms. Then one of wooden beads that the base stands on started to slip off and finally broke in half (choking hazard!). And it drains batteries in less than a week with moderate use. Very disappointing, because it looks nice and is a reasonable price if you find it on sale.

my daughter is almost 7 weeks old, 7.9 lbs and 21.5" , and this is my new favorite piece of "infant gear". the materials are nice and the construction seems sturdy. there are only 5 pieces in the box, and it is SO SIMPLE to put together. you only need a screwdriver to pop open the battery compartment- no unscrewing needed- and its easy to get to. i can handle that as a tired mom!
the seat has two positions - essentially, laying and sitting up. the laying position is perfect for my daughters age. she was instantly comfortable in the seat- which is significant because she seems hard to please with anything but mom's arms. she is just starting to kick and get active, and she could wiggle and jiggle the toys on the toy bar and they were close enough for her to make eye contact with and reach for, but too far away for her to touch (laying down). however the tool bar is not adjustable, so you cant move it closer even if she was in the sitting position. i am very pleased with the quality of the toys, and i like that they are like dangle earrings- the plush toy (which is soft and crinkles when you touch it) is separate from the wooden part below which adds more movement and is the only dangling toy she has noticed thus far. i am also pleased by the proportions of the seat- it looks like she'll have a lot of room to grow into this seat and get a lot of use from it. you want that when you spend this much money!
i love that you only need double AA batteries- i am sick of C or D!! and you only need 3.
the vibration seems pretty strong, which is fantastic.
the music is horrible- has a tingy hallow quality- which is pointless and i suppose there just to say its a feature but the mp3 port makes up for it.

incidentally, this seat was $10 less on amazon that at babys r us, and with free shipping here, i was pleased with the price overall.

we also own the Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium Cradle Swing (which makes her head fall to far forward and cannot lean back- ie. there is no way to change position of the seat) and the Boppy Rock in Comfort Travel Swing - Pink which she doesnt seem comfortable in, and again, the seat only has one position. i am finding this is an important feature for a newborn!
i am very pleased with the quality of this infant seat and wish i hadn't bought the other two, although maybe they will be an 'acquired taste' as she grows...

edit: now 11 weeks old and we use this seat multiple, multiple times a day. LOVE the vibration and toy bar. love that its light weight and easy to drag around the house as needed. my baby lasts the longest in this seat out of the 4 that we have at this developmental stage.
OF NOTE: this seat CANNOT be washed. i put my undiapered baby into this seat just prior to transfering her into the bathtub (wishing i had more hands but WHAT was i thinking). fortunently it was just #1 and it rinsed out fine in the bathtub, but i learned you CANNOT seperate the fabric from the frame so it really is "surface" clean only. disappointing but not the end of the world. i am pleased it did not stain since i immediately rinsed it.

Although this chair does not "bounce" like one on the angled legs, this chair keeps my baby comfortable and happy. Now 3 months old, my baby has been digging this chair since he was born. He takes an afternoon snooze in it every once in a while. the design of the hammock style chair makes it really easy to set a sleeping baby down in without waking him up because it cuddles him just right. The lower incline is just enough to keep him from spiting his food back up too, which is s big problem for us after he eats.

The vibrating helped to calm him when we first brought him home from the hospital, but we rarely use it now. I do love the MP3 hook up though, I can play calming music for him anywhere, although the music on the chair isn't half bad, it doesn't last long. And the battery life isn't the greatest either, but it's still nice to have the capability.

My favorite thing about it is that the toys that come on the chair Velcro off, so I changed them out for strong contrasting image cards and my son LOVES to sit in the chair and look at and talk to them. I also add longer hanging toys for him to grab at. It's a chair that will definitely grow with our son and I would recommend it to anyone with a new one on the way, it has helped me finish chores and get meals on the table with great pleasure!

I bought this product when I was pregnant with my second child, mainly because I liked that it would blend into my living room, and that it had MP3 compatability -- I hate the cheesy music that is on most swings and bouncers --
My daughter is almost a month old now, and I have been putting her in it for naps while I get chores done since she came home from the hospital...and she loves it. The body of the bouncer is like a hammock -- so it cradles your baby kind of like you would hold them in your arms...and the canopy on it helps block sunlight from windows or any annoying lights. The speakers for the music are not very good...but for the price, the product is MORE than worth it.
I would buy this product 10x over if I had to...its really fantastic.

We received this as a gift and did not realize that the cover is not machine washable?! Within the first week, my daughter had spit up on it multiple times and had a diaper accident. Not a good long-term item and considering it is not inexpensive, I would skip it next time.
BTW- I called Combi to give feedback and inform them and they were unhelpful and not concerned with my lack of satisfaction with their product.

Sturdy and attractive. But the cover is not machine washable, which is a deal breaker for me. My son's diaper leaked, and "wipe with a damp cloth" is not going to take care of that situation. I gave it a good rinse, against the instructions, and it took 2 days to air dry. Diaper leaks definitely happen, so any baby product needs to be able to deal with it.
Comment

I think this product looks great but be careful when assembling!! I like the modern, neat design. I was very disappointed in the manual. It has spelling errors and is not well written in terms of clarity. I actually called Combi to tell them that. If you accidentally put it together incorrectly tough luck- it's stuck FOREVER. Even the company admits that and agrees to replace the product. I bought it from a great seller who was understanding. Best to buy it from a place where it is easy to return or ship back. It cost me $34 to ship and that was the cheapest option for shipping. Be very careful and read the entire booklet before trying to assemble.