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Tried and Tested!

This month we have tested - Bouncy Chairs and Baby Bottles.

Bouncy Chairs

Fynn and Nieve Wooding Clare and Ella Major Charlie Gee
Kellie Wooding is Mum to Ross (15 months) and twins Fynn and Nieve (3 months). They live in Eastleigh, Hampshire. Clare Major is Mum to Ella (4 months). The family live in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire. Laura Gee is Mum to Katey (2) and Charlie (3 months) . They live in Fleet, Hampshire.

BABYBJÖRN Baby Sitter 1-2-3

BABYBJÖRN Baby Sitter 1-2-3 transforms your child's smallest movements into a soothing, rocking motion, keeps your child happy and - first and foremost - allows him/her to be a part of things. BABYBJÖRN Baby Sitter 1-2-3 is easy to fold and take with you, wherever you go, and has three positions: play, rest and sleep. Anti-skid pads, front and back, keep it in place while preventing damage to the floor. When the child is big enough to climb in and out of the Baby sitter, the restraint system and toys can be removed.

The soft, comfortable cloth cover is both detachable and reversible, making it easy for you to change the color of your Baby Sitter. Suitable for children weighing between 3.5/8 and 13 kgs/28 lbs.

4 stars

I was surprised at how light this rocker was, the design is black on one side and black and white checked on the other. I wouldn't have chosen these colours myself but it does look very smart. The instructions were easy to see and read it also had pictures which makes it alot easier it was already assembled so the only thing to do was to set up the seating if i wanted it to be upright in sleep position or rest position. Nieve did seem a little upset when I first put her in it but calmed down when I rocked it. She was very comfortable in there as the rocker seems to mould to her bottom. The motion of the rocking is entirely up to you, I could rock her gently by using only my little finger..so depending on what your baby likes you can choose the rocking motion. The special feature is the 3 positions you can put your baby into. Nieve likes the sleep position! The rocker came with a toy bar which has wooden brightly coloured bears and balls which you can spin. The rocker has a reversible cover, which will help with cleaning! Although it is very light it is a shame it doesn't have carry handles as that would have made it even easier to transport. Although I think this rocker has a high price tag, it is smart and well made and if it was a bit cheaper would be a great choice.

3 stars

When opening the box the bouncer was fully assembled I just needed to attach the toy bar. The instructions were simple but effective. The design was very sleek and simple. Even though it had the toy bar it was quite low down so didn't attach Ella's attention. This seat can be change to 3 different seating angles. I had to rock Ella in it as she was not strong enough to get it moving herself. The material would wipe clean if necessary. It would be quite easy to transport around as there is not a lot to it and was quite light. In my opinion it is very expensive for what it is, there are a lot cheaper bouncers on the market, therefore based on price, it wouldn't be my first choice to recommend to other parents.

3 stars

This bouncer looked simple and easy to get along with. Natural and back to basics. Instructions were clear and where not needed as the chair is really simple and basic. It arrived put together and only the toy bar needed attaching which was really simple. Charlie loved this rocker he seemed very happy and loved the fact he could bounce himself. He loved the toy bar which was bright and had lovely wooden teddies on. That would spin. Was happy to sit in this chair and bounce himself for about 20 minutes. The rocking motion was perfect you and baby can control how fast or slow baby rocks. The seat reclines to several different positions which is good. The toy bar is simple and Charlie seemed to like this. Also the cover is reversible which is a nice addition. The chair did not have carry handles, but was quite light to lift and carry about. Easy to transport as it will lay flat. I would recommend to a friend or family if they were only interested in basic baby accessories. As it looks good easy to use and takes no batteries!! Which is always a plus as all toys and baby items take batteries. This is a great rocker if you are not interested in fancy gadgets but in my opinion is a little to expensive for what you get.

Maclaren Rocker

Lightweight compact fold with carry straps for portability. Easily converts from rocker to stationary chair. Adjustable seat recline. Soothing vibration (1C battery required). Removable toy bar and canopy. 5 point safety harness. Removable faux suede head hugger. Coordinates with 2008 Techno XLR buggies, Baby Carriers, and Recaro Car Seat. Suitable for babies up to 9kg / 19.8lb.

3 stars

The rocker came already assembled, the first thing that I noticed was the colours, it was grey and orange, not the colours I would have chosen but it still looked good. The instructions were very clear and easy to read and it was great that the rocker was already assembled. All the children seemed to be happy in this rocker; the vibration was soft but the box where you put the batteries made loud noises when you put the rocker on vibrate. It came with a hood and toy bar, but I couldn't see the point of the hood and the toy bar was too low. Very easy to clean, I used wet wipes. The rocker was extremely easy to move around and had extra long carry handles so transporting it was very easy. In my opinion I felt it was quite expensive for the price, as there are other chairs around the same budget which seem to do more like the Chicco. I would recommend it to other parents but with a warning - be careful when you unclip the seat to raise or lower it as I got my hands pinched several times opening and closing the recliner clips.

4 stars

This rocker came fully assembled and folded up when I open the box. It was easy to use, we just needed to open it and attach the toy bar. Ella seemed very comfortable in it. It was fully adjustable so she could either lie down or sit up. It was easy to rock gently and had a vibration under the seat that worked to send Ella to sleep. The material was a suede effect so I am sure would wipe clean easily although may not be able to wash at a higher temperature to remove any stains! The rocker also came with a detatachable hood so it would be ideal to fold up to take if you were going out. I think it is good value for money; the only thing that lets it down is the quality of the toys on the toy bar.

2 stars

This was my least favourite of the bouncers. It looked too modern; not very baby like and not very interactive for baby. It came with instructions which were simple to use and it did not need to be put together as it just folded into the chair. I only had to attach the toy bar which was great. Fast easy and simple. Charlie was happy in this chair, but the straps where a little to big for him and they toy bar just was not interactive enough. The toys were very plain and didn't catch his attention. The rocker was perfect motion and so were the vibrations and the chair reclined into several different positions which was helpful. Easy to transport round the house with large carry handles and also easy to take away as it just folds easy into a smaller size. I thought the rocker had some good features such as the recline and vibrations, but overall I didn't feel it was good value for money for me as Charlie didn't like it as much as the other two rockers.

mum & working chopice

Chicco Deluxe Rocker

A new top of the range chair suitable from birth up to 9kgs or until the child can sit up unaided. Featuring a soft comfortable seat with insert pillow, in the shape of a fun bear, with squeak and rattle toys combined. The lower pocket of the bear pillow has a soft blanket for extra comfort at naptime.

The electronic toy bar has five fun melodies activated by the hanging toys, accompanied by flashing lights, and the dancing bear band. Designed to entertain and develop baby's manual co-ordination skills at the same time. The chair also features relaxing vibration ideal for soothing baby. Using the single action control at the rear, the chair can be used either in a fixed or rocker position. The adjustable leg rest and multi-position backrest means that your baby can relax, play or feed in the chair. Practical carry handles are provided.

4 stars

The rocker looked absolutely fantastic when I took it out of the box, it came in two parts - the seat had a large teddy bear shape which is removable and a removable blanket which you attach on to the chair. Plus it came with a musical toy bar that sounded good. The instructions weren't extremely clear and it was quite difficult to put together. I had trouble putting the seat and rocker legs together the musical toy bar was also hard to put in. I could only put one in correctly, Fynn and Nieve both seemed very comfortable in it though. The vibration was very gentle and the rocking motion was smooth. Ross, Fynn and Nieve all liked the musical toy bar on the rocker. Extremely easy to clean I used baby wet wipes. It was easy to move the rocker and transport the children anywhere as it came with carry handles. I think it is very good value for money.

4 stars

This rocker was easy to assemble; you just need to attach the top to the bottom. The instructions were clear on how to do this. Ella loved this chair as it came with the inner bear cushion for smaller babies the a fleece blanket that was attached by Velcro, so stayed in place. It was fully adjustable so she could sit up or lie at any angle. It had a great toy bar; it played music and had moving parts to keep Ella interested. It also had a vibration under the seat which again helped Ella off to sleep. The material would be easy to clean if necessary. It did not fold up in any way so would not be that easy to move about, but I would recommend this rocker to other parents as it was great for keeping baby interested in the toy bar.

5 stars

This rocker looked great. Very child friendly and lots of fun for Charlie. I could not wait to get Charlie in it! The instructions were clear and simple; I put this together in minutes and did not really need the instructions. Charlie loved this chair. He looked comfortable and was really happy playing with they toy bar. It played music and three teddies danced. He could make the music play and make the teddies dance by pulling on the hanging toys which he truly loved. He would play for about 20 minutes at one time. The chair also gently vibrated which was fantastic. Lots of fun features. Also the seat reclines into several positions which is a big plus as you can find the position your baby prefers. It was great to clean. All you had to do is wipe the seat down as it was waterproof material. Perfect. It was easy to transport around the house but a little more difficult to take away as you have to take the whole chair apart. It doesn't just fold away. I would recommend this bouncer to friends as I could see clearly that Charlie loved it and it is good value for money for what you get.

Overall Winner Chicco Deluxe Rocker

The mums really loved the Chicco Deluxe, they thought it looked fantastic and had great features. Their babies were all very happy in it too! Good value for money for lots of extras. The BABYBJÖRN Baby Sitter 1-2-3 was praised for its simple effective design, but the mums felt it wasn't such good value for money because of this simplicity. The Maclaren was again popular, but the testers didn't feel it was as 'baby-friendly' as the other two designs and didn't offer so many features for the price tag.

Baby Bottles

Reviewed by Kellie Wooding Reviewed by Clare Major Reviewed by Laura Gee

Babisil - Silbottle

The Silbottle provides a safe, anti-bacterial, Bisphenol-A (BPA) free zone; preventing babies from consuming potentially hazardous chemicals and giving parents peace of mind. The Silbottle's collapsible inner mimics the natural breast lobules, providing a feeding experience which is only 'Second to Breast'. This makes the transition from breast to bottle and back more natural for babies. Valve free, the flexible Silbottle inner chamber collapses as the baby feeds, eliminating the build up of air, reducing colic and helping to create happier babies. Easy to clean; turn inside out and wipe, brushless cleaning and dishwasher friendly. Changeable inner; sterilisable spare inners, change just the inner and the teat.

3 stars

The design of the bottle isn't anything I have seen before and I thought it looked a bit bizarre! When filling up it is hard to see how many ounces of water you have put in. The instructions were fairly clear, but I got confused on where to use the teat punch. It was fairly easy to assemble you just have to make sure you remember to put the swirler in with blades facing down as I forgot to do that, I shook the bottle and milk went everywhere. The teat is large soft and easy for your baby to suckle on, Ross, Nieve and Fynn found using this bottle very easy. The special feature is the concertina sil bottle, which goes into the outer casing, as the baby drinks the milk the sil bottle drinks so you know how much they had. The teat was a little too fast for Fynn and Nieve but they adapted to it and it was too slow for Ross, who is 15 months old. Extremely easy to clean. I think it is fairly expensive for just one bottle - I would recommend it as it's a good bottle, but really best for parents with bigger budgets.

3 stars

I had never seen these bottles in the shops before. The packaging was very attractive but the design of the bottle did look a little strange. The instructions were clear on how to use the bottle but we did find it slightly awkward putting all the bits of the bottle together. The design of the teat seemed a good idea as you had to make additional holes yourself with the hole maker included in the pack. I did not however give clear instruction of how many hole were recommend for each age group. Ella took a few tries to feed from the teat, I think because I did not have enough holes to start with. The inner chamber of the bottle seemed a good idea and reduced in size as Ella feed which did help with her not taking in to much air. After warming the bottle in hot water I found that sometimes small drops of water would leak out from the outer bottle whilst feeding. There were slightly harder to clean than other bottles as there were more sections, but a standard bottle brush did clean the silicon chamber. I think that the cost of these bottle is expensive compared to others on the market and wouldn't personally recommend them to other parents.

1 stars

This bottle was certainly different to look at! It had lots of bits to it a teat, a teat hole punch, a sealing ring, a swirler, a lid, the silbottle and the bottle (outer casting). I found all these components pretty daunting! The instructions where in a tiny book that I nearly did not find at the bottom of the box. They were ok but not that simple. When I finally got the bottle together it exploded when I put hot milk in and tried to shake it. It does advise in the booklet to shake slightly and to only put water at 37 degrees. I may have shaken too hard and my water was probably a little hot for the bottle to take. I didn't find it easy to put together - there were too many parts; the bottle has a rubber bit goes in the bottle, then you have the teats which come with an instrument that you can pierce your own teat holes with. A bit of a nightmare to get it ready the first time. Once Charlie finally got to use it, he didn't love it, but after a bottle he got used to the difference. I was a little disappointed that the bottle only held 6oz but was the same size as the Tommee Tippee 8oz bottles, the silbottle take up a lot of room in the bottle. I can't imagine how large the 8 oz bottle is. It was a hassle to clean too, as it needed cleaning in two parts. The bottle and the teat in the steriliser and the middle part needed soaking in hot water as would have melted in the steriliser.

The special features where the Anti-vacuum system reduces colic and spit up did reduce Charlie's wind to virtually none. The claim that the unique Y-cut teat reduces leakage wasn't effective, it was no more than the other bottles I have tried. I much prefer my usual brand of bottle to this, the Babisil has too many parts and too much to do before you have even used the bottle.

mum & working chopice

Tommee Tippee - Closer to Nature® easi-vent™

Designed in conjunction with breastfeeding experts, the revolutionary new Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature easi-vent teat mimics the natural flex, movement and softness of a mum's breast, to make switching between breast and bottle easier than ever before. The unique shape of the Closer to Nature easi-vent teat encourages your baby's natural feeding action so that switching between breast and bottle becomes second nature. The Closer to Nature 260ml bottles have been designed to be held in the most natural positions during feeding and can be held in 3 ways: cradles comfortably in the hand, gripped in the same way as a traditional wide neck bottle, held from the base; making feeding comfortable for both mum and dad.

4 stars

The bottle was very large and it was easy to grip, the measurement lines were easy to read, I'm not exactly sure what the ridges in the bottle were for though - perhaps just part of the design? It came with instructions which were very clear and easy to read. Extremely easy to put together. The teat is very soft and the shape looks good - both Fynn and Nieve had some difficulties sucking on the teat at first, but they did get used to it. The teat was the right flow for Fynn, Nieve and Ross. It's different as I'm used to shaking the formula in the bottles, with this bottle you have to gently stir the formula and water together. It was extremely easy to clean; fantastic value for money as it was a triple pack. I would definitely recommend this to other parents.

5 stars

I found these bottle the easiest to use with Ella as I am combining breast and bottle feeding. They came in a handy 3 bottle pack with clear instructions. There were no extra bit to insert into the bottle just the standard bottle and teat. Ella feed straight away from these bottles as the teat is shaped based around the nipple. Cleaning the bottle was very easily done with the bottle brush. I think that the triple pack is very good value for money and would highly recommend these bottles, especially to other breast feeding mothers.

5 stars

I loved these bottles as they were easy and simple to use. Compact and a perfect size. The instruction where clear and simple but to be honest they are so simple you do not need the instructions. I loved the bottle shape small and easy to hold. The teat shape was different but Charlie seemed to enjoy drinking from it. The special features were the anti colic valve and the breast like teat. The breast like teat seemed to go down well with Charlie as he took to drinking from these bottles straight away. The anti colic valve seemed to work a little but Charlie still seem to have a lot of trapped wind - the same sort of amount as he has with my usual bottles. The flow was a little fast for Charlie but I brought some stage two teats made by Tommee Tippee and he seemed to get on a lot better with these. The bottles were easy to clean and easy to take apart. These bottles are excellent value for money; I will definitely recommend these bottles to friends and family from now on. I much prefer these to my usual brand.

Dr.Browns

A complete feeding system for happier babies. Created by a physician, Dr Brown's Natural Flow® is the only baby bottle with a patented internal vent system that actually helps promote good health in babies. By eliminating the vacuum and air bubbles, it helps to reduce feeding problems like colic, burping and gas. And the positive pressure created by our system is as close to breastfeeding as your baby can get. Quite simply, it looks and works unlike any other bottle.

4stars

The design of this bottle is great - it has an easy grip and the measurements on the bottles were easy to read and clear to see. I did wonder what the internal vent was for until I read the instructions - it is so the air can be channeled through the internal vent system to the area above the breast milk or formula. The instructions were clear and easy for me to follow. It was extremely easy to put together. The teat was a rather strange shape; the top of the teat is long compared to the other two bottles I was reviewing, Fynn had difficulties when trying to suck on this teat but Nieve took to this bottle more easily than any of the others. The vent system was very good as both Nieve and Fynn were easier to wind. Nieve found the flow of this bottle great and so did Ross my older child. The flow for Fynn was a bit too fast. It was actually easier to use than the other bottles I use normally. It was very easy to clean and came with a long thin brush to wash the internal vent with. I would say it was good value for your money. I would recommend to other parents.

4 stars

First impressions of the bottles were very good, the packaging was well design and descriptive. The instructions were very clear and easy to understand. The bottle came put together but once washed it was very easy to reassemble. As Ella is still breast feeding and taking expressed milk once a day from a bottle it did take her a few tries to get used to the teat but once she had further feeds were not an issue. The design of the bottle was to help reduce wind and colic, it appeared to do this as Ella only brought up small amounts of wind at the end of each feed. Cleaning the bottle was more difficult to the normal bottle as I had to soak the middle section as the bottle brush would not fit in it. I think that these bottles are good value for money and would recommend them to other parents.

3 stars

These bottles looked complicated with the pipe running down the middle but the bottle shape looked a good size. The instructions where clear and easy to use. The bottle was easy to put together and take apart but there were more parts than with my usual bottles. The shape of the bottle was good was to hold and not to big. The teat was good, Charlie struggled at first as it was a different shape to normal but after a few attempts he was happy to take the milk from it. The special feature is the internal vent that runs through the middle of the bottle to reduce colic, burping and wind. This did seemed to work much to my surprise. A good addition. Lots of parts to clean but it dose come with its own brush to clean the internal valve. I would definitely recommend this bottle if I knew a baby that suffered from bad colic as I do believe it reduced Charlie's wind.

Overall Winner Tommee Tippee - Closer to Nature® easi-vent™

The reviewers chose the Tommee Tippee bottles as their favourite. All thought they were great value for money, really easy to use and clean and their babies were all happy feeding from them. Dr.Browns were a close runner up, with the testers praising the innovative design which really was felt to reduce colic and wind. The unusual design of the Babisil bottles wasn't as popular with our testers, they all felt it was too fiddly, came with too many components and didn't offer great value for money.


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