Fisher Price Infant To Toddler Rocker

Why/when did we pick this chair?
When my son was about 4 months old and had outgrown his papasan chair we new that we needed another good safe place to set him down. We looked at a bunch of different types of products and decided that we wanted to get him something that he could sit up a little more in, be able to play with his toys, and something to keep him safe if we needed to run to the bathroom real quick. Then we saw this infant to toddle rocker and thought "if this works,we'll be able to use this for awhile". So we were hopeful for this to be good and last more than a couple of months like the papasan.

The setup
The setup is a little tricky and close look of the instructions is necessary. We got this chair when my husband was out of town so "Miss I don't usually put things together" had to give it a try. The two side rails that are first put together with the cross brace underneath were a bit of a pain to snap in together (because for the longest time they wouldn't snap). But, after that the seat back tube, kickstand, front tube, toybar and pad for the chair went on easily and quickly. I probably took over an hour to get the first part to snap together (sweating and trying to get the chair to click), and the rest took less than 5 minutes. (Sidenote- the setup probably would have gone a lot faster for my husband).

Features on the chair
This chair can be a rocker or stationary with the kickstand out. The chair also has a vibration button which can help calm a child. But, the feature we liked the best was the toy bar that went over the chair that had velcro spots for 3 animal toys. Two of the animals (rabbit and pig) had a rattle that could be spun and the cow in the middle when pulled plays part of "Old Mac Donald had a Farm". The bar can be left on for play or removed.

The chair also has a 3 point system to help your child stay in when trying to learn to sit up and keep his/her balance.

Our experience
From the time my son was 4-9 months old we used this chair everyday several times a day. He would love being in his chair playing with the toys on the toy bar (the cow always made him giggle), or without the toy bar just putting toys in his lap for him to look at. He enjoyed the sitting up position more, but would sometimes like the reclined position to take a nap in. At around 9 months my son hit the age in which he wanted to always be on the go. Then he wouldn't sit in the chair and when he would be strapped in he was finding a way to try and stand on the seat part of the chair (Ahh!). Plus, when we had it out in our living room he never wanted to sit in it, he only wanted to push it around the room. So, we decided to put this chair away for a little bit because it was becoming much more of a hazard at this point in my little guy's development. My husband and I recently talked of pulling it back out again since now he is 13 months old, but we haven't done it as of yet.

Washable?
When my son was younger we went through a long stage in which he used to spit up all of the time. Not surprising that we had some incidences with the chair. We learned that the pad of the chair is easy to put on and remove and that the pad is machine washable. It needs to be washed separately in cold water on the gentle cycle. Then dried on low heat and removed promptly. The frame, toy bar, and toys may be wiped clean using a mild cleaning solution and a damp cloth. No bleach should be used for any of the items with this chair.

So, what is the age range it is suited for?
Fisher price says this chair is designed for use with children birth to 40lbs. Personally, I think I wouldn't use this chair with a child before they are 3-4 months of age.

Overall
I think this is a great chair and I look forward to using it more here in the near future. Hopefully he will want to go back to using his chair again.

Battery requirement
This chair requires one "D" alkaline battery- for use of the vibrations.

For more information:
www.fisher-price.com
1-800-432-5437