- Best Reversible Strollers Guide: My Top 7 Choices & How to Pick the Right One for Your Baby - October 10, 2022
- Nuna Leaf Grow vs Curv: Which Is Best? - May 20, 2022
- The Best Baby Oatmeal Brands and Options - May 12, 2022
Editor’s Note: As of August 2022, 4moms rockaRoo has been recalled for strangulation concerns. We would recommend you consider another swing/rocker option, such as Nuna Leaf Grow or Curv.
Are you looking for a safe and fun baby swing? 4moms mamaRoo is currently one of the most popular options on the market. It costs, however, significantly more than many similar products, which makes many moms wonder: Is it really worth it?
After having the chance to try this product on my own, I’ve decided to write this 4moms mamaRoo Review to summarize the experience. I have also gathered information from other users to provide you with the most objective information.
In comparison with some other types of baby equipment (such as cribs or changing tables), baby swings are not considered essential. Nevertheless, they can be extremely helpful – especially if you’re a super-busy mom who needs to handle multiple tasks at once while catering to her baby’s needs.
Rockers like 4moms mamaRoo can provide some well-earned relief by taking care of the baby while parents can do something else. But they also have numerous other functions designed to assist your kid with healthy development. Let’s focus on mamaRoo’s key features first:
5 unique bounce and sway motions and speeds. Can be used since Birth until child reaches 25lbs or can sit up unassisted, whichever comes first.
Jump to a specific section
Features of 4moms mamaRoo
Here’s a quick shortlist of 4moms mamaRoo‘s most important features and specifications:
- Multifunctional infant seat with 5 optional motions and different speeds
- Works as a soothing rocker chair
- Has in-built sound module and MP3 plug-in for external audio
- Bluetooth for remote control of motion and sound
- Includes AC adaptor, no external batteries are needed
- The seat cushion is detachable and machine-washable
- Recline angle is adjustable
- Suitable from birth up to 25 lbs (or when the baby can sit up unassisted)
- Includes interactive soft toys
Specifications of 4moms mamaRoo
Here are the product’s general technical specifications:
- Dimensions: 33” L x 19.5” W x 25.5″ H
- Product weight: 18.36 pounds
- Batteries required: No
- Variations: classic / mesh / plush seat covers
- Washing machine safe: Yes (textile padding)
Advantages of 4moms mamaRoo
Multifunctional infant seats such as 4moms mamaRoo are great helpers in all sorts of situations. How they work and why should you want one too?
Basically, what these seats do is keep your baby safe, occupied, and comfy throughout the awake periods before the baby develops their motoric skills and starts to sit, crawl, or walk independently.
This allows parents to enjoy some freedom, while their baby is perfectly safe, and enjoys a little rocking or swinging in the chair.
Whether you’re a parent working from home, a parent of multiple small children, or you simply need some space and time for cooking, house cleaning, and exercise, this product can massively improve your daily time management.
Of course, mamaRoo is not the only child seat on the market. In fact, the competition is quite high and many of the rocking chairs, baby swings, and infant seats are cheaper than this product. Is mamaRoo really special? Let’s discuss its qualities one by one in detail:
Stylish and practical design
mamaRoo is able to accommodate your child up to 25lbs or until he/she is able to sit up without any assistance. This means that it will be an ever-present part of your household for quite a few months, so its design is quite important.
Fortunately, 4moms mamaRoo looks incredibly good and stylish, so you will most likely feel that it truly complements your home.
What I really like about this chair is the variety of cushions available. There is a light and airy mesh version, super-soft plush alternative, and standard smooth nylon. You can pick one according to your taste, or adjust the selection to the current season (I believe that mesh would be great for summer and plush looks ideal for wintertime).
The cushions also come in several gender-neutral colors, and they can be easily removed and washed in your washing machine.
mamaRoo might discourage some parents with its relatively slim vertical construction. When I showed it to my friends and relatives, I was repeatedly asked if it’s really stable and safe. Nevertheless, if you manipulate the seat yourself, you’ll quickly realize that its base is perfectly stable and safe.
There is no way a baby could trip the whole seat over. I believe it’s in fact much safer than some other horizontally-oriented swings I came across earlier.
Adjustability and versatility
4moms mamaRoo is fully adjustable, which is something I always appreciate when it comes to products for babies. Moms of multiple kids know the best – every child is so individual, that the position one loves can be totally hated by the other.
With mamaRoo, you can adjust and modify the seat in so many regards that you’ll surely be able to find what works for you sooner or later. You can easily change the recline of the seat, which allows you to accommodate your baby smoothly when they fall asleep. You can also change the speed of the motion if you find it too bouncy.
I also really like that this chair is suitable for babies up to 25 pounds in weight. Although most of the kids will probably grow out of the chair before they reach this limit (remember that you can’t use the chair with independently moving toddlers anymore), it is great for larger and heavier babies, who often have problems fitting into products for their age.
I can also imagine that this chair can be very useful for special-needs babies who can take full advantage of the extended weight limit.
Natural and safe motion
One of the most common complaints related to baby rocking chairs is that their mechanical movement is not natural and healthy for small infants.
Although each of these products is rigorously tested and backed by various studies, I can see where this worry is coming from: I’ve had the chance to try a seat that shook my little one so vigorously that I’ve decided to take out the batteries.
But mamaRoo feels different. This swing is thoughtfully designed to mimic the natural swaying motions we parents do when we hold the babies in our arms.
Moreover, you can choose from five different movements here, so if you find one of them too intense, you can switch to some of the others. Transitions between them are also very smooth, so your baby probably won’t even notice them.
Play your own sounds
In addition to the movement, this baby swing also entertains your little one by playing soothing music. The chair has only a small in-built library of sounds (four very simple lullaby-style audio tracks), nevertheless your options are unlimited thanks to the integrated port for an external mp3 player.
This allows you to play literally anything to your baby. My pro tip for you – try recording your own voice or voice of the relatives your baby is really fond of. It works miracles for infants who require constant presence and attention (my little one surely did at this age!).
Interactive fun for healthy development
The thing I probably liked and appreciated the most about this seat is its interactiveness. Besides providing the baby with safety and comfort, it also actively encourages their curiosity, which is the main driver for the baby’s healthy development and growth.
4moms mamaRoo seat includes three interactive reversible toys with all sorts of textures and entertaining elements. They rattle and crinkle, and there is also a small kid-safe mirror, which my little one loved the most.
Although this definitely isn’t the key feature of this seat (after all, we all have tons of baby toys even without it), I really like when products incorporate little extras like this.
Disadvantages of 4moms mamaRoo
Although this multifunctional baby swing can really make a great first impression, I have also noticed some weaker points you should definitely know about before ordering yours. Some of the cons you’ll find below were also reported by other users.
Some babies don’t like it all
Tiny infants cannot tell their parents what they really like and enjoy. New parents also usually don’t have enough experience to know it themselves. As a result, we sometimes end up investing in some wonderful products that should make our babies really happy – except that they don’t.
Although my little one really seemed to enjoy 4moms mamaRoo, I know quite a few parents who said that their babies totally hated this or some similar product.
Either they didn’t enjoy the swinging, or they simply wouldn’t sit in the chair at all. My advice – if you have the chance to try mamaRoo before you buy it, do it. It’s the only way to know if it’s going to work for your baby.
Bluetooth has only limited use
Have you ever dreamed about having a child swing equipped with Bluetooth technology? Probably not. Nevertheless, I must say that being able to control your baby’s seat remotely has its benefits.
For example, it’s a great help when your baby slowly falls asleep, and you want to turn the speed or motion of the seat down without risking waking the baby up when creeping across the room (yes, we have a very squeaky floor).
However, I was a bit disappointed to find out that Bluetooth cannot be used for some other purposes too. For example, I hope that I will be able to stream music or audiobooks from my phone directly to the seat’s speakers. Strangely enough, that is not possible (you can only control the sound remotely, but not stream it).
The only way to play your own music on the seat is by keeping your device physically plugged into it. I found that really weird and inconvenient.
Speakers could be better
Speaking about the sound, I must say that I really hated the inbuilt speakers on the mamaRoo chair. I know, you can’t expect the speaker on a baby swing to sound like a studio monitor, but still – it sounded like a speaker on a Chinese plastic toy, and I felt the urge to turn it off immediately when I heard it for the first time.
This was, however, most obvious when I tried to play my own music through the seat since I knew exactly how it should sound and cringed with every other note and tone.
But for some basic electronic lullabies (like the four you’ll find on the swing right out of the box), I guess the speakers are eventually alright.
Questionable durability
One important disclaimer: Since my little one grew up much faster than I anticipated, and we got this seat a bit late, we didn’t use it for very long. But during those 2-3 months of (almost) daily use, I haven’t noticed the slightest issue with the chair’s functionality or durability.
Nevertheless, I can’t ignore the fact that mamaRoo does occasionally receive a bad review from parents who witnessed their item breaking down or malfunctioning just a few months into its use. Were they just unlucky to receive a rare faulty product? Maybe this implies that the 4mom’s quality control could be better…
The price is high
4moms mamaRoo baby swing is definitely more expensive than dozens of other products from the same category. Some of the cheapest options can cost only a fraction of what you’ll have to pay for new and unused mamaRoo.
Nevertheless, as parents, we usually are willing to invest a bit more in kids’ products if we’re convinced that they really are safer, more durable, or simply better.
Unfortunately, even though I see many advantages and strengths of mamaRoo, I am not entirely sure that they fully justify the price. That being said, if you get the chance to buy mamaRoo with some discount, you probably shouldn’t think twice.
5 unique bounce and sway motions and speeds. Can be used since Birth until child reaches 25lbs or can sit up unassisted, whichever comes first.
4moms mamaRoo alternatives you might like to try
Not entirely convinced by the mamaRoo’s qualities? here are some interesting alternatives you might like better:
4moms rockaRoo
rockaRoo is another attractive baby swing by 4moms. Although it’s very similar to mamaRoo, there are some key differences. Basically, we could say that Rockaroo is a simpler and cheaper version of mamaRoo.
Rockaroo, for example, cannot move in all the different directions – it’s a simple swing that just glides back and forth. There’s also no Bluetooth technology, so you have to adjust and control the seat manually. For more details, check out our in-depth 4moms mamaRoo vs rockaRoo comparison.
Compact Baby Rocker with Front to Back Gliding Motion, Smooth, Nylon Fabric.
Graco Simple Sway LX
Graco Simple Sway LX is a popular baby swing from one of the most reputable producers on the market. Unlike mamaRoo, this swing is not attached to a basic floor stand, but it looks more like a little floating nest hanging on a frame.
Simple Sway LX offers a wide range of natural sounds and melodies, gentle vibrations, and speed adjustable swing mode. There’s also a cute teddy bear merry-go-round for some interactive playtime.
FAQs
Answer: 4moms is currently selling its fourth version of the popular mamaRoo baby swing, which was first released in 2017. If you came across some other type of mamaRoo swing, it might have been one of the older models which are currently discontinued.
Answer: You can adjust the position of your mamaRoo baby swing by manipulating a white strap underneath the seat. This way, you can achieve a full recline position that is ideal if your baby falls asleep in the seat.
Answer: That is not advisable. Although it’s perfectly safe for your baby to take a short nap in the baby swing, it’s definitely not a standard substitution for a normal baby cot. Nevertheless, many parents use the swing to help their babies calm down and fall asleep before moving them into their cribs.
Conclusion – Is 4moms mamaRoo the best choice for your baby?
4moms mamaRoo is an impressive baby swing with many innovative features and stunningly beautiful design. I found it highly practical, perfectly versatile, very safe, and truly entertaining, which are probably the four most important qualities a good baby swing should possess.
Nevertheless, I was not so convinced when it came to mamaRoo’s extra features such as the Bluetooth functionality and external sound port. Although they bring some added fun and convenience, these functions have their limits which don’t allow you to enjoy them to the fullest.
Since these extras are probably the main reason behind the mamaRoo’s higher price, I think this would be the major dealbreaker for me.
Nevertheless, if the price is not your main concern, you likely won’t be left disappointed.
Need some more inspiration? Check out our Nuna Leaf Grow vs Curv infant seat comparison too!
5 unique bounce and sway motions and speeds. Can be used since Birth until child reaches 25lbs or can sit up unassisted, whichever comes first.
Leave a comment