Being a new mom is hard, but having a newborn and toddler or more than one toddler is another level. While I’d love to just sit and hold my cute newborn baby, I had to be able to put it down at times, whether it was catching a mischievous 3 year old or just cooking dinner.
While I was pregnant and preparing for our baby’s arrival, I read through thousands of reviews for rockers and swings and the 4moms mamaRoo 4 kept popping up. In contrast to the traditional baby rockers and swings, this one combines all settings in one seat. It has five movements in contrast to a rocker that only rocks or a swing that only swings.
To make sure you weren’t wasting your money, we wanted to check this out.
Five unique moves
The mamaRoo4 has five different movements with five different speed settings. The movements are named for what they represent and, in that way, fairly accurate.
- Car ride: Moves in a figure of eight with a little bounce here and there
- Kangaroo: leaps forward and then backwards
- Tree swing: Swings from left to right and back
- Rock-a-Bye: Moves back and forth in an arc
- Wave: Makes a circle go up, down and down
Design features
The mamaRoo4 has an integrated Bluetooth, with which parents can control the movement of the seat with an app. It has four different soothing sounds built in, but also an MP3 option. The seat is adjustable from sitting to leaning back. All fabrics are machine washable and available in three options. It has a cell phone on top that has a rattle, mirror, and crinkle ball.
height and weight
It’s mamaRoo4 compact, measures 33? L x 19.5? W x 25.5? H and weighs 19 pounds.
What we love about MamaRoo
Multiple movements
The unique feature of the mamaRoo4 and the one we love the most are the five different movements. Our first child loves the movement of the Graco swing, but our second little boy didn’t want anything to do with it.
If your baby isn’t swaying, keep jumping until you find one he loves. These movements are designed to mimic various movements that would normally calm a baby.
The five sentences include:
- the car (our little one’s favorite)
- the kangaroo
- Tree swing
- rock a bye
- the wave
MamaRoo4 gets it right that movement isn’t always the answer and sometimes a baby may bounce more than sway on Tuesday, but Wednesday rolls around and all the baby wants is sway.
Easy to clean – machine washable (Hallelujah)
One of the things I always look for in babies is, “How easy is it to clean?” Maybe it’s just me, but if something is machine washable, that’s what I’m here for. Easily removed and thrown into the laundry are a must in our household because I just don’t have time to wash things by hand, and who even wants to?
Modify bluetooth controls remotely
So this feature is pretty cool. Sometimes the baby just needs a change in movement. The ability to change the motion setting in another room and your baby in the connected living room saves time. I’ll be honest here, I used it sitting on the couch watching Netflix so I didn’t have to get up.
The only downside to the app is that it can only pair with one phone at a time. So if dad wants to use the app he has to pair it and if mom wants to use it she has to pair hers. This was a back and forth fight so we stayed with one parent who had the app on their phone.
Negatives
- Age and Weight Restrictions: The mamaRoo4 is designed for babies who weigh 5 to 25 pounds or until they can sit unaided. So you only have a useful life of 9 to 15 months for this seat.
- Mobile: The 2017 version adds touch points – a rattle ball, a crinkle ball and a ball with a mirror. You don’t move alone, which is what we’d like to see
- Loudspeaker: The loudspeakers are not very loud when people are present. The four programmed sounds are all white noise and have no actual music / lullabies. To play music, you need to use an AUX cable. If you have bluetooth and an app available, it would make more sense to me to be able to play music via bluetooth.
- Costs: The mamaRoo4 costs USD 220 for the basic material and USD 250 for the plush and mesh materials. If your baby is smaller, you will need a newborn insert, which is an additional $ 35. That’s expensive for a seat that you won’t use after six months.
What is the difference between 4Moms MamaRoo 4.0 and 3.0
In a word, convenience. The new user interface is much more customizable. The event made it easy for you to change something with your foot.
Other changes include:
• Improved fabrics that also feels softer with the Classic model.
• Updated cell phone. The MamaRoo 3.0 had a cell phone that was basically three balls that did nothing. The 4Moms MamaRoo 4.0 version adds touch points – a rattle ball, a crinkle ball, and a ball with a mirror. Unfortunately, the cell phone doesn’t turn on its own
• App upgrades. When the MamaRoo 3.0 model came out, it came with a bluetooth app that allows you to change the movement and speed of your smartphone. The 4Moms MamaRoo 4.0 model is more stable and does not disconnect.
What other parents are saying
The mamaRoo4 is a great addition to our home, but here’s what other parents had to say about the seat.
4.2 of 5 stars (1,665 ratings) on 4moms.com
“I bought this for my grandchild. He loves to. Only 2 days old and it helped with his excitement. He is 2 weeks old now and still loves it. ‘–Nikki
“This is the perfect item for a new mom who has chores or even works from home.” -Wilson
“I have that and a Graco swing. What I like about the mamaRoo is that it is light and portable. I can quickly move it to another room that I have to go to which is perfect for a mother with more than one child. The only thing that could improve on this is if it is battery operated so you are not constantly tied to an electrical outlet. “- Kendra
“I love that. Son was in intensive care and they had them and were great for the babies. “- Levi Lynn
4.1 out of 5 stars (1,450 ratings) on Target.com
“I love this swing! We looked at other swings until we finally decided on this one. The price held us back at first, but the investment is worth a thousand times over. Our little one is a spit baby, so the fact that we can adjust the actual seat to sit a bit more helped tremendously. I would recommend it to everyone. “-Mama of Girls (verified purchase)
“Definitely a more expensive swing than I ever expected, but it’s super smooth and quiet and lets my daughter sleep while I do some work in this house … so I think that makes it a lot? I love that I can change the settings through an app instead of reaching for the buttons on the base of the device while moving. “–EMR26 (verified purchase)
“That worked great for my baby. He had trouble settling down and we had to put him in the car and drive around, which immediately put him to sleep. As soon as we got the mamaRoo, it took the place of driving by car. As soon as we put him in, he calms down and immediately goes to sleep. We love the mamaRoo !! No regrets !! “- Ellie J (verified purchase)
4.5 out of 5 stars (3,906 reviews) on Amazon.com
“SOON, when I put my 1 month old little guy in there, he stopped” swimming air “. Not too long after that his eyes were closed. Usually that only happens when I pick him up. So I hold him most of the time. .. UP TO TODAY. So far, I have been very satisfied with this product. ”–Antonette (verified purchase)
“I’ve had this Mamaroo for less than a week, but my whole family already loves it. I am a mother at home. I teach three children at home and have a month old. My kid is pretty picky about being caught and ricocheted on a yoga ball. If I didn’t hold him, he would scream. If I put him to sleep and then lay him down, he usually woke up 30 minutes later and yelled to be held and thrown back. Needless to say, I made a living from the yoga ball. It made homeschooling as difficult to say the least as all of the other things I had to do around the house.
“In front of the Mamaroo I tried swings and manual bouncers and nothing worked. This was my last effort and I was hesitant because of the price. Well worth it if you have a screamer like me that needs to be held all the time. Since I got the Mamaroo, I’ve had a lot more time for everything. I’m so excited!!! The only thing I worried about was the jumping motion. Before I got the Mamaroo, I was hopping on a yoga ball with my child. He loved this fun move. I feared the Mamaroo wouldn’t be enough bounce for him.
Although the Mamaroo doesn’t bounce as intensely as the yoga ball, it loves it. All five different settings are smooth and different. The movements are calming and are meant to move like a mom. My son prefers driving at level five, which is the fastest. He sleeps longer in the Mamaroo and will lie awake very satisfied in the Mamaroo. If he wakes up during a nap, the movement usually lulls him back to sleep. “-Brittney (verified purchase)
Read our article, The Best Baby Swing For 2021 + Tips To Soothe A Fussy Baby!