Product Spotlight: Swings

sammierose464

Let's talk swings!

SawyerRichardson

I'm interested to see other people's experiences with swings. I never used one with DD, but I'm thinking that with a toddler and 3 dogs I'll probably want somewhere I can put baby (that isn't a pack and play) while I'm making dinner or paying attention to DD.

kiwi2628

After a lot of research we decided on this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQM7W6M?colid=2OUFLFH2UTZXU&coliid=IKPWG9RDKMTPD&ref=br_ADD_TO_CART_title_link

FTM here so take it for what you will

britvahok

I ended up getting the Rockaroo for DS2. I heard a lot of mixed reviews about it but 4Moms had a 50% off sale last July so I ended up buying it. DS2 loved it and I plan on using it with this LO. We only used it until DS was 5 months. There's a power cord so you don't have to worry about batteries!

https://www.4moms.com/rockaroo

tinattt23

We used our swing a lot. He actually slept in it full fine after he outgrew the rock n play but refused to sleep in his crib (you do what you gotta do). I forget what it’s called exactly, but it was the fisher price one that can sing front to back or side to side.

My only swing tips: Don’t get one that’s battery powered only. You’ll go through batteries like candy. Wall outlet is better. And don’t get one where the swinging automatically stops after a certain amount of time. Swinging stops = baby wakes up. 

sammierose464

A friend of ours bought us an Ingenuity swing. She got it used from a friend of hers, but it looks as if it's right out of the box. It's still soft and plush. I'm super excited about it, and she got a great deal on it.

https://a.co/hqKFO67

nmadjeski

So glad you posted this. I've been looking around and since we didn't use one with DS I had no idea there were so many. 

@britvahok the rockaroo seems pretty cool! I heard mixed reviews on the mamaroo but I didn't know they had other kinds. I'm definitely going to check that one out. 

@sammierose464 that one seems nice because its actually two in one! 

britvahok

@nmadjeski I heard a lot of negative reviews about the mamaroo. The two most common were it wasn't worth the $$$ and babies don't like all the random motions. I'm not sure if 4moms has a warehouse sale every July but I suggest waiting for it.

nmadjeski

Yes that's what I read too. I will definitely keep an eye out for a sale! Thank you @britvahok

krzyriver

This is mine: https://www.amazon.com/Graco-Simple-Sway-Swing-Abbington/dp/B00PTL15D6/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1525877080&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=baby+swing+graco&psc=1 Z practically lived in it. I started with a bouncer because our house was small, but finally caved and it was totally worth it. This one has a wall plug... do NOT get one that runs on batteries! You'll be replacing them CONSTANTLY! I also had the swings that swing forward. This one is a side-to-side sway and it's much easier to get a fussy baby into.

Laumb11

We had this and a mamaroo with DS. @SawyerRichardson I  would just get a rock n play, if you are looking for someplace to put baby, that's what we are going to do. 
The graco was nice but not worth it in my opinion, we hardly ever used the bouncy part

SawyerRichardson

@Laumb11 Great idea, thank you! My house is pretty small, so that's partly why I didn't buy a swing with baby #1. They are so huge!

Lisa3379

We didn’t have a swing with DS, but we used a rock n play for a few months for baby containment and the occasional nap. In fact, we barely turned on the motion because it didn’t seem to make a difference. We had a mamaroo for a few days but took it back because DS didn’t like it.

I’ve been thinking about getting a swing for the new kid just to try it out, but am hesitant to get him hooked on only napping in that and not in his crib. Plus it’s one more thing to trip over, and DS has stuff everywhere. 

nmadjeski

@Laumb11 We were looking at that one originally as we had just bought it as a baby shower gift and they love it.

Laumb11

@nmadjeski It’s nice, we got it as a gift too but i wouldn’t buy it again. 

pajamstagrams

Ok I'm officially overwhelmed with the "places to put baby" items. Do you really need a crib and bassinet and pack n play and a swing (and then there's the bouncer thingys, but I don't want one anyway...)?? So far I'm sold on the crib and bassinet, but having a hard time justifying the other two. What is the use of each? help!!

Laumb11

@jemmerjams
You only need a crib really. You don't need a bassinet but people like to have them closer for the first few months. Your baby may or may not like a swing so it's really a shot in the dark lol. I have two floors so def want something to put the baby in while we are downstairs. 

cdepperschmidt

@kiwi2628 I hated that swing. It was a great swing and we loved it for the first two months. BUT DS was a big baby. He was 9lbs 2oz when he born and by 2 months he was 14lbs and long and he didn’t fit into it. We still have it for #2 because it was free from DH’s cousin, but I dunno how long we will use it. 

tinattt23

@jemmerjams You only need one (probably a crib) place to put them. All the other options have their own pros and cons. Pick and choose what you think will work for you. And then baby will have their own set of opinions on what they like.

For us, DS has pretty gnarly reflux. So he couldn’t sleep laying flat in a crib until he was like 6 months old. So we used the rock n play until he started sitting up, then the swing (it had shoulder straps). But yes, it sucked when we eventually had to transition him to his crib. So I’ll try and avoid using these things this time. But if that’s the only place baby will actually sleep, then so be it. The transition is a problem for future self.

Lisa3379

@jemmerjams we just had a crib (in his room, only for sleeping) and the rock n play that we had in whatever room we we meet hanging out in. I put him there if he started dozing off, if I wanted to eat, make food, let the dogs out, etc. Then we got a bouncer chair when he was a couple months old so he could sit up more. 

purplegoldfish2

@jemmerjams We didn’t have a swing for our boys and I don’t plan to get one this time either.  You need a crib or other safe place to put baby to sleep.  That’s pretty much all.  The rest is for convenience. We had a bouncy chair, but it was tilted up too high and my boys always ended up with their heads tipped forward and chin to chest (which restricts air for babies & has lead to death when parents didn’t notice it - mostly in sling carriers that I believe are no longer sold). Once they were older & could hold their heads up, they got too heavy for it.  I loved the fisher price infant to toddler rockers though.  They have a kickstand so you can recline it, but even when you don’t use it, it is reclined more than the bouncy chair. They have a 50 lb weight limit. My boys are 5 and still use them.

bel194

I'm really glad I read this, because we were totally leaning towards getting a mamaRoo.  With DD we had the fisher price one that swings forward/backward or side-to-side.  It was nice, but we didn't use it much or for very long as I was afraid that she would get dependent on it and she grew out of it pretty quickly.  Also would like to echo what others are saying that we used the rock n play way more than the swing.  That thing was awesome.  We used our pack and play maybe twice for when we were staying in a hotel, so totally wasn't worth it for us.  We also never used a bouncer. 

I think all of this is so dependent on what your baby prefers, what your house layout is, your budget, how quickly you want to move to a crib, etc.  It's all just a best-guess at this point. 

lest12

The mamaroo was a waste for us.  I think it is a hate it/love it thing, but at that price, it's hard to take the chance (IMO).

As far as a place to put the baby down while you are doing things, we had really good luck with the bouncers, like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Infant-to-Toddler-Rocker-Dark-Safari/dp/B00A4B34IA/ref=sr_1_6_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1525891835&sr=8-6&keywords=baby+seats&dpID=51UMvMY1pIL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Bonus points for being inexpensive and getting some longevity out of them.  The toy bar was sometimes too much stimulation and it could be easily removed if they wanted to doze off, but around 6-9 months my kids LOVED playing with the toys.  Also, the vibration really helped calm them down sometimes.

The RNP was nice and not too much but we didn't use it for all that long as I had big babies. 

tlmill

I’ll be the odd one out and say that DS loved the MamaRoo. It was the only place he would stay calm and actually fall asleep until he was like 5 months old. 

We had a Graco Comfy Cove for DD. It had a wall plug so we didn’t have to worry about batteries, and we loved it. 

No clue what we’ll get for this baby. We got rid of EVERYTHING after DS outgrew it because we were totally done having kids. I have to start all over with the gear. Honestly this little guy will be getting a lot of pink stuff, because my sister had her baby girl in December and she’s passing a bunch of stuff along to me. 

Laumb11

@tlmill we liked the mamaroo also and will hopefully just get that again. If she doesn’t like it they are so easy to resell. We also got rid of everything so have nothing! 

jennybean80

We hated the mamaroo and sold it on FB less than a month after we got it. We used the Fisher Price side to side/front and back swing with all three, and also had a bouncer with the twins. You can’t get the Rock-n-Play in Canada (or walkers) as they’re not safety approved here, but I know lots of women who love them. 

krzyriver

@jemmerjams I would argue that you actually need more than just the crib (and bassinet if you opt to have one, which you have). Baby can't just lay in bed all day. It's hard to say what will work best for YOUR baby since he/she is not here yet. So buy one thing that makes the most sense and try it. I bought a bouncer, which Z loved when he was teeny, but my mom had a swing that she bought second hand and he preferred that as he got older. So I bought one of those and packed the bouncer up.

krzyriver

Throwing this in to confuse y'all even more: https://www.buybuybaby.com/store/product/fisher-price-reg-infant-to-toddler-rocker/1060430502?skuId=60430502&mrkgcl=611&mrkgadid=3285759747&rkg_id=h-42f32afde56dd1baf0eb396c5b74eae6_t-1525972843&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=ProductType3=portable%20gearProductType4=infant%20seats&mcid=PS_bingpla_nonbrand_activity_&msclkid=719aa1f7ef901deed22efb0390fa72c4&creative=78408983540517&device=c&matchtype=e Might be an option for those who don't want to spend $100+ on a swing that won't last as long as you'd like. It vibrates like a bouncer, you can rock it yourself, and it works well even when they're older. Z still loves his at 19 months! He rocks himself while he reads his books.

britvahok

I agree with @krzyriver. I think you need more than just a crib/bassinet. At a minimum, I think you need a crib/bassinet, rock n play and bouncer or swing. If you can't afford the swing get the bouncer. It transitions to a toddler chair as LO grows. 

krzyriver

Also, if you can't afford a new swing, look at garage sales/FB marketplace/Mom2Mom sales!! You will BARELY use some of this stuff. People resell it in near perfect condition all the time.

sammierose464

I went to Once Upon a Child today, and they had a ton of swings and bouncers.

nasalot188

@sammierose464 i live at Once Upon a Child lol

tinattt23

@krzyriver We has one of those and hardly used it. Haha. Goes to show everyone will love something different. 

pajamstagrams

thanks guys!!

elothair

@jennybean80 I don’t know if there are different versions or not but we can get the Rock n’ Play here in BC! We have both the original and the auto rock one at stores here. Maybe they’re new to Canada? I was looking at them the other day as an option when I was looking at swings. 

Not having walkers here totally makes me sad...I get the safety issues but I feel they are really more supervision error than safety issues!

tinattt23

@elothair When you say no walkers, do you mean the big circle kind with like a seat in the middle? Or the push walker toys they stand behind? Just curious if they banned both. I know the big kind are ehh safety wise, but never heard anything about the push ones. 

elothair

@tinattt23 Yes, the big circle ones. We have exersaucers but no walker versions (they seem a lot like exersaucers with wheels to me). We definitely have the push walkers though - thank goodness...both my kids loved those!!

jennybean80

@elothair They must have brought them in since my last kiddos were little. Good to know!

elothair

@jennybean80 It was new to me as well. I remember looking for them when I had my DS!

jandmnumber1

I have read this thread a couple times now, I am FTM and just started doing some research on swings. For hose STM’s out there what is your opinion glider or swing? I know the motions are different and wondering if anyone has any experience trying both? I think I do too much research and overwhelm myself. 

Laumb11

@jandmnumber1
I don't think it really matters. I think I am getting this one this time around. It goes both ways