Fisher-Price Rainforest Open-Top Cradle Swing

Fisher-Price Rainforest Open-Top Cradle Swing

Short lived item for bigger babies

This swing has it's good and bad points. The GOOD: -Easy to assemble -Comfortable seat for baby to fall asleep in -Most of the music is not annoying to me -Plugs in to the wall, I've never put batteries in it -Mobile swings out of the way -Swings both directions The BAD: -The tray comes down in between the legs, making it difficult to use when you have the baby swaddled or in a nightgown -Now that my baby is around 16+ lbs, the motor is working overtime, sounds noisy, and the swing itself is getting unstable. I think I may have to retire it long before he hits the actual weight limit of the swing. I'm disappointed that this swing is not going to last much longer. It seems to be one of the best things for my baby when he gets wound up. But lately one of the legs is rising up off the floor when he is swinging. If you have a smaller baby, it will probably work well for you. It would work better if the tray was removable or there was no leg center piece.

Great Swing

I had this on my registry after reading good reviews. I got it for my shower so it was ready to use when I brought the baby home from hospital. He is three months old now and we use it alot. We have set it up between my computer and my husbands. He spends time in it when we are working at our computers. I never thought the ability to change the way it swings would matter, but apparently it does, my son has a definite preference for swinging side to side rather than back and forth. So that feature turned out to be very handy. He really enjoys the mobile. It hangs at a good height for him to see. The big reason for choosing it was the fact it didnt have to run off batteries. So we have it plugged into the wall and never had to even put batteries into it. Only things I would improve would be the following: A longer cord. The tray should be easy to remove. The other thing to keep in mind, is its not very portable. So if that is a feature you are looking for keep that in mind. We were not, we had a set place for this in mind. We have other rainforest items. It seems like a good set to get. Nice and vibrant colours for the babies to enjoy.

Just doesn't live up to the original

We had the duckie cradle swing (short lived production period) when my son was a baby. That swing put him into a coma for naps from 2 months till 6 months and saved my sanity many times. The only drawback was the battery factor... it chewed through D cells like no one's business. We kept it, hoping for another baby... and ended up with twins. A friend of a friend lent us her rainforest swing and I was stoked - coma for naps and NO BATTERIES! Unfortunately it's just not as good as it sounds. It didn't swing as high and it didn't swing as fast ... the mobile was slow, one of the leaves stopped flapping before we got it, and it wasn't in a good spot for baby to even view it ... the seat is different. It's easier to recline and seems more comfy BUT instead of being all one piece that tilts back or forward, only the back tilts or comes forward, which is not so good for a reflux baby - squishes the stomach SLIGHTLY more. (one of my twins we have dubbed "the spit up queen" so I am more attuned to these things than I care to be... it's OK if the back is reclined but not it you try to tilt it up) Neither of my twins cared for this swing at all - they would sit in it and look bored and then start to fuss and then start to cry until you took them out - they preferred the duckie swing. It worked its coma magic on them just like my son. I ended up buying a used aquarium swing (same concept only with music and lights in addition to the mobile) and they are so much happier. The aquarium swing is rigged up to plug in instead of use batteries so everyone is happy. Skip the rain forest swing - look for an aquarium or duckie swing. For what it's worth - people are complaining a lot about the rainforest motor dying... my son's duckie swing and the aquarium swing i bought are from 2003 and both are churning away strong as ever - maybe the quality was better then?

It's ok...

LOVE that it can be plugged into a wall instead of using batteries all the time. LOVE that it has an open-top design - no more interesting maneuvers to get baby in and out, especially while sleeping! LOVE that it's not completely hard-bottomed - from the seat up, it's like a sling. LOVE that it swings both side-to-side AND front-to-back. Here's what I DON'T love: 1.) The swing power does seem to be less than other models. Our old Fischer Price Cradle Swing evidently has some good velocity to it (which our daughter favors) and this one is a much tamer swing. 2.) The mobile moves sooooooooo slow that it doesn't hold my daughter's attention at all. 3.) It's lower to the ground than our old model (might be a pro for most, but my back prefers it to be a little higher with our big girl!) 4.) The music/sounds are pretty loud, even on the low setting. (You can forgo sounds altogether, if you choose.) 5.) I wish the tray had some toys on it - not really sure what people do with the trays - suction cup toys maybe?? 6.) I like that it has a 2 position recline, but there's barely a difference between the two. OVERALL It's a good swing, but I wouldn't purchase it again and I still might return it. I'm disappointed because I can tell my daughter misses her old swing, which still works - maybe she prefers the hard-backed seat or maybe the high velocity. The reason we bought a new one is because the mobile stopped working, we were tired of using so many batteries, and we plan on more kids. We also wanted a swing that went both ways. But now I'm kicking myself for not getting an Evenflo swing so we could use our Exersaucer toys on the swing tray...

CAN'T GET HIM OUT OF THIS SWING!

My boy loves this swing. I didn't realize how fast these kids can get attached to things. So, I guess this does what swings are supposed to do. Recommend it.