Fisher Price Rainforest Bouncer - a Parent's Best Friend

Before having my baby, I knew that a bouncer was an essential item to have. From my experience babysitting through the years I had seen the many pluses of having a bouncer so that a parent can have some hands free moments and the baby will still be content.

I started looking at different bouncers available on the market and came across the Fisher Price Rainforest Bouncer. The Fisher Price Rainforest line was just coming out at the time, so this was one of the newest bouncers on the market. I decided to go with this bouncer because of its fun looking toy bar and the fun colors.

Appearance:
The Fisher Price Rainforest Bouncer is very colorful. It has a bright green jungle pattern material that makes up the seat. Above the seat is a toy bar with a light up plastic waterfall, moving animals, and 2 toys hanging down within baby's reach. The bouncer also has safety straps so that you can buckle baby in.

Assembly:
The Fisher Price Rainforest Bouncer requires some assembly, but it is very quick and easy. The bouncer comes with all of the necessary parts, but you will need a Phillips screwdriver. Most of the assembly involves sliding pieces together and screwing them in place. This is easily accomplished by following the instructions in the included manual. It took me less than 10 minutes to put the bouncer together.

Bouncer Features:
One of the best features of the Fisher Price Rainforest Bouncer is the seat vibrator. A button on the front of the bouncer turns on this feature which starts a light, soothing vibration. My son loves this and is instantly calmed when I turn it on. Another fun feature of the Rainforest bouncer is the toy bar that goes across in front of baby. On top of the bar is a toy waterfall which lights up blue and has a moving water illusion. Hanging from the bar are two little toys that swing. When they are swung it activates music and sound effects and turns on the waterfall. There are also little moving animal characters that move up and down by the waterfall.

The Rainforest bouncer has two power options. One turns on the toy features and keeps them running continuously. The other lets the baby control them by kicking the hanging toys. If the parent doesn't want the toy bar on the chair it is easily removed. This is a nice feature because it makes getting the baby in and out of the seat very easy.

I do have some complaints about the toy bar. When my son is in the seat the toy bar goes over the bottoms of his legs. This location makes it hard for his hands to reach anything. In order for him to activate any of the toys he has to kick his legs. One of the other problems with the toy bar is that the hanging toys hang too low. One of the toys rests on my son's legs now that he is bigger. It seems that the toy bar would be better if it had been made to sit higher up on the bouncer.

Batteries:
One of the downsides to the Fisher Price Rainforest Bouncer is that it requires 4 "D" batteries. This is not uncommon for bouncers, but still annoying because batteries get expensive. On the bright side, for the first month of my son's life we did not use the toy bar and only used the vibration feature. With frequent use of the vibrator the batteries lasted for a month, so we have not had to replace them very often. Having the toy bar set to the baby activated option will save battery power as well when it is in use because it does not run constantly.

I love that I can put my son in the Fisher Price Rainforest Bouncer and know he is going to be safe and entertained for a little while so I can have my hands free to get some errands done. The Rainforest bouncer is very lightweight, so it is easily moveable. My son and the bouncer move around the apartment with me when I need to go to a different room. On a recent vacation to Lake Powell the Fisher Price Rainforest Bouncer was a lifesaver for us because it gave our son a comfortable, safe place to sit on the houseboat, without having to bring other, larger baby items. Overall, the Fisher Price Rainforest Bouncer is a fun, convenient choice for parents wanting a bouncer for their baby.

The bouncer retails for around $50.