I bought a second hand swing at a thrift store and used it every day for about a month before the motor died; our baby loves to swing for naps and when I'm showering, cooking or otherwise can't hold her. I immediately began researching for a new swing and ordered this one Sunday night. The swing arrived the following Friday afternoon. She and we LOVE this swing!
Our baby is 12 lbs, 24 inches, 11 weeks old. The seat is deep so we have to put a little pillow in the bottom for her to sit on, otherwise she slides forward and is too slumped to be comfortable. I'm glad the swing is deep because she'll be able to use it as she grows. I've read reviews that said the tray is hard to open and makes a loud noise; I find the tray easy to open with one hand and it's very quiet if you're careful. If you're in a hurry it does make a snapping sound as it clicks into place. We ditched the mobile because it interferes with the swinging arm (as someone else noted in his review) and the toys are directly over the baby's head where she can't see them anyway. Will have to think of a solution when baby really starts noticing toys.
The swing has 6 settings; we use the high setting to calm her and help her get to sleep as recommended by Dr.Karp in "Happiest Baby on the Block", then put the swing on a low setting while she sleeps. The swing has a timer option but if you don't use the timer, it DOESN'T automatically shut off as other swings do. We like that it works continuously since she sleeps in the swing at night (right beside my side of the bed where I hear her every sniff and sigh). She was sleeping five hours at a time in her co-sleeper but in the swing she sleeps up to 12 hours with one night-time feeding.
I feel comfortable letting her sleep in the swing since we swaddle her tightly (also rec. by Karp) and the swing is deep as noted above. We don't use the complicated 5 point straps since we swaddle her and use the tray for restraint. Even when she isn't swaddled we feel safe leaving her unstrapped (with an adult monitoring in the same room) and she is very active--always kicking and flailing her arms while awake. She can't turn herself over yet though, so we may have to use the straps later. Another reason we feel safe letting her sleep in the swing is that even with poor neck strength at this age, her head doesn't flop forward even on the highest setting. I haven't had to adjust the swing back so can't comment on that; when we first put it together she reclined nicely in it.
I'm thrilled so far with the battery life. We've been using the swing every day and night for nine days now; we frequently use the high setting and the batteries show no sign of slowing.
Others have commented that the music is boring and "nature sounds" are horrible. They are. We don't use the music since she doesn't seem to care about it and we'd be better off turning on a CD of classical music instead. We don't use the nature sounds either since we use a floor fan for white noise that she likes, but in defense of Graco (whether they planned this or not) Karp points out that babies love white noise which is what the "nature sounds" sound like. White noise is similar to what baby hears in the womb--a loud shhhhhh as blood rushes through mother's circulatory system.
The swing is very quiet even on the high setting; as I said she sleeps in it beside me and I'm a light sleeper.
While the swing is bulky, I'm still able to pick it up and move it daily from bedroom to living room to kitchen without too much trouble. It's bulky but not heavy. The legs do fold for storage.
So the CONS for us---mobile is useless, have to push "off" button up to six times to get the swing to stop swinging, straps are laughably complicated---maybe to prevent older children from removing baby before mom has a chance to notice?? maybe to prevent lawsuits??
PROS for us---deep, large, comfy seat; weight limit 30lbs instead of more common 25 lbs; removable head immobilizer; quiet, easy to open tray; quiet motor; great speed settings; sturdy frame; fairly easy to move around house; no automatic shut off; long battery life with frequent swing use; removable, washable swing cover; easy to put together (30 minutes tops); reliable name brand; price is great esp. with Free Super Saver Shipping; and of course the baby LOVES this swing!
If the swing ends up having a short lifetime, I'll update my review.
After trying out the Fisher-Price Rainforest swing, we thought our little baby boy was just not a "swinging" baby. Well, that all changed after we tried out this swing.
We've used it for about 2 weeks now, about 1-3hrs a day, and the batteries are still working great even at the highest speed with the music on. Our "little boy" is almost 19lbs at 4 months, but this swing has no problem keeping up the momentum.
The music is actually not that bad and although the nature sounds loop every 3 seconds, it seemed to calm him when he was being a bit fussy the other night, so if scratchy "water" sounds are going to put him to sleep, I'm not going to question it.
I highly recommend this swing, especially if your baby is a bit above average like ours. =)
Buy Graco Lovin Hug Easy Entry Open Top Curved Frame Swing Now
Our daughter is only 1 week old, 7 lbs, but seems very comfortable in the swing. It fits well, has multiple recline angles, and adjustable head/body support and straps. Music is very relaxing, 10 classical tracks, nature sounds are ok. Tray has attachment points for toys, but not included. Haven't found website to purchase them either, Amazon does not offer as accessory. Took me about 30 minutes to assemble by myself. Directions not great. Buy recharchable D-cell batteries (x3). If you use it reguraly I could see the cost of contemporary batteries adding up.
Read Best Reviews of Graco Lovin Hug Easy Entry Open Top Curved Frame Swing Here
My son weighs 22 pounds and loves to swing on his outside swing. I bought this for inside when the weather is bad. It seems sturdy and comfy. We all like the music it plays. The bird sounds are like static, but the music is nice! I recommend this it is hard to find swings that hold up to 30 lbs.
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This is the third swing my great granddaughter has had. The others almost stopped rocking as she gained weight(she just turned 5 months)but this swing is still going. It's good looking, sturdy, and we love it.
Be forewarned that the price on these diapers is in fact too good to be true. It consists of just one package of 30 diapers, not "4x30" as posted.
