Obaby Madison vs Mamas & Papas Alma Nursing Chair: The Glider Reclines and Swivels, the Boucle One Fits a Smaller Room

COMPARISON · NURSERY & SLEEP

A nursing chair is the piece of nursery furniture you will actually sit in more than any other. In the first few months it is where night feeds happen, where a baby who will not settle gets walked down to sleep without you having to stand, and where you end up dozing at 4am. That makes the choice feel bigger than it looks in a showroom, and it is why two chairs at almost the same price can suit completely different homes.

The Obaby Madison and the Mamas & Papas Alma both sit in the £390 to £490 band, both come in soft, textured fabrics, and both promise a soothing motion. That is where the similarity ends. The Madison is a glider recliner: it swivels a full 360 degrees, glides on metal ball bearings and leans back with a footrest that flips up. The Alma is a cocoon-shaped boucle rocking chair on a solid wood base, with no recline and no swivel, sized to fit a smaller bedroom and to move into the living room later.

So the real question is not which chair is better made. It is whether you want a chair that does more, or a chair that takes up less. We compared published specs from both brands and several UK retailers, read through the feedback parents leave on retailer listings, and weighed what we hear from parents in our own community about living with each style of chair long after the newborn weeks.

Lil' Bubba's verdicts

• Best Overall: Obaby Madison Swivel Glider Recliner Chair · 8.5/10 - swivel, glide and full recline make long night feeds far easier on your back
• Best for Smaller Rooms: Mamas & Papas Alma Nursing Chair · 7.5/10 - a narrower, lower, lighter-looking chair that still rocks and suits a living room afterwards

Quick comparison

	Obaby Madison	Mamas & Papas Alma
Our rating
Typical price	£389 to £490 (by colour)	£449 (£499 with stool)
Motion	Glide on ball bearings + 360° swivel	Rock on a solid wood base
Recline	Yes, manual, footrest flips up	No
Footprint (W x D x H)	75 x 97 x 100cm upright, about 166cm long reclined	72 x 90 x 93cm
Weight	42kg	Not published
Fabrics	Boucle style, teddy and woven, five colours	Boucle weave
Footstool	Not needed (built-in footrest)	Sold separately or as a set
Warranty	2 years if registered within 28 days	Standard retailer terms

How we picked these two

We started with the nursing chairs parents add to their BubsNest registries most often and filtered for chairs that are in stock with UK retailers right now. We wanted a pair at a similar price that represents the two main schools of nursing chair: the American-style glider recliner and the European-style upholstered rocking chair. The Madison and the Alma are close enough in price that the decision really comes down to how you will use the chair and how much floor space you have, which is exactly the decision most parents get stuck on. Neither brand paid for inclusion, and our ratings reflect specs, price and the feedback we hear from parents, not commission.

What to look for in a nursing chair

Motion type. A glider moves backwards and forwards on a fixed track, so the base stays put and it will not creep across the floor. A rocking chair moves on curved runners, which feels more natural to some parents but needs clearance front and back. A swivel lets you turn to reach a bedside table, a cot or a toddler without getting up.

Recline and foot support. Night feeds can last 40 minutes or more in the early weeks. Being able to lean back and put your feet up takes a lot of strain off your lower back and is especially welcome after a caesarean. If a chair does not recline, budget for a footstool.

Arm height. Your forearm should rest naturally on the arm while holding a baby at breast or bottle height. Too low and you hunch; too high and your shoulders climb. Try to sit in a chair before buying if you can, ideally with a cushion on your lap to mimic a baby.

Footprint and weight. Measure the space in front of and behind the chair, not just the floor it sits on. Recliners need room for the footrest and the back to tilt; rocking chairs need room for the runners. Also check how many stairs a heavy chair has to go up.

Fabric and cleaning. Milk, sick and nappy leaks will meet your chair at some point. Removable or washable cushions help, and darker or mid-tone fabrics hide marks better than off-white.

Life after the nursery. A good nursing chair often ends up in a living room or bedroom reading corner. Think about whether the style will still suit your home in three years.

1. Obaby Madison Swivel Glider Recliner Chair / 10 · Best Overall

The Madison is Obaby's award-winning answer to the big American glider chairs, scaled to fit a British nursery. It does three things at once: it swivels a full 360 degrees, glides smoothly on metal ball bearings, and reclines on a Leggett & Platt mechanism, the same type of mechanism you find in many living-room recliners. Pull back and the footrest rises, stretching the chair to roughly 166cm long so you can genuinely lie back with a sleeping baby on your chest.

It comes in more finishes than most nursing chairs, including oatmeal, pebble, a boucle style and teddy fabrics in truffle and olive, with the fabric certified to OEKO-TEX Standard 100. Prices move around by colour: the pebble version is regularly discounted to about £389, while most others sit at £489 to £490. At 75 x 97 x 100cm it is a substantial chair, and at 42kg it is a heavy one.

What parents love

• Comfort over months, not minutes. Parents who use it for every feed say it holds up. One parent told us: 'Have spent many hours a day for the last 6 months in the chair and always comfortable.'
• The recline is the bonus you end up relying on. Being able to lean back and lift your feet makes the long cluster feeds of the early weeks far more bearable. A parent shared: 'It's got great back support, and we love the colour and rocking feature. The recline is a bonus.'
• A glide you can start with one foot. Ball bearings mean the motion is smooth and quiet, and parents say a gentle push with one toe is enough to keep it going while both hands hold the baby.
• Simple to put together. The backrest slots into the base, and parents consistently describe assembly as easy. One parent put it best: 'Arrived well packaged, very simple to assemble. Looks gorgeous and is very comfortable.'

What to know before you buy

• The footrest needs a firm push to close. This is the most common complaint. We hear repeatedly from parents that the footrest is a little tricky to push back down, which is awkward if you are trying to stand up smoothly with a sleeping baby.
• It is bigger and heavier than it looks online. At 42kg it is a two-person carry up the stairs, and you need clearance behind it to recline. One parent told us it 'seems larger and heavier in person than we measured online'.
• Stock varies by colour. Some finishes go on backorder with the brand, so check delivery dates at the retailer before you fall for a particular fabric.

Best for

• Parents planning to breastfeed, who will spend hours a day in the chair
• Anyone recovering from a caesarean or with lower back pain
• Medium to large nurseries with room behind the chair to recline
• Families who want the chair to become a living-room recliner later

2. Mamas & Papas Alma Nursing Chair / 10 · Best for Smaller Rooms

The Alma takes the opposite approach. Instead of mechanisms, it relies on shape: a rounded, cocoon-like body upholstered all over in soft boucle, sitting on a solid wood rocking base with a natural finish. The armrests are set at what Mamas & Papas calls an optimum height for feeding and cradling, and the seat cushion is plush and removable.

At 72 x 90 x 93cm it is a little narrower, shallower and lower than the Madison, and because it does not recline it never needs extra space behind it. The chair on its own costs £449; the set with a matching footstool is £499. It is a newer design than the Madison, so there is less owner feedback to go on so far, which is part of why we rate it slightly lower.

What parents love

• It looks like furniture, not baby kit. The rounded boucle shape and wood base are designed to move into a living room or bedroom once the nursery years are over. We hear repeatedly from parents that this is what they value most in a chair at this price.
• Easier to fit into a small room. With no recline and no footrest to open, the space you measure is roughly the space you need, plus a little room for the rocking runners.
• A natural rocking motion. Some parents simply prefer the feel of a traditional rock to a glide, and find the rhythm settles a baby faster.
• Removable cushion. Being able to take the cushion off for cleaning matters in a chair that will meet milk and sick on a daily basis.

What to know before you buy

• No recline, so you will want the stool. Without a way to lift your feet, long feeds put more strain on your back. Realistically, budget £499 for the chair and stool set.
• Off-white boucle shows marks. It looks beautiful, but pale textured fabric is unforgiving with milk and nappy leaks. Only the cushion comes off, so spills on the body need spot cleaning.
• Lower back than the Madison. At 93cm tall, taller parents should check whether the back gives enough head support for dozing during night feeds. Try one in store if you can.

Best for

• Smaller nurseries or a corner of the main bedroom
• Parents who prefer a classic rocking motion to a glide
• Anyone who wants a chair that will sit happily in a living room later
• Mostly bottle-feeding families with shorter feeds

What about the electric Madison?

Obaby also makes an electric version of the Madison, with a powered recline operated by a button rather than a lever. It solves the most common complaint about the manual chair, the footrest that needs a firm push to close, but it costs around £740 and needs to sit near a plug socket. For most families the manual Madison does the job for far less. If you know you will use the recline constantly, or you have limited mobility after birth, the electric model is worth a look.

How to choose

Choose the Obaby Madison if you are planning to breastfeed, expect to spend hours a day in the chair, or want the option to lie back and doze with a baby on your chest. The swivel, glide and recline make it the more practical chair for the hardest months, as long as you have the floor space and someone to help carry 42kg upstairs. Look out for the pebble colour, which is often reduced to around £389.

Choose the Mamas & Papas Alma if your nursery is small, you prefer a traditional rock, or you care most about a chair that will look at home in a living room for years. Buy it as the £499 set with the footstool, and think carefully about whether off-white boucle suits your household.

Add it to your Nest

Still deciding? Add both chairs to your free BubsNest registry and let family and friends club together on the big-ticket items. You can compare prices across retailers in one place, and swap your choice later if you change your mind once you have tried them in store.