Alright ladies I'm going to have tons of questions in the next few months on baby gear! The last time I had a kid was 5 years ago and there's so much new stuff out there!! Ok, first question: Which do you prefer the portable baby swing or the bigger baby swing that is too big to take anywhere? I used to own a big one, but the portable ones look like they'd be great to have especially around the house! Thanks for your opinions and advice in advance! :)
Thank you all for the advice especially Linda P! You have made up my mind! That is exactly what I'm looking for! :) The larger swings are nice, but to have a portable one and one that you can attach your own carseat it amazing! Thank you again for the advice Linda! You've made my day! :)
I ditto the plug in option. Mine is big and I can't take it anywhere, but I probably wouldn't take a portable one around with me either, as they are still kind of big to be lugging around. But, definitely plug in option. Saves you lots of money on batteries!
I never had a baby swing... sure would have been handy though!!! I like the ones that are bigger, because most of them now have the option of swinging side-to-side or front-to-back... Plug-in-able would definitely be a huge plus!! Batteries are expensive!
I am readying for baby #2, yeah... I used to have a large swing and it broke, so we tossed it. We used it a lot with our first so we wanted to get a new one. We also wanted one that wouldn't take up too much space and was portable this time around!
I am assuming that you are going to get a new infant carseat, if it has been 5 years since your last baby... So this is what we did and I think it is an awesome idea.
We got a Graco "snuglider" swing, which is actually a swing frame that you click the Graco SnugRide carseat into, and it is super portable, vibrates, plays music and sounds just like a regular swing. Also, when baby falls asleep in the car we can just bring the seat in and snap it into the swing without having to move the baby over!
http://www.amazon.com/Graco-SnugGlider-Swing-SnugRide-Inf...
We got it and it seems like it will be just perfect for us! Of course, I haven't had the chance to use it yet, but out 2 year old (who is still pretty slim) took it for a test drive and she thinks it is great. What it doesn't have is a toy bar or tray, and it isn't "colorful"--- but you could just hang a few toys from the car seat handle with those baby "links" and I am sure it would work just as well.
So that is my advice!
-M.
Not sure if mine is considered "big" or "portable" but, it does plug in! This is a huge energy saver and I will forever be thankful to my MIL for finding one that accepted both batteries and an outlet!!
~C.
My kids have never been swing babies. Probably because we rarely put them in it....... When I was doing daycare, they would tell us at classes that it's best not to use them. That it (kind of) puts babies into a trance like state. We were only allowed to have babies in swings for like 30 minutes a day tops. So I just never really put my kids in one to actually swing. I would just buckle them in it as a seat.
With that being said. The portable one was great with our 3rd! I had it upstairs in the bathroom and would set him in it when I would shower. He would sit really nice in there for 20 minutes while I showered and got ready. (Usually NOT actually swinging......) We had our big one up downstairs as well. Probably only put him in it 3 or 4 times total. Then just packed it away. Too big. Took up too much room. And I never really put him in it to "swing."
So I vote portable just because it's so much more compact!
I had the big one, sold it, and now need to get another one. I may get portable this time, the size would be an advantage but stooping to put baby in and take him out all day would NOT be. I think I'll go for the plug in option too. I personally think they look kind of tacky with a cord hanging off BUT batteries got drained sooo quickly on my last one, so it would be good to save the money.
We had both. The plug in is awesome, we borrowed one with our second and loved it! The portable one is great if you're on the go a lot! This way you can use it at family gatherings or whatever. We also used it for upstairs and kept the big one downstairs. If you have the means, I say do both!
we had both, kinda. a large one at our house, and a portable one at my parents. i prefer the larger one for a few reasons- if you have a csection you dont have to bend over to pick baby up, larger ones may not require batteries, and the weight limit on the larger ones is higher. my baby was collicky pretty bad, and swaddling combined with swinging was a pretty successful combination. if that didnt work, i had to turn the vacuum cleaner on. but i'm digressing. best of luck!!!
We've had the Fisher price Ocean wonders aquarium swing since our first child in 2006. It is small and portable, we had it in our apartment at the time, now in a house with 2 kids and one on the way...we lent it to my SIL when she had her son and now have it back. We've been very happy with it. Very transportable. Like if you want to go to someone's house who doesn't have kids, it folds into the car in a sec and is only a couple pounds. I never had the big swings so I don't know if those are better. :-) Congrats on your pregnancy!
I loved this swing!! I could easily take the seat off the base if my DD fell asleep and I wanted to go to a different part of the house. It has 4 seating positions and 3 recline positions. My baby had reflux, and slept really well in it. It seemed to be her favorite spot from the beginning (even over the bouncy seat). Check out the little video, and you'll get a better idea about the features.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=369293...
Congratulations!! :)
