activity center vs. bouncer vs. swing --- do we really need all 3?

[Anonymous]

See if you can borrow a swing before buying. Not all babies like them. Activity mat is great for exercise, stimulation, tummy time. Bouncy seat is a great place to put baby for a short while -- you can do something, baby can look around & play with a toy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FTM here. Wondering if most people really get/need an activity center, a bouncer and a swing or if you typically select one or two of these products? Do they all serve basically the same purpose? Which is the most important? We don't have a huge house and it seems like most of these products are only good for the first year, so would like to skip unnecessary expenses if possible.... thanks in advance!

You will only need one of these. Unfortunately, you don't know until you meet your actual baby which one is the one they will like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FTM here. Wondering if most people really get/need an activity center, a bouncer and a swing or if you typically select one or two of these products? Do they all serve basically the same purpose? Which is the most important? We don't have a huge house and it seems like most of these products are only good for the first year, so would like to skip unnecessary expenses if possible.... thanks in advance!

You will only need one of these. Unfortunately, you don't know until you meet your actual baby which one is the one they will like.

This was so true for us. The swing turned out to be the lifesaver, the rest were useless. Thank goodness we got all of them as hand me downs.

[Anonymous]

No need to have all 3 before birth - or any of them, for that matter. Borrow if you can, that way you can see what your kid wants/needs/enjoys. If you can't borrow, I would probably purchase a rock n' play or a bouncer. Those seem to be most critical in the early days - but again, your kid may be "easy" and be fine being put down/sleeping anywhere. Most kids seem to like "activity centers" but they really aren't necessary.

[Anonymous]

Our swing was a lifesaver. And so was the bouncer. If you can afford it I would get all three. They really aren't that expensive.

Our daughter slept in both her bouncer and swing at times and it was the only thing sometimes that would put her to sleep.

[Anonymous]

They serve different purposes and you won’t know till the kid comes what you need.

Bouncer seat – easy to move from room to room, good place to put the baby down. It was nice b/c I could put DS in it and take a shower – while keeping an eye on him. And our bathroom is tiny. Also nice b/c it fits in the car and you can take it with you to friend or family’s houses.

Swing – for the sleeping baby. My DS was very fussy and wouldn’t nap unless being held. This was the only other place we could get him to nap – it was a life saver. We stopped using it by 4 months.

Activity center – do you mean play mat? This is good for tummy time, playing, letting the baby focus on the objects hanging above him/her. When they’re little, there’s only so much you can do with them so it was nice to have another activity. The plus of the play mat is it folds up easily – doesn’t take up much space. Blanket on the floor with some toys/books around the baby would serve the same purpose.

Activity center – do you mean exersaucer or jumparoo? You start using this around 4-5 months. These take up a lot of space but it’s good to have a place to put down the baby for a few minutes. At this age, they’ve outgrown the bouncer seat and swing. I wouldn’t use it too much in one day, but it was awesome to keep DS entertained while I made breakfast or dinner. Most kids love these things. I’m so glad we had one.

[Anonymous]

We had all three. The bouncer seat and swing, we bought before the birth. DD loved the swing but hated the bouncer seat, so that got little use. Around 5 months, we put the swing into storage and brought out the exersaucer.

I would say the swing and exersaucer were critical to my ability to get things done around the house while DD was awake. Bouncer seat didn't get much use, but maybe our next DC will like it. It wasn't a big investment anyway.

[Anonymous]

We love the bouncer for all the reasons already mentioned. We never had a swing, for space reasons.

We had an exersaucer for our first kid, and he loved it (so did I - it made dinner prep and whatnot possible once he was mobile).

For our second, we plan to use a go-pod instead. It's collapsible, so one less piece of plastic kid crap, but also my toddler can't climb on it. We passed the exersaucer on a few months ago, knowing that it will be too dangerous to have out with both kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They serve different purposes and you won’t know till the kid comes what you need.

Bouncer seat – easy to move from room to room, good place to put the baby down. It was nice b/c I could put DS in it and take a shower – while keeping an eye on him. And our bathroom is tiny. Also nice b/c it fits in the car and you can take it with you to friend or family’s houses.

Swing – for the sleeping baby. My DS was very fussy and wouldn’t nap unless being held. This was the only other place we could get him to nap – it was a life saver. We stopped using it by 4 months.

Activity center – do you mean play mat? This is good for tummy time, playing, letting the baby focus on the objects hanging above him/her. When they’re little, there’s only so much you can do with them so it was nice to have another activity. The plus of the play mat is it folds up easily – doesn’t take up much space. Blanket on the floor with some toys/books around the baby would serve the same purpose.

Activity center – do you mean exersaucer or jumparoo? You start using this around 4-5 months. These take up a lot of space but it’s good to have a place to put down the baby for a few minutes. At this age, they’ve outgrown the bouncer seat and swing. I wouldn’t use it too much in one day, but it was awesome to keep DS entertained while I made breakfast or dinner. Most kids love these things. I’m so glad we had one.

+1

[Anonymous]

We didn't have all three--and certainly these items are good candidates to buy used. We had a bouncy seat for when she was very young--it allowed us to have a safe place to put her when we needed to go to the bathroom or change out the laundry or something, and we also set it next to the table when we ate dinner so she could see us, or by the bathroom door if I needed to shower. We never had a swing. Hold off on an exersaucer--you can't use it until the baby is older anyway, so there's no point in having it sit around collecting dust. There are lots of them on craigslist, so definitely buy used, since you'll only use it for a few months.

[Anonymous]

I'm having my third and had mixed results with the bouncer/swing withe the first two. My first would only calm down in the bouncy chair, second would sleep in the swing. They are both a nice safe place to put the baby temporarily while you shower or cook or whatever. Since I sold the old stuff I just bought a swing (graco, on amazon) that doubles as a bouncy seat. You can easily take the seat off (which vibrates and bounces) and move it around the house. That might be a good option if you have limited space. As for a play mat, it's nice, but not really necessary, you can also just put the baby on a blanket to lay down or do tummy time. I wouldn't worry at all about the exercauser/jumperoo yet. Not even usable until the baby can hold their head up well.

[Anonymous]

I needed all three. Nothing put the baby to sleep better than the swing. He slept longer and better in that.

The activity center was good exercise and tummy time. We laid on the floor together and played with the toys.

The bouncer for when he was awake but I needed to pee or cook. He could roll over at an early age and I didn't want to just leave him unattended on the activity mat.

[Anonymous]

We had all of these- they were given to us. The bouncer/mamaroo was great as is the excercauser now. We use it here and there. LO likes playing on her activity Matt or floor the most, but there are times she wants to be in the excercauser. It's all about moderation.

[Anonymous]

Activity center/bouncer are pretty much the same thing - a safe place to put baby down when you need to cook or go to the bathroom - so you probably don't need both. Bjorn has a reclined bouncer that you could use with a young baby who doesn't sit up yet - I borrowed that from a friend and it was nice to have something to bounce the baby in other than my arms. I could sit on the couch, baby in the bouncer, and rock the thing with my feet - some days it was my only chance to put my feet up but it wouldn't have occurred to me to buy it.

We never had a swing but tried one out at a friend's house and my kid loved it. It the only additional piece of gear I'm considering getting for baby #2.

[Anonymous]

But you probably don't "need" all 3 or any of them really. Having all three at once would take up a lot of floor space. Maybe just get the bouncer to start and then swap it out for other stuff as you find things useful.