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122 of 125 found the following review helpful:
 Best money ever spent! Dec 20, 2009
By Kristen Anne Riley
I wish I had this for my daughter six years ago. Just like with my daughter, my new son (3 weeks old) doesn't like to be put down and lay flat on his back in his pack and play or crib. This sleeper is PERFECT! He's been sleeping in it for the past two days. I got the dishes done with two hands and I slept so much better last night without him in the bed (and the worry that goes with that).
The sleeper is in the reclined sitting position that you naturally hold a baby in. He doesn't even notice that I'm not holding him anymore. And while he's cozy and snug, there isn't any safety concern with breathing space.
This is easy to put together (I did it by myself) and light weight enough to tote around the house.
I love this product and recommend it to anyone with a newborn that doesn't like to be put down!!
72 of 74 found the following review helpful:
What took them so long? Feb 09, 2010
By TeamSteph
I've had this product for three nights. Each night, our 7.5 week old son has slept more soundly and for increasing longer periods. Prior to buying this, we were using an Arm's Reach mini-cosleeper and he was waking up every night at 3:30am and 6 am. The first night in this he slept until 4:30am, then 5:30 and last night he slept from 9:30pm until 6am and after eating for 40 mins, went back to sleep until 10am. Woohooo!
Our co-sleeper worked well for our daughter (who was sleeping through the night at 8 weeks) and is another product I would highly recommend. However, our son seems to have more congestion and needs to be elevated to sleep well. We propped him up in the co-sleeper but he still tossed and turned and snorted and coughed, frequently waking himself up. I've always been disappointed with the products on the market for elevating sleeping babies, especially since the most effective options are not approved for sleeping. So, I was very excited to see this on display at Babies R Us. I did't buy it right away. I checked on Amazon and the price was higher and it was not eligible for Prime shipping, so I went back to Babies R' Us.
I should also add that we are still swaddling our son while he sleeps in this. He's such a big and strong baby that the only swaddle blanket that works is the Miracle Blanket (another highly recommended baby product). With this blanket I can leave his legs out and still use the harness. It's not really necessary but it's better than having him sleep on the buckle. Without the swaddle his sudden arm movements disturb him. I expect however, that eventually we'll use this without the swaddle.
The design of this product is very simple but it's perfect for what we needed. I don't know why it took so long to come to market. I can't think of a better recommendation than a sleeping baby.
A few other points:
-it rocks very smoothly and easily
-has mesh on the side to allow for air flow
-seems comfortable, even for my big boy (he's already 12+ lbs)
-is very light
-seems very stable
-is lower that our bed (a normal queen mattress with frame & boxspring) but its easy to look over and check on the baby from bed
115 of 137 found the following review helpful:
 was great at first, but then received terrible news Sep 02, 2010
By MacKinnon
Product Description
Fisher-Price Newborn Rock 'n Play Sleeper Soothe, sleep or play night or day. The Newborn Rock 'n Play Sleeper is a nighttime sleeper and playtime seat all in one. And it's the only infant seat that meets industry safety standards for bassinets. So besides using it as a perfect place for baby to rock and play during the day, you can also use it as a place for baby to sleep at night.
Sigh. This was the perfect little sleeper for my son. It was portable so I could keep him right by my side when he slept at night. The box stated that it was specifically for sleeping, so we used it as a sleeper for night time only. I trusted that this product would work as well as it looked, but I am so sorry that I ever bought this.
I have realized that most of the reviews on this product have come within the first few weeks of life, and not very many have posted about using this after the first three months.
As a result of the hard plastic seat insert that my son slept on his head has an inverted spot from where the seat curved out and into his head. Perhaps ours was made wrong, and this is why the edge curved in.
He received lots of tummy time, being held, and rarely wanted to be on his back during the day. He now has to spend the next three to six months of his life in a special helmet so that his head won't be malformed for the rest of his life. We have seen three specialists now and a physical therapist to correct the problems that were caused by this sleeper. The costs for these doctors is in the thousands.
I agree that this would be perfect for babies with reflux etc. but please weigh your options for an older child (2 or 3 months). Inserts are not safe to be used with this product, as you cannot securely buckle your child in. (Well, we couldn't)
I would not recommend this product to anyone, especially not after the first few weeks of birth. I feel so guilty about this happening to my son - it could have been prevented had I only done my research. With so many babies ending up with this happening, I would not have bought the product.
UPDATE: 5/25/2012
I now see there is a "deluxe" version of this product.
I purchased this product for my son in 2010 - it was the yellow one. I've now seen this product on sale, so I feel I need to leave a review of our experience on this product. At first, this was the perfect baby product for us. If you'll read all the 5 star reviews, you'll see they are all within the first week or so of using this product. What they don't tell you, is that after three months of use as a sleeper - which this item is approved for -
This product left my son permanently disfigured. He will never be that perfect baby he was when he was born. And yes, his head was perfectly round when he was born. Yes, he was held for most of the day, had tummy time, and no, he was not neglected and left in the sleeper all day long.
This product has a hard plastic shell, and the top of it was curled outward, right into my baby's head.
This left a large DENT in the back of his head. It also left his neck and shoulder muscles so constricted he couldn't turn his head correctly. He required PT for this.
Close to $3000 thousand dollars later, (and all out of pocket because military insurance covers none of this) my son son will never be the same. We had to purchase a helmet, which our insurance refused to cover, despite the documentation from numerous doctors stating it was medically necessary. Physical therapy for a baby is heart-wrenching as a mother to watch. The helmet could not fully correct the severity of my son's head, which his doctors truly believe would not have happened if he were not in this sleeper as a bed and had been able to stretch out and move around like he would have been able to in a crib. He was stuck in one position in the sleeper when he was little. He hated his crib. He refused to sleep in it at night, so we used the sleeper, which, again - is approved as an all night long sleeping device, per the product description.
He turns two tomorrow, and with every bath, haircut or hat that doesn't fit correctly, I'm reminded of what this sleeper did to my son. It gave him brachycephaly.
I know it won't happen to every child, but please, as a parent, BE AWARE of the possibility, and be prepared for the consequences should something happen. You never know if your child will be susceptible to this or not. This was a fantastic product, but had I known then what it would do to my son, I would give anything to take it all back.
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Baby has reflux and have used this product for 6 months now Jul 01, 2011
By MMF
After reading some of the reviews on this sleeper I decided to post my own. My daughter is 6 months (full term baby) and we have used this sleeper since we brought her home from the hospital. She was diagnosed with torticollis within 24hrs of delivery, apnea due to reflux at about 2wks of age, and sinus tachycardia. We have never been able to lay her flat on anything due to the severe discomfort of her reflux and threat of apnic episodes so this bed has been great. We have used it with the baby head roll (used with car seats) to help stabilize her head and neck and prevent worsening of her torticollis symptoms. Her bed has been checked out by the pediatrician and physical therapist (who does home therapy) and they both have approved her bed. She started sleeping through the night at 4wks and sleeps from 9pm to 9am every night so she spends plenty of time in it. (We've only used it at night though). Her 6mo check up was yesterday and the Dr said she has a SLIGHT flat spot on the back of her head which is completely normal and happens in 95% of infants laying on any type of bed. As they start sitting up on their own their head shapes up. Her Dr says her torticollis symptoms are almost gone. Ive seen on some of the reviews that people have claimed that their child developed torticollis from this bed, all I have to say is if the baby is sleeping with its head on its shoulder I could see how that may happen. Thats why the head rolls were invented. If they cant stabilize their head you need to do it for them till they build up their muscles so protect them while they sleep. If it were true that this bed caused torticollis my baby's torticollis wouldn't have improved within the 6mos shes been using this sleeper every night for 10-12hrs a night. Her gross and fine motor skills are right on cue, no physical developmental problems, no underdeveloped muscles.
I also swaddled her up till 2 weeks ago, now shes too wiggly and I have to use the built in belt. She is 14.9 lbs/ 25.5" and I will try to use it as long as (safely) possible! The sleeper has been awesome! We've taken it on vacation, easy to fold up and move, easy to take pad off and wash, has been the best piece of baby gear we own! Hope this helps!
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
 Mixed feelings Feb 04, 2012
By Momof3!
I am both a mother of 3 (and 1 more on the way) and also work in pediatrics. I used this sleeper for my 3rd child and loved it for many reasons. She slept great in it....by far my best sleeper, which what mom doesn't love! It is portable, which made it easy to keep by my bed at night but move around during the day. However, we were using it for both daytime and nighttime sleep and I did start to notice some flatness on the back of her head. By that point she was 4 months old and needed to be transitioning into a crib anyways; the flatness resolved once we started using the crib more. Overall I have very mixed feelings about this sleeper.
I am involved with a program that evaluates children with torticollis and plagiocephaly. I have probably seen several hundred babies with these conditions and I can count on 2 hands the number of times the families have used the rock and play sleeper. This sleeper does not cause either condition, but I feel it can exacerbate it. Torticollis is neck muscle tightness that causes a child to look in 1 direction and tilt to the other direction. I feel the tightness is typically a result of inter-utero positioning. I would say the majority of babies are born with a preference to look in 1 direction. When lying on their backs, newborns can only hold their head midline for a few seconds before turning it to 1 side. Typically, if a newborn is placed in a variety of positions (ie being held, tummy time, "worn" in an infant carrier) the neck muscles stretch out and there is no problem. But some babies have such a strong preference to look one way that torticollis develops, and then they get a flat spot on the side they prefer to look towards. This flat spot is called plagiocephaly. If the flat spot is in the back middle, that usually means there is no neck muscle tightness and the child is simply spending too much time on his or her back. If the flat spot is to 1 side, the child probably also has torticollis.
Torticollis and plagiocephaly were virtually unheard of when children were placed to sleep on their bellies. I am of course in full support of the back to sleep program, but parents need educated that when babies are awake they should spend very little time on their backs (or in a swing, bouncy seat, car seat etc) to counteract the fact that they sleep on their backs. With regards to the sleeper, I think one of the "issues" is that babies DO sleep so well in it. The cradled position makes them feel like they are being held and they just sleep better. My own baby slept great in it and I have loaned it out to other moms who had poor sleepers and they all said it instantly made their babies sleep better. But because the baby sleeps so great, he/she spends a lot of time with pressure on the back of the head, and the head area of this sleeper is very poorly padded. Also, in a flat bassinette, the baby may be able to actively move his/her head more and roll from side to side more than in this sleeper. The cradled position of this sleeper can cause a child with some existing neck muscle tightness to remain in the tilted/turned position during sleep.
With the above being said, I still do like this sleeper, esp for fussy babies that won't sleep on their backs. It can be a lifesaver for sleep exhausted parents! But I feel there are some precautions and I share these with any families I know use the sleeper. I would only use it for EITHER nighttime or daytime sleep, not both. If using it for sleep I would not use it for any awake time. Also, if you use this sleeper, do watch the back of your baby's head (but this should be happening no matter where your child sleeps as infants can get plagiocephaly from sleeping in a crib/bassinette) as well as his/her head position while in the sleeper. Make sure your baby gets lots of tummy time when awake. If you do notice any flatness/tightness developing, discontinue use and talk to your pediatrician immediately...it is much easier to treat and correct torticollis and plagiocephaly in an infant (preferably before 4 months of age).
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