Joie Sansa 2-in-1 Rocker Review

Our parent reviewer put the Joie Sansa 2-in-1 Rocker to the test - find out if it's right for you and your baby. 

The Joie Sansa 2-in-1 Rocker gets our vote as one of the best baby bouncers you can buy and is ideal for parents who move around the house a lot. Perhaps because you're looking after an active toddler as well as your baby, for instance.  As well as the bouncer seat, it has a lightweight removable section that doubles as a portable rocking seat. This makes it easy to move from room to room with your baby. It’s suitable from birth until your baby weighs 9kg which is around six months old.

Design

Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Weighs: 7.36kg | Suitable for: Birth to 9kg | Batteries required: 4 x 1.5v D

Sometimes you find a piece of baby gear that's brilliantly designed with both style and practicality in mind. This is one of those moments. The Sansa 2 in 1 Rocker is much more than just a baby bouncer chair. It's designed to sway gently from front to back or from side to side. It can even do a combination of both.

What's more, you can set the swing motion to suit your baby's preferences. Sometimes parents buy a baby bouncer and discover that their baby is more of a speed fan than the seat allows for. Or perhaps a really bouncy chair is too much for a 'zen' tot. But with this rocker, you can get the settings just right to suit your baby.

The Joie Sansa 2-in-1 Rocker comes with a toy bar with two plush toys attached. It also has a vibrating setting and plays classical lullabies and nature sounds. The seat has three different recline positions. These are easy to adjust according to how active or sleepy your baby is feeling.

Despite being packed with lots of functionality, this baby bouncer is compactly designed so it won't take up loads of space. But our favourite feature is the removable inner seat, which turns 90 degrees on the frame. This means you can lift it off and use it as a portable rocking seat. You can also halt the rocking motion using the 'rock stop' foot.

You'll need an A/C power adapter or 4D batteries for the main rocking function and sounds, and a 1D battery for the vibration setting.

Compared to other baby bouncer chairs, this is a fairly bulky item. However, that's more in terms of its height than the floor space it occupies, so it's still a good buy if you're short on floor space. It doesn't store very easily though, and you can't really take it away with you very easily for travel use.

Comfort and features

The huge advantage the Joie Sansa 2-in-1 Rocker has over other bouncers is that it rocks itself. That feature alone makes this baby seat worth buying, according to our tester, Louise. It makes this a less high-maintenance bouncer chair than others as you don't have to keep frantically dashing over to it to keep it moving. That means babies who enjoy the rocking and swinging motion are likely to enjoy sitting in this chair without getting bored or restless as quickly as they might in seats that don't keep moving.

'It’s also quite a snug fit,' adds Louisa. 'Which makes a big difference for a newborn. I think it's a tad more cosy and comforting than bigger baby chair would be.'

However, if you're a fan of minimalism and like simplistic design, then the Joie Sansa 2-in-1 Rocker might not appeal to you. 'We nicknamed it 'the space ship' because it has lots of buttons and looks a bit like it might take off any moment,' adds Louisa. 'The music it plays is nicer than many other bouncers. I don't think the baby cares too much about it but it's nice for the parents to listen to a classical tune rather than a cheesy lullaby.'

Our tester's only criticism is that this baby seat is a little fiddly to assemble. Keep that in mind if you're not a fan of DIY. 'Unfortunately, assembling this drove me slightly nuts,' explains Louisa. 'As a very sleep-deprived parent, I'm not a fan of anything too complicated and I had to look up additional instructions online to figure out how to put it together.' Still, that's a fair price to pay for such a versatile bit of baby kit.

And if you're not keen on faffing around with batteries or having to keep a spare stash for when they run out, you can also plug this into the wall. Just be careful not to trip over the cable.

Value for money

The Joie Sansa 2-in-1 Rocker is not a cheap baby chair. You'll be parting with quite a wad of cash if you go for this one. Some parents prefer to put their budget towards bigger items and keep things simple when it comes to basics like baby bouncer chairs. If, on the other hand, you're looking to invest in a baby seat that will provide hours of entertainment for your little one, this is ideal.

'I’m not sure this would work very well for getting a baby to sleep. But it does free you up if your baby insists on being rocked or bounced all the time. And it saves your back from doing that manually, which is a huge plus,' says Louisa. 'It’s also a good height. My baby feels closer to me in this compared to other seats, especially when I'm sitting on the sofa or at the table.'

Overall, we think the Joie Sansa 2-in-1 Rocker is good value for money - especially when you factor in the self-rocking functionality. Think of the hours you'll save yourself! The fact that it has a secondary portable rocker that you can easily take with you from room to room throughout the day is also a real bonus.

For a more classic design, you might like to take a look at our Babymoov Graphik Bouncer review. And, don't miss the rest of our baby product reviews.