the baby product we can’t leave the house without

I have had the unique opportunity to try out lots of different baby products. Seats, swings, bouncers, mats, playpens, strollers, you name it. While we do have many favorites and products that do get used every day, there is one we always return to and one that usually leaves the house with us.

The BabyBjorn Babysitter Balance.

They categorize it as a bouncer. My husband calls it a seat. I call it a life-saver. Regardless, I think “babysitter” is the perfect name! Now, of course Rebecca gets held and worn all.the.time too. But don’t forget we also have a toddler (who greatly regressed to more of a baby phase when his sister showed up) and he needs a lot of attention, too. There are times Rebecca just needs to be put down.

Well, I can’t say enough great things about this. It really is our life-saver. Rebecca loves it. Here are the main reasons why I can’t get enough of this chair:

~It’s comfortable. Typical bouncer seats are small and around Rebecca’s age (5 months), her kicking feet hit the hard plastic bottom or hang off the edge. Not with the Babysitter! The seat is LONG. Rebecca can kick to her heart’s content and hit nothing but fabric. That also means that it goes far above her head. I mean, my 2.5 year old toddler still fits in it with his head held comfortably. It also creates more of an actual seat (you can see clearly in the side-view images below).

~It’s portable. It’s super lightweight and it folds up FLAT. This is a main reason we take it everywhere. To the lake for the weekend? To the grandparents’ for dinner? Hanging out at a friend’s house? This baby comes with. I can grab it, flatten it, and throw it in the car in about 10 seconds.

~It LASTS. I know families that have been using one Babysitter for years. For multiple children. Like I said, my toddler fits in it so when Rebecca isn’t hanging out, Ryan can use it like a chair… and when Rebecca gets older, she can use it like a chair. It’s not one of those “baby toys” you only get to use for a few months.

~Rebecca can sleep in it. The Babysitter has 3 different positions. The most-upright one is still reclined a little and it’s the setting we keep it on 80% of the time. Then there’s the 2nd in-between spot (maybe more for a newborn without much head control yet), and the lowest (3rd) position is lower for sleeping. I can easily move positions with Rebecca in the seat so there’s no worries if she falls asleep in it at the highest position… I just quietly move it down!

~Machine-washable. I don’t know what it is about this seat, but if Rebecca is sitting in it when she goes poop, it’s likely a blow-out up the back. THANKFULLY the cover just whips right off and you can throw it in the wash. We’ve washed ours MANY times, it still looks new, and we’ve never had any issues with it fitting afterwards.

As you can tell, the fabric is reversible, too. In most of my photos above, I have the solid brown side showing with the orange front piece. If I flip it over, it looks like the photo immediately above: the retro design with orange and white stripes. I turned the front piece around too so it’s solid brown. Four different looks!

And my most favorite feature? It’s SIMPLE, but works WONDERS. I mean, you could look at this and wonder what’s so special? There are no lights and bells and whistles. There’s no tray or toys. There’s no music.

But I’m telling you–it doesn’t matter. This Babysitter bounces so well on its own, by Rebecca just kicking her own feet, she has a blast. All those bells and whistles aren’t needed with this thing! She can sit in here and interact with Ryan or we can read her books or she can watch us while we’re making dinner. If you want, however, they do have a wooden toy for the Babysitter. (We bought this and it does work well–we do use it once in awhile, but most of the time Rebecca just likes to hang out in there.)

GIVEAWAY: one lucky reader (and their super lucky baby!!!) is going to win their own BabyBjorn Babysitter Balance! Please use the form below to enter.


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