At the time of registering, I didn't register for a baby swing. The store just didn't have a lot to choose from. I figured I would go home and check them out online and put one on my registry. I know I want one. However, now reading reviews on line, its literally impossible to choose one. I know there will always be a spectrum of love vs. hate. But the spectrum is so wide for this product!! Its annoying. I am thinking I want one that plugs in the wall b/c I can't be bothered with batteries.
What irks me is some are close to 200.00 and in the reviews, people say they stopped working, etc.
So, if you have test drove a baby swing or even registered for one, any advice is greatly appreciated.
we used the "my little lamb" swing - i think it was fisher price? it was battery operated though so i dont know if you would like it. it takes up some space too but we had a lot of success with it.
I know a lot of people don't like Craigslist or yard sales, but I highly recommend getting one used. The mark up on swings is awful and they are soooooo cheap on Craigslist or yard sales.
The way I look at it - if someone can spend $150-$200 on your baby, wouldn't you prefer to get a lot of other things you need than the swing which isn't used for very long and/or might break? And some babies don't care for swings. That's why there are so many in excellent used condition available on C.L. and in yard sales.
This one grows with the baby and is used a lot longer (and a lot cheaper). Also - another advantage is that it can be carried to other rooms which allowed me more freedom to do more things around the house.
We had a bouncer, vibrating chair, swing . . . some I had on registry, a few I bought at a mom swap event. I really wanted my daughter to like them all. Alas she liked none. She did like the bounceroo jumperoo thing (@ 5mos) and the activity mat/gyms (they were her favorite). Just save receipts for everything and return what doesn't work for you. It's less about what mom likes and more about what baby likes at those early stages IMHO. Happy baby = happy mom! **Use an exacto knife to open up all boxes so you can easily repackage things. We also got a roll of clear packing tape for repackaging.
We have the Graco which matches the rest of our set - I think it was about $160, but was a gift. We also had the my little lamb vibrating seat and used them both all the time. DS would never sleep in his bassinet during the day, he would wake and cry every time I would put him in it. He would only sleep on my chest or in the swing / seat. I also ended up buying the graco portable swing where the car seat latches into it - this was great too for when he fell asleep in the car or when we were getting ready to go somewhere. It has music and a vibration feature and two swing settings. It also gave me the chance to use the big swing in our living room and the portable swing in our bedroom. It was really helpful to have different 'stations' to let me have my hands free and give DS more options to sleep. I think the portable retails for like $50 or $60, but I was lucky enough to find mine on clearance for $25 - totally worth it!
Your LO may hate them and you don't know until they are here. We have the rainforest swing and the fisher price lamb one. They fall asleep fine in both.
it plugs into the wall, which is so great! This was such an important piece of equipment for us because dd had colic and would only sleep in the swing. It was expensive but totally worth it. We took it on vacation with us! It is true that not all kids like the swing though so it may be something you want to wait on. We had this other swing that took batteries and when I realized she would sleep in it I went right out and bought this one. It was awesome!
I appreciate everyone's feedback. I went to babies r'us at lunch today and just was so frustrated with the damn swings.
I think I am going to look in to the newborn to toddler rocker b/c it seems so logical.
I didn't chime in b/c I'm pg w/#1, but I've read the feedback and am happy to get it. Now I figure I'll get the little Rainforest/My Precious Planet portable one and if baby likes it and begins to outgrow I'll get a bigger one at that time.
I love being able to toss something out there and get real life experience. Thanks.
