Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium Bouncer
by Fisher-Price
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List Price: Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium Bouncer
Customer Review: Not very safe...
Summary: 1 Stars
I put this on my registry list for my shower and was very happy to receive it. But it wasn't until we had our son in it that we really paid attention to the chair. First of all, the seat does not lock into place. As we were moving from room to room I would pick the seat up with my son in it and noticed that the seat would easily fold up if not grabbed in the right spot. His grandmother bought a bouncer-seat that does lock and is very easy to take to whatever room you're in.
Also, the portion of the seatbelt that comes up between his legs doesn't even reach his belly (he's only 4 months old, not too tall yet). He twists and turns and on more than one occasion has managed to twist himself sideways with his head hanging over one side and his feet over the other. The seatbelt needs to come up higher on him to minimize the amount of "squirming" he can do.
Lastly, the "play" bar that displays the fish and has the seahorse hanging from it is not anywhere within his reach and he gets frustrated trying to reach for it. He can kick it okay but gets bored with that very quickly. The older he gets the more he wants to touch things with his hands.
One good thing I do have to say about it is that our son loved the colors of the seat. He twists and turns to be able to stare at the ruffles on the side.
As a whole, neither his father or I are very impressed with this seat at all and are, in fact, going to buy a different seat for our next child. This seat has gone to the attic for good.
Customer Review: Soothing for a newborn, but interactive features not well designed for older baby
Summary: 3 Stars
I own two bouncers, this one and a Fisher-Price Kick'N'Play model. Of the two, this one was definitely the more soothing for my daughter when she was younger, from 2-5 months. The bubbles and moving fish seemed to mesmerize her, and the vibration would help calm and soothe her for at least a half an hour (for the first couple of months, she'd sleep with the vibrations).
However, now that she's older, she's actually begun to find this bouncer frustrating. The two hanging toys are positioned for kicking, but are frustratingly out of reach of her hands. She struggles to sit up -- probably a great workout for her abs -- in order to reach them, but with the deep recline of this bouncer (a great feature for a newborn, less great for an older baby) she can never manage it, and she struggles in the bouncer, grunting and fretting. If she does manage to kick the toys, the way the bouncer responds is to change from one piece of tinkly music to a different piece. I don't think she notices. She likes her (unfortunately discontinued) other bouncer much better, because she can reach the toys and because there is a much more obvious response from the toy arch when she pulls toys or kicks the footpads.
So it was good for a few months but I had to retire the toy arch by the time she was 6 months old. Now I just use the bouncer as a seat, but the recline is too deep for her to be comfortable; I now have it in a (probably not approved) position with the back end propped up.
Customer Review: Nice gift I got, wouldn't buy it myself
Summary: 3 Stars
I received this as a gift. The vibrating motion simulates what baby might feel in the car, which happens to be my 5 week old's favorite place to relax right now. It dosen't always do the trick for calming him down (especially if he just wants to be cuddled), but when he's already happy or playful he really seems to enjoy it. The animated "aquarium" is nice, he loves to stare at the bubbles inside. I could, like other reviewers, do without the music, but my son likes the other settings, which sound like rain, running water, or ocean waves, depending on what you set it to. You can also turn off the sounds all together, or just have it do the bubbles. Thankfully the volume of the sounds can be set to either "loud" or "soft".
Those are the pros. The cons for me so far are few, but they're what's kept me from giving this more than 3 stars. First off, it needs another safety harness around the chest to keep little ones from slumping over. I had my son in it, and watched as he shifted his weight to one side. His upper half was completely hanging off the seat, held on only by the inadequate waist harness of the chair! At least it didn't tip over, but it still wasn't safe. Secondly, it dosen't fold up to travel, and takes up too much space to warrant taking it on overnight trips.
All in all I think this product is okay. The price is good for what you get. If I'd bought it myself I would have returned it for credit toward something a little better.
Customer Review: Good seat, but have had encountered a problem with it
Summary: 3 Stars
We purchased this seat for our 3rd child as a replacement for our old bouncy chair, which was well worn & not as "fancy" as this one. Overall it's a good chair, however, we owned it for all of 3 weeks when the vibrating portion of the chair stopped working. Of course we figured it just needed new batteries, but that did not remedy the situation. We called Fisher Price as we knew that the store where we purchased it would not accept a return that has a defect. FP said we needed to package up & mail the seat pad & motor portion of the seat, pay appropriate postage as well as insure it in case it got lost in transit. This needed to be done within 14 days of receiving their e-mail, and then they would ship out a whole new bouncy seat to us in about 4 weeks. I am not happy with this scenario. Not only am I expected to take this to the post office with 3 children under the age of 4, but we have to pay extra money to return parts?! My husband called FP back today & they were then able to send us a postage-paid slip on e-mail,including the insurance portion...but it will still take 4 weeks for us to get our chair after they receive their parts from us. If I didnt care so much, I'd simply buy a new chair at the store & return the defective one in that box so we would have a working chair at no extra cost to us, but I wouldn't want anyone else to get stuck with this seat!Customer Review: Versatile, high-quality, must-have seat!
Summary: 5 Stars
This seat has a ton more room for a growing baby to sit in, than any other "bouncer" seat out there. It is more like a comfy lounge chair that you can safely buckle the baby into (and I have even caught my 2 1/2 year old lounging in it occasionally).
My first little guy sat in it and napped in it a lot during the first year of his life. He would lounge and play with toys or just look around and watch me do housework.
My first baby didn't really care much for the attachment that had the music and fish, so I just removed it. But my second baby loved to sit and watch the fish and listen to the music when he was little for a good 15 minute stretch. Now, he sits in it every once in a while and bounces some (minus the attachment) while I wash dishes or need to keep him contained for a little while (he is a fast crawler), so I can get a quick task done around the house without him under my feet.
I don't know if the attachment will last through another child. It is slowing down and making a few strange sounds (it may just need a new battery, but I haven't really felt compelled to investigate the matter since I am not using the attachment right now.)
I think the seat itself will last through as many more kids as I have. It seems extremely well made. It is a little pricey, but worth the money. - mom of 2 boys