We Asked 1,000 Parents to Tell Us What Nursery Glider to Buy, and the 2 Winners Are “Extremely Comfortable”
If you’re looking for nursery ideas, you may be focused on pinning all the baby boy nursery ideas or baby girl nursery ideas you can find. But if you have the space for it, one of the biggest purchases you can make for your nursery is a nursery glider. But which one should you get? We asked over 1,000 parents to share what nursery glider or nursery rocking chair they bought for their baby room, and two gliders came out on top.
Table of Contents
The Affordable Classic: The Kiwi Recliner and Glider from Babyletto
The Most Worthwhile Splure: The Dream Deluxe Power Swivel Recliner from Pottery Barn Kids
Why You Should Trust Us
This is a best list that comes with real chops. Cubby is helmed by a small yet vibrant team of design-savvy parents who are unusually invested in finding the best products for life at home with kids, beginning with the nursery. Faith Durand (SVP of Content at Apartment Therapy Media, two kids, pro pinner of all the things), Cambria Bold (Executive Editor of Cubby, two kids, hobby designer, avid product researcher), and Laura Schocker (Chief Content Officer at Apartment Therapy Media, one kid with one on the way, small-space/city-living expert) have 40 years of digital editorial experience between them. They’ve already read about, researched, and purchased many of the baby products that you, as a soon-to-be parent, are wondering about right now. They’ll tell you exactly what you need to know about what to get.
If they don’t know the answer, they know plenty of people to ask — like fellow editors, parenting experts, designers, and Cubby readers — so you can be sure that these recommendations come from real-life experiences.
Most importantly, we don’t just “office test” these products (read: order a bunch and shake ‘em around in our office “lab” with a fake baby doll) because that is helpful to approximately no one. The products we recommend here are ones we or fellow parents have actually purchased ourselves for our nursery and used for at least a few months (and sometimes way longer). The rave reviews are real.
How We Chose These Products
We asked readers (and parents!) of Apartment Therapy Media, which includes Cubby, Apartment Therapy, and The Kitchn, to tell us what nursery glider or nursery rocking chair they bought for their nursery and why or why not they’d recommend it to other parents. We received over 1,000 responses.
A portion of our survey respondents said they did not purchase a nursery glider for their nursery — mostly for space reasons. Another portion of survey respondents said they used an heirloom or antique wooden rocking chair, and although those rockers had sentimental value, most said they were uncomfortable for long nursing and sleeping sessions and would not recommend the experience to other parents.
Therefore, our top two winners are culled from the respondents who specifically said they’d purchased a nursery glider or recliner from a recognizable and purchasable brand.
The Affordable, Comfortable Classic: The Kiwi Electronic Recliner and Swivel Glider from Babyletto
Babyletto does it again! After sweeping our Best Cribs category, Babyletto made a strong showing in the nursery glider category as well, with the Kiwi Electronic Recliner and Swivel Glider taking top honors. Our survey parents most loved its deep seat, its power reclining feature, and its built-in USB charging port. We think the stain-resistant fabric and GREENGUARD Gold certification are pretty stellar, too.
Babyletto Kiwi Electronic Swivel Glider Recliner
What Parents Said About the Babyletto Kiwi Recliner and Glider
“We LOVE this chair! Our son is 5 and we still use it at night to read before bed. I love that push button recline function, the gentle gliding motion, and the USB ports were so helpful in those early newborn days when my phone would run out of battery life from taking too many photos. This chair is a must have.”
“I love the recline and rocking options, the fabric has held up well (although I wish we had gotten a darker fabric), and the USB plug is enormously helpful for those long nights.”
“[We love it] because we are tall and it has a deep enough seat and it is very easy to recline with the button touch. We have used it daily (sometimes for multiple hours a day) for over 2 1/2 years and it is still just as comfortable as day one.”
“Yes, it’s amazing. We ended up getting a second one just for general use outside of having one in our bedroom. It is incredibly comfortable, the charging port is really helpful during late night feeds, and it fits nicely with our decor.”
Babyletto Kiwi Electronic Swivel Glider Recliner
The Only Downside
The only notable complaints from a few parents is that the bolster pillow gets squished out of shape pretty quickly.
The Most Worthwhile Splurge: The Dream Deluxe Power Swivel Recliner from Pottery Barn Kids
The name of this recliner pretty much says it all: The Dream Deluxe Power Swivel Recliner from Pottery Barn Kids is pretty much a dream to use, according to our survey parents who splurged to ensure they’d have the ultimate comfortable spot to sit in the nursery. Our survey parents loved its down-blend cushions, the neck and lumbar adjustments, the soft light from the nightlight under the chair for those middle-of-the-night feedings, and, of course, its incredible comfort.
Dream Deluxe Power Swivel Recliner
What Parents Said About the Dream Deluxe Power Swivel Recliner
“It’s pricey but so worth it. It’s extremely comfortable and has neck and lumbar adjustments in addition to the recline. Huge bonus for the lights underneath that have been a lifesaver for nursing to sleep transitions.”
“It’s super comfortable and great for story time.”
“Very comfortable and easy to clean.”
The Only Downside
The Dream Deluxe Power Swivel Recliner isn’t cheap, but in this case it seems like you really get what you pay for.
A Great Alternative
Many parents also had great things to say about the similar Dream Manual Glider Recliner from Pottery Barn, which doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as the Dream Deluxe (like the power recliner), but it is slightly more affordable. One parent said this about the Dream Manual Glider: “Our daughter was colicky and would only sleep in our arms for the first 6 months. We lived in this chair almost 24 hours/day. It’s held up incredibly well and still looks new. It’s still as comfortable as when we purchased it. Great for shorter people (like me) so my feet actually touch the ground.”
However, some parents did note they wished they’d leveled up from the manual to the power version from the get-go. As one parent said about the Dream Manual Glider Recliner: “I love this chair but I wish we would have gotten the power version instead of the manual. Trying to manually push the recliner legs down while holding a sleeping baby is not ideal. Loud and clunky. The power version would be soft and quiet, so I wish we would have gotten the power model instead of the manual.”
Dream Manual & Power Swivel Glider Recliner
Stay tuned for more Cubby Nursery Award winners!
