BabyBjorn Babysitter Balance

If I had to name one baby product that has got the most use out of it would have to be Lily's baby bouncer, made by Bright Starts (and reviewed elsewhere in this section). When we first came home with Lily she seemed so tiny inside the harness but fast forward five months and my husband and I couldn't deny that Lily was starting to look decidedly snug in the chair. Her not so little feet were hanging over the end, her head was at the top of the chair and she was also spending more and more time leaning forward which concerned us both as it seemed only a matter of time before she toppled over. It was no good, she had outgrown her baby bouncer. The search began for a bigger one!

There seem to be a few bouncers on the market designed to be used from birth up until babies are toddlers (around the 2 year mark) but one caught my eye when searching online as it looked ideal. Only problem was that it wasn't cheap. That's where shopping around pays off. I managed to source one online for £30 less than on most sites.

The Babybjorn Babysitter may not look much but I just love it and it clearly gets the thumbs up from our little girl who happily sits in it while playing with toys or indeed when the mood takes her for a good old bounce (when she goes for it she really does!!) 

The chair has so many plus points. One of the main ones for me is that it's portable, easily folding away so that I can take it with me when we go visiting friends. As Lily is at a stage where she wants to be little miss independent it's nice to be able to offer her her very own seat wherever we are! Secondly the seat cover and harness are completely washable and that's great news. A few times Lily has decided to 'give me back' her feed and the chair has been covered but a quick spin in the machine and blow on the line and it's as good as new.

The Babysitter Balance comes in a number of colour options: black and silver, brown and beige (our choice), green and lime, black and red and dark blue and blue. As the seat cover is reversible you can choose which colour to go for. We figured the darker of the two might mask stains (!) and so turned the chair cover around to the dark brown option. It goes with the décor of the room anyway!! 

The seat itself offers three positions – easily adjusted on the underside of the chair. Baby can either sit upright when playing (or watching tv!), in a more reclined position when resting or completely reclined when sleeping. To be honest I've never had to use the last position. Lily will rock away in the second position and invariably send herself to sleep!! 

Having a chair like this is, to my mind, a must. While we encourage Lily to explore the room and fine tune her crawling, searching out the toys scattered around the room, there are times when I need to put her somewhere where I know she will be safe and happy. Bouncing away in this chair I know she is just that. 

Okay, it's a bit pricier than other products I have purchased for my daughter but I think it's well worth the expense.