Baby swings?

[Deleted User] · June 2014

So now that I've decided I'm likely going to downgrade the Pack n Play I registered for to the more basic model, I'm wondering if I should do the same for the swing. I registered for this swing because it came in the same design that the stroller/carseat, PnP (original one I registered for), and high chair as part of a set. I suppose I don't really care that all my stuff is matchy-matchy. Anyway, here's the swing:

It's a 2-in-1 that converts into a bouncer, which is why it's so pricey. But is it necessary? Is the bouncer a nice thing to have? I'm considering taking it off my registry and replacing it with this:

The reviews are more favorable and it looks like a space-saver. Plus, it has the option to plug it in whereas the other model is battery-powered only. Should I register for a separate bouncer thing, or are they kind of silly?

I realize it's still on the pricey end, but it seems like a really nice swing. Any other swing suggestions are welcome, TIA!

Justabean3 · June 2014

We love the swing here and the bouncer.

The one thing I have found with swings is make sure it is a key pad and not a dial.

I personally think the swing and bouncer together is awesome but not very portable. Two separate is a lot which we had.

If I had to choose I would get a nicer swing and a very basic bouncer. I got a self bouncing one last time and E hated it. He only liked the vibration part to be on.

And I would choose a swing that goes left to right and not front to back.

KingsDaughter76 · June 2014

I love and highly recommend the Fisher Price cradle swings. They can swing front to back and side to side- my babies always preferred the side to side motion best. They can be plugged in as well and are super soft and comfy for baby.

[Deleted User] · June 2014

Justabean3 said:

We love the swing here and the bouncer. The one thing I have found with swings is make sure it is a key pad and not a dial. I personally think the swing and bouncer together is awesome but not very portable. Two separate is a lot which we had. If I had to choose I would get a nicer swing and a very basic bouncer. I got a self bouncing one last time and E hated it. He only liked the vibration part to be on. And I would choose a swing that goes left to right and not front to back.

Could you elaborate a bit on the bolded parts? Just curious why a key pad and left-to-right swing would be better options. Thank you for the tips, though

Justabean3 · June 2014

We have one with a keypad and it has lasted 3 years and will still hold my 18 month old who weighs about 23 pounds.The one with the dial still works but won't go at all unless it has a baby in it under 8-9pounds which isn't long in newborn status..

And right to left. Seems to soothe better from what I have seen. I'm assuming because when we walk and hold we move generally right to left and when we rock generally baby may be going back and forth being held is a rocker but they are positioned differently.

Justabean3 · June 2014

My run on sucked, sorry

When you hold the baby in a rocker they are either cradled or up by your neck facing you.

In a back and forth swing they are facing out and the movement is different.

I have a back and forth and they have done ok. This is just hypothetically if I bought a new one

[Deleted User] · June 2014

Oooh, good thread! I can't decide if I want to register for a swing or the Mamaroo. Or both? I know there is no way to tell what LO will end up liking, but they are all so expensive.

[Deleted User] · June 2014

Ok...so now I'm thinking maybe I should just keep the first item I registered for. It has the side-to-side swing movement and also converts into a bouncy seat so I won't have to register for a separate one. Downside is it probably won't be very portable. Other thing is the reviews say it's pretty noisy :-/

ETA: I live in an apartment so space is also something I need to keep in mind. Le sigh. This is hard!

Justabean3 · June 2014

noonandj04 said:
Ok...so now I'm thinking maybe I should just keep the first item I registered for. It has the side-to-side swing movement and also converts into a bouncy seat so I won't have to register for a separate one. Downside is it probably won't be very portable. Other thing is the reviews say it's pretty noisy :-/

Noisy actually works out for a lot of babies. I imagine them growing in there is noisy too

Justabean3 · June 2014

@jalara48‌ totally think it's worth it. My boys sat in theirs forever. They like it like it was their own personal chair.

Plus you can take it in the bathroom with you, strap them in and do your business.... Bathroom, shower, cleaning up... What ever and still see and hear them.

Or the kitchen if you want to cook something.

lct2008 · June 2014

We had the fisher price Snugabunny swing. It being to plug into the wall was great. It also turned to swing back and forth or side to side. Ds liked both at different times. Side to side was best to get him to sleep. And yes I thought a bouncy seat was very handy personally.

TinyTRex321 · June 2014

We also have the FP snugabunny swing and my son loved it. It's a dial one and it has lasted through 3 kids and still works fine. The only thing that doesn't work as well is the speed setting but that wasn't a problem for us.

Like others said a simple bouncer is nice to be able to cart around from room to room for a safe place to put baby down. It's where he hung out while I showered. I have seen them for as little as $10 at consignment sales.

Jansheski · June 2014

Nicb13 said:
We had this swing and it was the single most used item in our house for DS:
https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13039765&KPID=13047333&mr:trackingCode=785B6366-7315-E311-A497-90E2BA285E75&mr:referralID=NA&mr:filter=56911820446&camp=PLAPPC-_-PID13047333&mr:ad=35201235766&mr:device=c&mr:match=&mr:adType=pla_multichannel&cagpspn=plab_13047333&mr:keyword=
He loved the side to side motion of it. He napped in there a lot.
I truly believe you
can NEVER have too much baby gear...as long as you can afford it. You never know what your baby will like or hate, so might as well try different things. At some point you will get desperate when the crying doesn't stop and you'll wish you had a swing, or bouncy seat, or whatever! And when you are done with the item, try to trade it or sell it at a consignment sale or Craigslist or something.

I had a very similar swing as this and highly recommend it! My boys also liked the side to side motion. And a bouncer is wonderful too. That IMO is a must have.

pushgal84 · June 2014

OP, if you are limited on space, have you considered the Mamaroo? It has a much smaller footprint and several different motions & speeds, which, IMO, makes it more of a swing/bouncer hybrid. It's not that much more pricey than the one you already have on your registry.

I'm working with limited space too (2br/2ba condo) and every time I look at the traditional baby wings I just can't get over how freaking big they are! It's hard not to drown in baby gear.

vrj0522 · June 2014

@jalara48 - DS loved his bouncy seat and sat in it until he outgrew it at almost 6 months.

I honestly would not downgrade the swing. I think it's too helpful and one of those items that can be a real life saver at times.

Maggie6424 · June 2014

I think it's worth it to splurge on the swing/bouncer combo. I bought it for this baby. We borrowed a swing and had a crummy bouncer for DS. But we needed the bouncer for him because he had reflux and needed to be at an incline.
However, some kids don't like the swing much. The bouncer is great for when you NEED a shower but nobody else is home to watch bebe.

ashcakes921 · June 2014

These kinds of threads are great for FTMs like me. I look at registry stuff online and wander aisles at the store going "is this really necessary or is Target trying to sucker me"

BeanNut · June 2014

I prefer one with a bouncer. For both of our girls, they used the swing a lot for three months then they would (sometimes) only go to sleep at night if bounced in the bouncer for a while. This probably continued through 7-8 months.

MuffinMom14 · June 2014

I'm in love with this:

https://www.target.com/p/4moms-rockaroo-swing-grey-classic/-/A-14958164#prodSlot=medium_1_9&term=swing

MuffinMom14 · June 2014

Ok, I was sold on the rockaroo, and then we saw this tonight--it swings in two directions, and it's not that bulky:

https://www.target.com/p/fisher-price-twinkling-lights-spacesaver-cradle-n-swing/-/A-15028667#prodSlot=medium_1_20&term=swing?preSelFlag=false&overlayId=&catalogId=10051&listId=&storeId=10151&langId=-1&krypto=vKbXpJzc5TRr6caPxpfkwB2s6KOB56SoU4mTaFtN4YUmGbzZzNi/5fEK2jiARl2RjSjkOlyQEVAc 3mrarub2xlokpW0eBBStafEYwa+/QXzTNqr9Bu0+VHXPNdL03PmZe0dOcSdy7DJB0NnhMabgWdP/ M3OIvk9wEdcA5xndcyrR4V7/kYCkuM/oEdIkHdaI/8B6jAEW8YzCph5K3XpZ+uaYOlM6SRm/QNC3 cKvk3zP1hcz2ZwwGMwmGkAuv5FT1PUNoGkaouvrgIEv3mu1QS27VnRihI0pI5QzDyRZVavkw9q5N L8l9yTEOHJwwROcL4+H3J5fyV7M7SRpqkIDskhTJfBZHXua/KQMMl8HxPP/gXnpXRwkzOEP+9fP9 n/T5cG4UGS8W1Mdbmg7ZC49uMLSgV0vJo2AnK3ZXXMNEFMGWyTFcYxd8GJNuiq3YxT9I1oq7XkVF hVVMUTUoIsZOmY9gptZ+9fzP7YiKD8wSuJdZXgEr2cA5i0vlkbIb/HyBPMW037eQnRx+VkB1fN7L zDmq5mRAilJThvpFNm6OjYmd3LIT8zr7G6xMq+YZmRtEIW0dyaeCPnqYQbDg3IiTRXQbsvQwq4fV pe1Gd/bWa62nZE1GJfc6gKx6A1AC5rPvGaWik+2qkHyjAppAnr5unXET7wQ1wvL1fZVx1wrbBGTX tTo6qkGz+QBb1aW260lr

Thoughts?

JessAnnJ · June 2014

We have the FP snugabunny swing. That thing saved my sanity. We don't have space issues but I would have gotten rid of some of my stuff to make room for the thing if I did. It was worth way more than what we paid to me. Hands down our most valuable item. I agree with PP regarding the side to side motion. DD did not like to swing front to back. I just looked on Amazon and the newer version does not get as good of reviews so in curious if they newer one is different.

We also had the snugabunny bouncer but we didn't use it that much. Our swing was much more important so if I was going to go cheap on something it would be the bouncer.

ETA - wow typos

ladybug0088 · June 2014

@JessAnnJ‌ I can't find the snugabunny anywhere...just all the other ones like snugalamb, etc.

I've switched to the mamaroo just because I can't find the snugabunny anywhere. I wonder why?!

JessAnnJ · June 2014

@ladybug0088‌ I think Target had a version with monkeys on it when I was registering for DD. We bought ours on Amazon based on reviews and got it during a price drop for $100. The reviews just don't seem as good for the newer version, but there aren't very many yet so it's hard to tell if the newer model is the same.

slsl509 · June 2014

Echoing all the others - must swing both ways (hehe) and must plug in.

We also used a bouncer seat (without the bounce) for months and months. DD was never content to just lay there, she wanted to be up and seeing things so the bouncer was great for that.

slsl509 · June 2014

Also: I was adamant that my house wouldn't be clogged up with a bunch of obnoxious-looking baby gear.

Then DD was born.

My house looks like a Toys R Us threw up in it. Sigh. But you do what you gotta do to keep baby happy whilst being able to get something done for yourself including basic hygiene.

lct2008 · June 2014

@ladybug0088‌ the only place I found the Snugabunny this time is online at babies r us or amazon Not sure if they are selling it online or not. The snugs monkey is targets own pattern of the same swing.

DiannaVB · June 2014

We have both the snugamonkey swing and bouncer. The swing was a life saver. Baby didn't mind the swing direction and I'm glad we could plug it into the wall. The bouncer we didn't use much. However, now that we have a play room on a different level of our house I expect to use it a lot more. We will keep the swing on one floor and the bouncer on the other.

[Deleted User] · June 2014

Are the other snuga-whatevers the same as the Snugabunny? Target has this cute Snugapuppy version that has gotten nice reviews but for whatever reason is cheaper than the monkey one. I can't figure out the price difference though, they seem identical aside from the animal.

ETA: Heads-up! I just noticed this on Target's website. If you order the Snugamonkey swing, it comes with a free gift of the Snugamonkey bouncer or Rock n Play sleeper. The bouncer is $60 and the sleeper is $75, so that's a really good value if you need either of those anyway! I have no idea how long this special is going, but it almost makes me want to go ahead and purchase this myself to make sure I lock in the deal, since I'll get a nice bouncer included.

https://www.target.com/p/fisher-price-cradle-n-swing-my-little-snugamonkey/-/A-14069815

ladybug0088 · June 2014

Thanks ladies! I still can't decide since thete aren't really enough reviews to make it a for sure for me. I might stick with 4moms and pay the extra $50 for it. I'm registered for it so I plan on using my completion coupon if needed.

wildflower75 · June 2014

Another vote for the Mamaroo! I LOVED having it for DD and used it for a long time!!

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