Review: The BABYBJÖRN Bouncer

The BABYBJÖRN Balance Soft Bouncer was reviewed by Christy who blogs over at Welsh Mum of One about life in South Wales with her toddler. She bought the bouncer herself and was not compensated for her review in any way. Please give her a follow on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to join her family journey!

My son William was born in April 2017 and at a few months old had already outgrown the cheap bouncer I’d picked up from the supermarket. It had been fairly flimsy, had a low weight limit and had been difficult to clean, so I was looking for some specific things in a new bouncer and the BABYBJÖRN bouncer range fit them perfectly. Swedish company BABYBJÖRN have been making family products for young children since 1961, including baby carriers, bouncers, travel cribs, cradles, high chairs and more. If you’re looking at their products, I recommend shopping the BABYBJÖRN catalogue on Amazon UK or UberKids.

We bought our BABYBJÖRN bouncer from Amazon in July 2017 and two years later, here are my thoughts.

BABYBJÖRN offer a few different models of bouncer using the same design but with different materials and colours. Ours was the Balance Soft, which is very similar to the updated Bouncer Bliss.

BABYBJÖRN Balance Soft Review

It’s washable

Firstly, I wanted it to be washable because I’d already had to clean wee, poop, spit-up and copious amounts of cat hair (because my cats loved it..) out of the old one.

It has a high weight limit and will last

Secondly it needed to have a high weight limit. My son has been on the 98th percentile for both height and weight from birth. He’s two years old now and has finally started slowing down. I scoured the internet and found that many bouncers had low weight limits – limits he would hit by 6 months! Even if you don’t have a big baby, you don’t want to be buying something new that will be quickly outgrown. The BabyBjorn bouncers have a minimum weight of 8lbs (so not suitable for premature babies or complete newborns) and a maximum weight of 29lbs (13kg). This means for the average child it’s going to last all the way up to two years old and potentially beyond. Why would a 2 year old be using a baby bouncer you ask? Well, this can actually be inverted and used as a chair without a harness after the bouncing stage has been outgrown.

My son is now 2 years and 4 months and I’m sad to say we’ve finally retired it after daily use, but I certainly felt like we got good longevity out of it and it can now be passed on to another baby, as it’s still in great condition!

It folds flat

The design of this bouncer is really innovative. It folds completely – and I mean pretty much completely – flat. I could store it behind the sofa, under the bed, stacked behind chairs, in the kitchen, anywhere. It fit easily in the boot, or in the back seat of the car. I could transport it to my mum or friend’s houses with ease, and we even took this on holiday with us twice! As we lived in a 1 bedroom apartment for the first year, space was a really big issue for us. I was surprised how sleek and ergonomic the design was whilst still folding down flat.

It’s Comfortable for the Baby

Perhaps this should have been my first point! So far I’ve addressed why the BabyBjorn bouncer ticked all my mum boxes – but of course, a product that baby doesn’t like is pointless. All I can say is William absolutely loved this bouncer. He kicked his tiny little legs with glee, bouncing surprisingly high and well just from momentum. He also napped in it every single day, so it obviously passed the comfort test. Want proof? Here you go!

It has different recline settings for napping or bouncing and provides a lot of support for the whole body, neck and head at every angle. The harness is incredibly secure so I was never worried that he would slip out – or release himself.

The Downsides of the BabyBjorn Bouncer

To be honest, the only downside I personally experienced is the price. Models start from around £100 and some go up to £180 depending on the material. You can even spend another £100 on adding a toy bar (we didn’t). I thought it was one of the most expensive bouncers I’d encountered and it seemed like a lot of money for an incredibly simple design. When you look at it, it really looks like a piece of material over a metal frame, yet it somehow comes together to give you exactly what you need.

Having used this bouncer for two years all I can say is it was worth every penny. It can now be passed on and used by another child and hopefully it will last them two years as well. When I think of how many hours of fun (and peace!) were had in this bouncer, it works out at incredible value for money, so there really aren’t any downsides at all!