Do I NEED a baby bouncer/chair?

[Strawberry06]

I'm about to give birth and this just occurred to me! (FTM)

I'm talking about one of them bouncy/rocker chair things that you put baby in when you want to do stuff.

They seem ridiculously expensive given how long baby is in them? Or can they be in them a while? I've checked locally and there's nothing second hand either.

We have our pram bassinet which is up to 6 months so I was planning to just put them in there if I need to put them down?

My mum is telling its an absolute must item but I'm not so sure, please correct me if I'm wrong!

You don't NEED anything! Don't rush making expensive purchases, see how it goes. They'll be plenty second hand. This is why I am not buying anything until baby is here.

I had the really basic bent metal frame/fabric combo for both mine and wouldn't have been without it!
They both loved being in them. They were easy to bounce with a toe.
They were easily moveable so could have in the kitchen whilst cooking, bathroom when showering etc.
They were great for starting weaning too.
Could take with you when visiting family too.

Do you absolutely NEED one? No of course not, the human race managed without infant bouncy chairs for millennia. :-)

Might one be quite useful to have? Very possibly; I hear a lot of babies are happy in them. And if that's the case, you can put them on the floor and rock them with your foot or just let them watch what you're doing. I don't think you're supposed to put them on tables or any other high surfaces though, too much chance of an accident.

My personal experience, having had two of the things, was that I absolutely didn't need them. She screamed blue murder whenever she wasn't in physical contact with me for the first, erm, year or so of life. 🤣 So I quite quickly did a deep dive into the world of slings instead, and they were massively more useful to me. Cuddly front carries for naps and when tiny, back carries when she was a bit bigger which meant I could do all of the housework and she was so happy because she was still attached to me and had the best view from up on high! I couldn't have parented her without my collection of slings/carriers, we used them for years as she also didn't tolerate a pram/buggy well.

But my baby wasn't a typical baby, she wasn't a typical child and she's not a (neuro)typical teenager now! I know that there are loads of babies who hate slings and are happier in bouncy chairs or prams... so basically I would say hang fire, see what kind of baby you get and - if they tolerate physical separation well - get the bouncy chair then. 😉

Wait and see.

i thought they were amazing but never bought one - just borrowed.

IME essential for baby no 2. Maybe not so essential for no 1. But remember - the shops don’t close when you have a baby! You can delay this decision!!

Ours lived in theirs, especially the first who had silent reflux and wasn't comfortable lying flat. One of our most used baby items. I would get one (we had the baby bjorn one, not one with bells and whistles), go second hand if that helps. ETA agree about the portability being very useful - it's how I showered every day and often how we managed to eat dinner at the same time.

Oh dear, I never had one and put my babies in the car seat/carrier bit of the pram which you could rock, or on a blanket on the floor or had them in a sling. It was 25 years ago and I’m sure I’d be reported to social services, or be flamed for causing irreparable physical damage to them these days for the car seat, but they both seem to be healthy and well adjusted adults.

The majority of the human race has managed and manages to this day without all of the equipment and apps that are apparently essential now !

We had the very simple Baby Bjorn one and it was brilliant - reflux baby so needed to be upright for ages after feeding, but allowed me to get on with stuff. They don't go in when they're very tiny so you have time to look for a bargain. I got mine on Ebay for at least half price (and it's still cluttering up a corner of the conservatory, I must stick it on Facebook marketplace!)

One of my friends had an all-singing mechanical spinny one and that was brilliant too, I swore if I had another baby I would get one. But you don't need that - you just need somewhere to put them.

I found slings annoying and wanted a bit of space from the baby sometimes, they weren't for me (and I was lucky to have a baby that slept well away from me).

I had a Fisher Price one.

My DD used it until she was 4 years old as you could move the straps around. It also came with this hoop thing with toys on it that you could use until the child got bigger. It was also supposed to vibrate but I never put batteries in it.

From about 16 months she would climb into it and strap herself in it.

I had to convince her it was a "baby chair" so I could get rid of it.

Have a look on eBay as some people get them as gifts so end up with two.

I'm so surprised by these replies! Never had one, it's better for development to be on the floor or in arms, so that's where he went.

Bouncers are hardly new, I had one when I was a baby 40 years ago.

Anything that makes life easier for a new mum is a win in my book.

@PigeonPigPie but if baby is lying on the floor all they can see is the ceiling. If they are in a bouncy seat they can watch the world go by (or watch the washing machine in action....quite interesting for a baby).

Sure, but there's 24 hours in the day and sometimes you want a break from them in your arms and they'd rather be sitting up a bit looking around. Days with a baby are looooong, plenty of time for arms plus floor plus sling plus buggy plus a little screaming into the abyss.

My flat is small so he could turn his head and see it all from the floor to be honest!! And spent a lot of time in the sling. Fair enough if people found them useful just didn't realise I was the odd one out 😅

Who says?

My DD didn't like lying flat as a baby unless she was sleeping. So the chair kept in a position she was happy in.

Anyway the OP doesn't need an expensive one.

Putting a refluxy baby flat on the floor = immediate vom (and likely screaming). Some babies just need to be kept upright, and you can't hold them in your arms all the time. How do you cook dinner, do laundry, have a shower etc?

@SnapdragonToadflax I permanently had a sling on. Not for everyone, I know, but it worked for us.

@Thankyouthankyoujellybean - even when you showered/ got dressed/ moved hot pans? We used a sling a lot also, but there’s lots of things it isn’t practical for

Wait until baby is here, take them to mamas and papas, smyths of John lewis, see what they like.
Some babies want vibration, some want swinging.

@Caspianberg yes to hot pans etc but showering was done with babies in buggies if DH was at work. We had a lightweight one that was easy to get into the bathroom. Didn't have a bouncer with DS1, had one for DS2 but I remember the two instances I bothered to use it!

I wasn't going to get one for the same reasons as you it seemed like a waste for such a short time but then my mum got us one. And actually it was really handy, ds loved that it vibrated and I could set him up in it while I did some housework and he was happy to sit and watch me and maybe have a wee sleep. We had a moses basket and I tried getting him to chill in our pram bassinet as well but with no luck.

You're right that they don't need loads and what I would say is that it's ok to take your time buying bits as you find you need them so you're only buying what you'll actually use.

@Lavender14 my daughter used the bouncy chair for at least 2 years so definitely wasn't a short time use with us 😂
(the moses basket was used for about 2 months before she started to outgrow it and become uncomfortable - and she was a teeny tiny baby).

You talk as though bouncy chairs are a new concept. They aren't.

I was born in 1966 and my mother had a bouncer for me (later also used by my sister).

I had a bouncer for my DD1, who was born in 1995. DDs 2 and 3 also used it.

Ours mostly got used by the cat. And was then passed on to a friend who also found the cat used it more than the child. Maybe we were both unlucky.

The cat wasn't bothered about vibrations or music though, so we could have saved money if we'd just bought a simple one.

I have a friend whose eldest hated the bouncer - until it came back out for his new sibling and the toddler kept trying to climb in beside the newborn

Mine was a life saver, we used it a lot. We got the Baby Bjorn one secondhand (definitely don’t pay full price as there’s loads of bouncers on vinted and marketplace!)