The Mamas & Papas Apollo Bouncer is suitable from birth to six months so we put it to the test to see if it's worth its premium price-tag.
Baby bouncers are a great place to put babies if you need a few moments with both hands free (although you should never leave a baby unattended in one). They often come with attached and integrated toys, vibrations, and sounds, meaning they're a first step to helping your baby discover the world around them.
If you're shopping around to find the best baby bouncer to buy, the Mamas & Papas Apollo bouncer is a worthy contender. It comes with a soft newborn head pillow and adjustable straps, which make it feel safe and secure for babies from birth to six months. That's not all - this baby bouncer has interactive features for your baby to enjoy including music, vibration, and bouncing movement - a great way to calm a baby down and buy a few precious moments while you make a cup of tea or warm their bottle.
One of the biggest advantages of the Apollo baby bouncer is the fact that it can be used from birth. Many bouncers aren't secure enough for newborns but this one has been designed to give them enough support.
"We started using the Apollo when Freddie was around four weeks old - she just felt too delicate to put down anywhere before then," admitted Anna.
"It does have a lot of support for a newborn, including the three-way strap and the head-hugging pillow. It also has vibrations and movements that mimic mum’s heartbeat, and black and white toys, which are perfect for very young babies as they’re the only colours they can see at first," Anna added. "At the time of testing Freddie was three months old, and she was in and out of it several times a day. She was always really happy in it."
The Mamas & Papas Apollo bouncer is a muted, neutral design and colourway so it will appeal to parents who don't want garish baby gear cluttering up their home. But it also has plenty of interactive features to keep babies interested and entertained as they grow and become more interested in the world around them.
"It’s really nice for Freddie to have the option to sit at 45 degrees and have a good look around," Anna commented. "It was particularly handy when she reached the age where she started to notice the world around her, and showed interest in everything."
Price and availability
The Mamas & Papas' Apollo Bouncer usually retails at around £90, making it one of the more expensive baby bouncers you could choose. At the time of writing, Amazon is running a promotion offering 11% off, meaning its purchase price is £79.
Anna thought the Apollo justified its price tag because, while it's stylish and nice to have in your home, it's backed up with great features your baby will love, and is also safe and secure.
"It is great quality and it feels like a premium piece of baby gear, but, it's packed with practical, interactive features as well," she said. "I think some top-of-the-range baby items are too focussed on looking good, without being as safe or fun as possible for the baby."
Design and features
Weighs: 3.28 kg | Age: Birth to 6 months
Our parent tester, Anna, was really impressed by the overall look of the Apollo Bouncer. "Its laid-back oval design reminds me of a funky 60s-style chair," she said. "I love the neutral colour, and the fabric. It feels stylish, premium, and quite minimalist. You can’t help but have a lot of baby products around, so it’s always nice when they’re not too garish."
But this is a bouncer designed for babies as well as style-conscious parents. "Freddie loves looking at the toys and really likes the motion settings. The left button makes everything bounce, and the right side is more of a gentle consistent vibration - which is supposed to mimic mum’s heartbeat," adds Anna. "There’s also great attention to detail - the writing on the music box, and the hanging toys are all incredibly charming and cute."
The bouncer is quite light and easy to carry around with one hand. "It’s not impossible to carry Freddie at the same time, though I’m not sure how much longer we’ll get away with that as she’s getting heavier every day."
How we tested
- Assembled the baby bouncer to see how difficult it is to put together
- Tested out the baby bouncer for the full six months
- Used all the different features to see how useful they are
Things you won't find on the box
Mamas & Papas has clearly put some careful thought into how the different features of the Apollo work.
"It’s great that you have the option to move the toy bar," said Anna. "We took it off for the first couple of months, as Freddie was too young to be interested in it and I wasn’t very confident navigating her around it when I put her in or out of the chair. Quite often, she accidentally knocked it off anyway with her legs as I was lifting her out."
As well as things to look at and interact with, the Apollo comes with some (not-too-annoying) sound effects. "It has this ‘music book’, which plays four tunes: there’s Play, Lullaby, Smile, and Dream," Anna explains. "I wasn’t sure if Freddie was really paying much attention to these, but recently, she accidentally kicked the noise off and then started to get very fussy until I pushed it back on again, so she definitely seems to like it. Be warned, some of them are quite catchy - I caught my husband humming one of the songs while brushing his teeth the other day!"
Freddie didn't seem very interested in the crinkle pads but Anna thought that might change as she grew older. "I also like that you can detach the toys and add them to another mobile or play gym if you want to," she added. "And another plus - one set of batteries lasted the full six months without us having to replace them!"
Who's it best for
Anna feels the Mamas & Papas' Apollo Bouncer would best suit 'someone who appreciates good quality, modern, minimalist and stylish designs, and neutral colours'. She also thinks the fact that it can be used from newborn up to six months would be a big selling point for some parents, specifically those 'who value safety and want to be able to use their product for more than just a couple of months'.
Need an alternative?
At around £90, this baby bouncer costs more than some parents may wish to spend on an item that lasts around six months. (Although it's likely to hold its value should you consider selling it after use.) If you want something a little more affordable, we named the Babymoov Graphik Bouncer our Best Overall Buy. Alternatively, the Joie Sansa 2-in-1 rocker has a self-rocking motion that many parents rave about.
Shopping for more baby equipment? Take a look at our guide to choosing the best cot mattress or have a look at our roundups of the best travel cots and Moses baskets.
