43 out of 43 people found this review helpful.
Rock me baby - don't aggravate me!
Date of Review: Jul 31, 2007
The Bottom Line: From an infant's point of view, this rocker may be more aggravating than soothing.
Babies like to be held and parents like to have the illusion of some regained freedom. A vibrating rocker seemed to us the perfect companion in the struggle to keep baby happy. Well, they say vibration soothes and the rocking keeps toddlers happy.
In general, we loved the fun prints on the smooth blue fabric. Following suit that child stuff has to look childish, the portable rocker strikes a fair balance between such graphics and the attempt not to overdo the ornaments. However, it has a distinct design which may not fit every nursery, especially ones that would clash with Blue. (i.e. if you're obsessed with Pink since that's what girls "want")
Alright, the frame is made of thick and sturdy plastic profiles which snap easily together and unfold for easy storage. The latter we used sooner than expected, but more about that later. Expandable feet allow to let the chair sit secured on the ground, which is mostly for usage as an infant seat and the integrated vibration module. The vibration has basically two settings: on and off. It's very effectively transferred to the pressed cardboard plate under the seat and basically directly to the baby's behind.
This is where -- so far at least -- baby Clara disagreed. The vibration appears way to strong and aggravates the little girl (just under 1 month) more than it soothes. It would certainly be great to adjust the strength of the vibration. The rocking is currently not usable as the baby is certainly too small to actuate it herself, and for the parents to rock the baby there is no good handle available.
The lack of any music isn't necessarily a big problem as it isn't always helping things, but with no option to add any kind of noise, the newborn might just feel too alone and object. The included toys look great and mostly the two hanging animals are both colorful and well designed. We have not gotten to use the snap-in toy (bird) that sits on the right arm rest. However, it being a rattle and chew toy (well I suppose), our one-month-old so far is ignoring it.
The back reclines for infants and can be moved up a few degrees for toddlers and use as a rocking chair. This is fairly simple via provided strap. Given that we're still a bit away from that time in Clara's life, we decided to store this rocker and get an actual swing instead. (The Boppy Swing in Comfort was a more convincing argument to persuade baby Clara. Unfortunately, Epinions doesn't currently list this item.)
Safety appears very good with a 5-point restraint, which for very small infants is a bit overkill as they can't really turn themselves yet to fall out of the rocker. In fact, since they can't be removed, it's somewhat of an annoyance. However, Fisher Price is hardly to blame since safety regulations are hardly negotiable for a manufacturer.
Having used the storage function more than anything else for this rocker, it turns out that "folding" has apparently different definitions too. The legs unsnap and allow to be folded up, but there is nothing to keep them organized and allow easy transport. hence the "portable" claim needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
© 2007, theuerkorn
