The First Years American Red Cross Soothing Baby Scale

My scale was delivered just 5 days ago, but it is greatly exceeding my expectations. It is both very precise and very accurate - and I have had no trouble using it even though it came with no directions that I could find.First, to get accurate and consistent weights, you must use it on a hard surface, NOT on a rug, NOT on a towel or cloth of any kind. I use it on a dresser top.Second, I've been able to control the units it uses by selecting them while the scale is initializing. It starts by testing the LCD display by showing all "8"s and LB/OZ/KG. Just press the ON button once to use KG and once again to get it to display LB/OZ.Finally, as an engineer, accuracy is a big thing for me - and I have found it to be consistently accurate within 1.2 ounces. With a calibrated 10 LB 1.6 OZ weight, I find it never measures lower than 10 LB 1.5 OZ or higher than 10 LB 2.5 OZ. A calibrated 5 LB 4.7 OZ weight never measures lower than 5 LB 4.5 OZ or higher than 5 LB 5.0 OZ. And finally, a calibrated 15 LB 6.3 OZ consistently measures as either 15 LB 7.0 OZ or 15 LB 7.5 OZ. Certainly good enough to measure the weight of my cats. I've also found the scale is NOT sensitive to where the weight is positioned on it.Update on 03/09/10 - this scale is still working out wonderfully. Still highly accurate and dependable.BTW, one cat is calm enough to simply sit or lie on the scale. The other moves constantly, but stays still plenty long enough if I put two cat treats on the scale.

I definitely get my money's worth with this scale. I bought it when my son was just a couple weeks old and we still use it a few times a week at 9 months. I have found it is extremely accurate. We've compared it against four different medical scales--family doctor, pediatrician, and two different breast feeding consultations--as well two different home scales, and the weights stay very consistent. I feel safe knowing I'm getting an accurate reading. The scale is easy to use--basically just a push of a button once you set it up and I can operate it while holding my wiggling crawler. I don't really bother with the music because he's not on the scale long enough to hear a whole song. This scale makes weight time quick and easy.

This scale is good if you want to track general trends of weight gain, but is not as accurate as described. It is not suitable to do weighted feeds. I would weigh my baby 3x in a row and get 3 different readings, varying as much as 2-3 oz between readings. The scale would also need to be re-tared occasionally between readings even with no changes to environment. That being said, it is compact, easy to move, and shows weight in lbs and oz, which is convenient. Recommended for gross tracking of trends only.

I use this scale to do weighted feedings. Pretty helpful but not always perfectly accurate. Baby has to be totally still to get a good reading which is sometimes hard to do.Good value and pretty good product, though.

When my daughter's pediatrician insisted she bring her baby in twice a week for weight checks at $35 a visit this was a no brainer. The doctor didn't even check the baby during the visit. We overnighted the scale and the baby's weight could be checked each morning. Doctor and Mommy happy. Baby is healthy and happy. Scale is still in use several times a week at 5 months. If doctor is concerned about accuracy, take it to a visit and compare. At least it shows the baby's weight progression and this one was very accurate in comparison to doctor's scale. If there is a real medical reason to be seeing the doctor, though, be sure you go to the visits!

The one star is because it is easy to clean and Amazon won't allow NO stars.Very poorly made and not very accurate or dependable. I bought this on a recommendation to use for weighing the obese shelter kitty I adopted. A cat's weight loss has to be monitored since fast loss can cause major health problems. The scales 4 "feet" on the bottom are suspended in 4 round holes and each held there by 4 thread-like pieces of plastic. I can only assume these are supposed to be what pass as levelers. They are so flimsy that the first time I sat this down on the floor and slid it a little 3 of the plastic threads broke on one of the feet. It made a funny noise so I picked it up and turned it over to see what it was & THAT is when I discovered the plastic threads. It gets better. Supposedly the scale recalls the last weight and then zeroes so you can get a new reading. Sometimes yes but mostly no. It usually recalls around 4 lbs. instead and then often ADDS that to the current weight of kitty. One day it says she weighs 18 lbs and 3 days later it says she weighs 22 lbs...then 3 days later she weighs 18 lbs again. I have tried turning it off and on repeatedly to get it to display zero which occasionally works.On a couple occasions the scale worked the first time. I've even tried taking out the batteries every time I use it so it erases the memory recall but that doesn't always work either. Just get a plain no frills scale and write down the weight it you can't remember it. I am going to recycle mine to the dumpster.

It was perfect. Our daughter absolutely adores the music.Contrary to other reviews, I find that +/- 5oz is more than enough accuracy for a human being. If you need more accuracy, you should question why you need it.Contrary to other reviews, the music is not too loud for us. My daughter loved it as an infant. She loves it as a toddler.Put the scale on a flat hard surface and it'll function admirably for you.

Nice design, plays music but the plastic footings broke off within a month making the weight inaccurate. Will try a different brand next time.

Received it in a reasonable time. But half of the last digit was not displaying on screen and the seal on the box was broken already. I ask for a refund but had to pay for the return which I thought was unfair. Then the supplier offered me £20 discount to which I replied "good powder but first it affect the product warranty"? The reply I got was "no it will not and we have refund the account". I did not even accept the off and felt like I was forced to accept. The staff member Barry's emails very pretty blunt to. Seems like this product had already been returned to the supplier previously as faulty hence the broken seal on the box. Yet they still resold it. If their was a option to rate zero I would.

I can't really fault these scales. We used them for weighing before and after breastfeeding to check that our baby was getting enough milk. We were concerned that they wouldn't be accurate enough, so when we got them I tested them by weighing a fixed weight on our very accurate kitchen scales and comparing with these scales. I have found them to be very accurate (to around 10 grams) and good at measuring our daughter even while she is wriggling about. They are a nice design with no sharp edges and easy to clean. I haven't noticed any problem with them switching off too quickly and it is very useful that you can always access the previous weight. Of course the music feature doesn't really add anything but then you aren't paying any extra for it! Highly recommended!

We used this for the first 4 months and the music feature is a must have it kept the baby calm and occupied however after a relatively short period the music worked but the scales stopped measuring. If you want something to weigh your newborn in the first months then I would recommend it but in my experience don't expect it to last for too long.

Bit on the pricey side but provides pretty accurate readings. It's tough to keep the little ones from squirming and the music helps a little. The only down side is that there is a little bump in the middle of the scales which can dig into your baby - manufacturer should change that but overall a good product.

The scales are not the best. The automated switching off is far to quick.The scales are difficult to calebrate to any cover which is placed on the them to keep the baby warmThe control buttons whicvh they are only two are not that responsive