A Baby Bouncer
Table of Contents
Eda Shan likened new baby to the beginning of all things – wonder, hope, and a dream of possibilities.
The arrival of a newborn brings a lot of warmth and cheer.
Many congratulations are passed and gifts generously sent just to celebrate the new mother and newborn.
It’s usually a wonderful time for close friends and family members to pass their love and support to the new set.
The festivities continue into the first weeks and months of the duo.
During this time, as the newborn settles into his/her new family, the parents are then faced with the next adventure- baby care!
The honest truth is that with new born babies, your whole world could very easily revolve around them.
A lot of specialized care and nurture is needed as the baby grows and develops.
This has had a majority of new mothers and fathers spend a significant amount of time and resources to prepare for the arrival of the new born, it’s caring, nursing and development for the months and years to come.
A lot of research goes in to determine essential things such as the baby’s diet and nutrition, advisable day and night time routines, how they should be propped up, how they should be held and carried, what newborn essentials should be bought, the list is endless really.
With definite determination and caution, the new parents or soon to-be parents draft a list of dos’, don’ts and ‘must haves.
Central to the equipment’s needed to complete the baby care package, is a decent baby bouncer.
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Baby Bouncers
Baby bouncers are padded seats that allow the baby to comfortably rest and recline in. Each is secured with one or more safety straps.
They are designed with the aim of affording vital support and protection to the newborn’s neck, core and head.
Bodies of babies between 1 to 12 months are extremely delicate.
Within this time frame, very little muscle strength has been built to secure the baby’s movement of limbs or their head and thus they are prone to easily fall and slide.
Baby bouncers are considered convenient equipment that allows the baby to recline while playing or resting.
As the golden rule of newborn babies’ states, never leave the baby unattended to, it may become hectic to always travel around carrying your child.
However, errands such as rushing to the grocery store or mall, or even hosting an outdoor picnic become convenient to do with the baby strapped safely in the bouncer next to you.
This helps one to still attend to what needs to be done while closely monitoring the baby.
Features of a baby bouncer
Modern baby bouncers vary in features, comfort and luxury.
Some of the common characteristics of most bouncers include:
Padded seat that affords one to multiple seating positions
Support/ Bounce that is activated by the baby’s natural body movement
Adjustable vibration mechanism designed to soothe and calm the baby
Small built in sound machine that plays music also designed to soothe the baby
Detachable/ affixed toy bar
Foldable for easy transportation.
Types of Bouncers
Bouncers can generally be categorized into baby bouncers or toddler bouncers.
Baby bouncers are designed for babies who cannot sit up and are still very delicate, whereas toddler bouncers are designed for mature babies, those who have a more developed core and general body muscle to support distinct and coordinated movement.
Fortunately, with the advent of technology a majority of modern prime bouncers are developed to serve both purposes, providing comfort to your baby to up to 3 years of age.
Bouncers have been specialized to fit specific development needs of the child
Bouncer chairs
These are designed to allow the baby recline and soothe them.
It is therefore equipped with a ‘bounce’ technology that follows after the baby’s movement.
A sit- in bouncer
This is a baby bouncer that allows the baby to stand in a semi-reclined position.
This bouncer is adapted to promote the limb strength of the baby in preparation for walking and coordinated limb movements.
The baby is tucked into a suspended seat that is designed to allow the child to stand up straight… or at least to try to.
In this bouncer, the baby has several toys attached that provide additional entertainment to the child while playing.
A Door Bouncer
This bouncer has a door way frame attached to it by means of secured clamps.
It allows the baby to turn and jump as they play with the toys attached.
The most common baby bouncer is the baby chair.
This is because the baby is yet to develop a strong spine to sit upright.
This reclined position allows the baby to turn and gaze at objects around it or play with the toy at the tool bar comfortably.
Is it okay to sleep a baby in a bouncer?
Typically, with babies, their sleeping patterns are unpredictable.
Babies may tend to rise early in the morning, sleep late into the night with frequent long and short naps in between the day.
But again, this is relative.
As a result, most infants may end up falling asleep in the baby bouncer which may prove hazardous.
According to studies undertaken and published in the Journal of Pediatrics 2015 and a further study published in Pediatrics recently, sleep- related death is the leading cause of infant homicide of infants under 1 year of age.
The studies revealed that most of these deaths transpired as the infant slept in a car seat, swing and a bouncer.
Bouncers were not designed for sleep but for the baby to sit and recline on.
Therefore, harmless features may pose great threat to the infant if they suddenly fall asleep.
A safety strap for example, may pose significant danger as it may end up strangling or suffocating the baby as they toss and turn while asleep.
This may be due to the baby sinking too deep into the seat that the belt may constrict their chest thereby restricting their airwaves.
This would lead to a condition termed as positional asphyxia.
Also, the bouncer may be prone to flip over and fall if it is not securely placed on a flat wide surface as the baby turns.
Advisably, a baby should always be placed in a crib to sleep. The crib should be stable and firm.
A firm mattress should always be used and the baby placed to sleep on its back.
How long can a baby be in a bouncer for?
Baby bouncers are relatively comfortable for a baby to spend time in.
However, babies should only spend 20 to 30 minutes per time, in a bouncer.
This is to prevent the baby from sleeping in it and alternatively to allow the baby to engage in other activities such as eating, playing and crawling.
Why are Baby Bouncers bad?
In and off themselves, baby bouncers are not bad; however, they can lead to a positive or negative outcome depending on how they are used.
Most parents and guardians are advised to limit the amount of time a baby spends in a bouncer and ensure that any such duration is closely monitored.
This is because; if they are left for long periods of time in bouncers, babies are at prone to several hazardous eventualities such as:
Asphyxiation
Asphyxiation is the medical term given to the decrease of oxygen level and increase in carbon dioxide level in the blood that results in unconsciousness and eventual death of a person.
In this case, the baby stops to breathe completely because its air passages become constricted.
This is a potential hazard especially when the baby falls asleep in the bouncer unattended to.
He/she may be constricted and suffocated by the fastened safety belts.
Positional Plagiocephaly
This is whereby either side or back of the baby’s head is flattened due to reclining their head in the same position over a long period of time.
The bones of newly born infants and toddlers are very soft and susceptible to alteration of shape when constantly pressed upon.
While reclining in the same position, an infant’s weight tends to be lie on the side he/she is inclined on, the press on this body part, commonly the head, flattens its shape gradually.
Slow development
Research shows that babies who spend more time in their bouncers are slower in developing motor skills such as crawling and walking.
These skills are primarily developed when the baby is allowed enough time to play on the floor which promotes the instinctive desire and attempts to crawl and walk.
Agitation
In bouncers that have a toy bar, the baby may get too excited playing with the toys and thus hyperactive.
Eventually the baby’s limbs will get exhausted but the excitement will still drive them to keep playing.
This will result in agitation and crying.
Lack of sleep
Where babies are repeatedly left for long periods of time in their bouncers, the excitement of playing with the toys, may later hinder them from falling asleep when they ought to, because they are still hyper-active.
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