Chicco Baby Hug 4-in-1 review

Having two-under-two means anything that makes my life easier is an absolute lifesaver. Before Pearl arrived I knew I’d need to create a safe place for her to sleep and play – away from naughty little toddler fingers and Robbie’s boisterous waggy tail, or I would never get a thing done, that is why I’m loving the Chicco Baby Hug 4-in-1. With Violet I had a pod cushion and she would nap on sofa next to me, but now she’s a raucous toddler who treats the sofa like a soft play, I knew this wouldn’t an option! It would be a recipe for disaster. I’m sure Pearl would be poked, prodded, woken up constantly or even turfed off onto the floor if we weren’t careful. Without a safe space I wouldn’t be able to turn my back for two seconds so it was an absolute essential.

While I was pregnant, I did a bit of research to find the right option for Pearl and found the Chicco Baby Hug 4-in-1 to be the perfect solution. It’s a crib, bouncy seat, high chair and first toddler seat all rolled into one very clever package. Plus, something that appealed to me was that it’s not just for the newborn days – it goes from birth-36 months, so I knew it would be a product that would last so much longer than a moses basket or bouncy seat. As Violet’s only 19 months she can still use it too!

At the moment we have it set up in the crib setting which is ideal for a newborn with lots of room to grow into. This setting is a lovely spacious crib with a completely flat mattress and sturdy high sides which creates a safe sleeping environment – it is even safe to use for overnight sleeps too. I’ve added a muslin to the mattress just to make it even softer and easier to clean too. The crib setting is also ideal if your little one has colic or reflux as you can tip the angle of the crib at the touch of a button to add a gentle incline. The only downside I’ve found is that I wish it had a vibrate or slight rocking setting as I’m always sitting by the side rocking Pearl to sleep, but I guess it can’t do everything for me!

The Chicco Baby Hug has a toy bar with three sensory toys to keep your little ones attention. As Pearl has turned 8 weeks I’ve noticed them catching her eye more and more which keeps her entertained for longer if she’s awake. Obviously she can’t reach out and touch them yet but they have different colours and textures for when she can. The bar also has a light with changing colours and plays music in two settings – one is fun and uplifting the other relaxing for sleep time. Pearl loves the soothing music but Violet always asks for the upbeat tunes, to which she dances around the room, waving her arms in the air!

As you can tell from my review safety was definitely one of my top concerns when looking for a product like this, so I absolutely love how the whole thing is on a sturdy stand that raises and lowers at the touch of a button – it reminds me of a hospital bed! The legs are also wide and sturdy enough to stop the unit tipping over and will even tolerate Violet’s efforts to climb the sides and wake Pearl or pull the whole thing over. Honestly, it won’t budge!

The Baby Hug is on wheels too, so I’m often wheeling Pearl around the house, parking her up in the kitchen for dinner time, the living room in the day or the bedroom at night if she’s fallen asleep in there before her usual bedtime routine. This is super handy as it means she is with us all the time but doesn’t need to be disturbed every time we move rooms, also handy that we live in a bungalow so everything is on one floor too!

Also suitable from birth is the recliner setting, which turns the Baby Hug into a little seat with a 5 point harness. This allows baby to sit up and look around the room, but with the toy bar easily accessible too. Pearl is just starting to enjoy this function as she’s more aware of her surroundings and holding her head much stronger. I think as she gets older this is a setting we will use more and more as a safe place to sit and play.

For Violet (and Pearl when she’s older) there is the highchair and table chair functions too. The entire base tilts to make an upright seat ideal for pulling up to a table for joining in at mealtimes or low down to allow toddlers to learn to sit themselves down as a first chair. This makes a lovely seat to chill out and read with your toddler at ground level. It’s fabulous as it will fit all heights of tables and can be changed between heights and settings with ease.

Overall, I think this is a really handy, versatile baby product. It has been an absolute life saver already and we will go on to use it daily for months, even years. I’d highly recommend it to any new parents but even more so if like me you have more than one little one and you need to create a really safe zone for your newborn in amongst the chaos of toddler life. Buying baby products can be so expensive, I know so many people who have bought gorgeous moses baskets, only for their little ones to grow out of them by 12 weeks – but I know this is a product that will be with us for the long run and will grow and evolve with Pearl as she grows too.

The Chicco baby hug 4-in-1 comes in 2 shades, we have the Glacial, which is an icy cool grey, but it also comes in Aquarelle, which also looks gorgeous and is a bright, happy turquoise shade.

The Baby Hug 4-in-1 retails at £199 and can be ordered here.