Baby swings and bouncers, there are quite a few on the market yet I had no idea what to get.
My husband and I were not sure what we even wanted, What do you even look for? Is the swing with 10 different speeds and vibrations the best? We had no idea! After my usual hours spent reading reviews online we couldn't decide what to do, we didn't even know if we would need one. Would our babe like a swing? Would our babe just be happy playing on the mat? Surely our baby would just happily entertain herself right? leaving plenty of time for this mumma to get everything done!? HAHA I know right?? I was kidding myself really.
We decided to wait until our little bundle arrived and just see if their was a need.
My brother, sister in law and niece sadly left Australia for the USA leaving behind plenty of baby items that were fortunately stored under our house, (yes I know totally convenient for us). When going through all their baby gear (with permission of course) we found their Nuna Leaf, black and grey ( they call it the twilight) in all its glory, I remember when my sister in law was pregnant this was the baby swing of their choice. So of course we decided that Sophie had to try the Leaf.... and she loved it! She loved it at just a couple of weeks old and yep you guessed it she loves it now at ten weeks old, in fact I think she loves it even more, it's her best friend, with the leaf getting more giggles out of her than what her Mumma and Dadda do!
The leaf we have was purchased a little over two years ago for my niece, it looks amazing, super stylish and matches our living area perfectly which is an added bonus for this mumma. The Leaf sways so gently side to side that even I get sleepy watching it, this specially designed motion is unlike any other baby swings I have found on the market, able to effortlessly glide with just a gentle little push.
it is angled perfectly so when our girl is a bit windy or has the dreaded reflux and doesn't want to be laying flat on her mat she is ever so comfy in it. The safety harness is nice and secure, the quality of this product is evident with the safety harness, you know your baby will be safe which is so important, especially in those first few anxious few weeks of being a new mumma and trusting your little precious bundle in something other that our cosy and safe arms! All though the leaf looks heavy and sturdy (again winning points for safety anxious mumma) I totally thought it would be hard to move around... well I was wrong. I find the leaf super easy to move around the house, great when you are cooking, cleaning or having a shower. This is also made easy by the lead having no cords, moving it is a breeze. This also means that the leaf is silent, I don't have a lot of experience with other baby swings but have read that some can be on the noisy side and certainly found this when trying out some others in the baby shops, spending a few minutes with nothing but your babe happily chatting away to her leaf friends is heaven, no squeaks or sound from the leaf what so ever.
I was skeptical of the lack of power or batteries to move the Leaf to make it swing, but as promised the leaf sways for a good couple of minutes once you give it a push, this push is usually more of a gentle nudge as it's just that good. My husband loves all things technology, so naturally as a fellow Leaf lover he said that the Leaf would be even better if there was an option to make it move for those times when you can't give it the nudge... not long after this discussion we found that the leaf wind exists, now we don't have this product but YES, WOW, I can see the benefits especially for babies that want that constant movement, we would love to try the wind out one day but given the quality of the Leaf I am sure this would be just as good and make the Leaf even more magical!
Luckily for us even when the swing slows to a standstill our girl happily plays with her toy bar and chills by herself, she loves the movement but loves the stillness also, now, Sophie LOVES the toy bar (and I mean love, she has an extra special friendship with one toy in particular, LOVES it), the smiles, the coo's and caa's and newly started giggles we get from this product are the best!
The Leaf is epically stylish and effortless calming for both this new mumma and bubba and provides hours of entertainment for our little lady which we all know is a winner for mums and dads as it means we have time to cook, clean and even put our feet up, and what mumma doesn't need that?
I love that the leaf can go from birth to 26 kg, we recently tested this when our family came home, our 2 year old niece just had to try her baby Sophie's Leaf (little did she remember that the leaf is actually hers) and she loved it, it was comfortable for her to lay on and watch TV and also fun as she could sway the Leaf herself. This aspect of the Leaf sets it apart from many others, you can see it really being utilised for longer than the first baby stage of life, yep, a total Winner! Another winner is how well it copes with all things that come along with babes, one of which many of us know to well, poo explosions, yep, it happens and of course our beautiful baby had to do this at least once whilst playing on her Leaf.... poo every where!!! A quick read of the wash instructions on the Leaf and into the washing machine it went, thankfully no evidence of this day exists, the Leafs padded cover washed up as new, which for a baby product is essential.
Better yet and for many mummas up there in importance is how the leaf is made and of course the Nuna Leaf is responsibly made with mindful manufacturing and the products used aim to reduce the toxins exposed to our little bambinos!
All though I am borrowing this product it is definitely one I would recommend and will buy when my family comes home and takes back their Leaf for their enjoyment, in fact I think my niece is all ready looking forward to her next leaf date!
Nuna quotes "The truth is, their gear will be around for years, so we aim for stuff that can hang tough at a play date, not embarrass the kids as they grow up and keep your entire house from redefining itself as a play room. We hope you agree." YES Nuna we agree!
So overall you can see that I love the Leaf, my husband loves the Leaf and Sophie loves the Leaf. We are most definitely Leaf lovers.
We have happily joined the nuna family. To find out more or join our Leaf loving family go to http://www.nuna.eu/en/
Kahlia xx