Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My wife and I have four children, so we've gone through a lot of swings over the years. We occasionally use the swing to entertain a baby so we can cook, clean or grab a shower. More often we use these for the "mid-day nap" and nights where the baby has a cold (the seat keeps them upright which can help prevent ear infections, minimize post-nasal drip and the swinging motion can help settle them if a cough wakes them up). For this, I've found that these large Fisher-Price makes are the best swings. They are the most comfortable and they last for years. Let me tell you about the things that matter when it comes to baby naps in these swings: 1. You can plug it in so you don't have issues with batteries failing in the middle of nap time. 2. It's soft and comfortable. 3. It swings from side-to-side. 4. It's safe. Let me tell you what doesn't matter: 1. It plays music and has other sound options (they don't help - get a nice CD of waves or rain instead). 2. It has toys for babies to look at (I just take them off. I find they agitate little babies and distract older ones). 3. What the "theme" is: babies don't care. Some of these swings (not this model) have a set of toys that snap across their lap with hard pieces of plastic on the side of the swing. These toys are fine for an awake baby, but for naps it's a distraction and the hard plastic piece that holds it in place makes it hard to tap the swing on the side. Tapping on the side of the swing rhythmically is a *great* way to put a wired baby to sleep (you can even just hold your hand so that the swing lightly bumps it). That very soft "jolt" provided by your hand sooths a baby the same way that bouncing them does. So I don't want a piece of plastic there, I want padding which is more comfortable for me to tap. This might seem trivial, until that day when you are exhausted, and all you want in the entire universe is for your baby to take a nap. So this model is perfect as far as that goes. I also like that this version doesn't have the old "dial" for setting the swing speed. Those were a little noisy to turn and could wake a napping baby. When you are sleep deprived yourself, anything that helps a baby sleep is gold. So get this model (or one like it, Fisher Price makes a bunch of them) instead, which has nice quiet buttons. Other things I like: the covers come off fairly easily and you can machine wash them (though the swings with the netting in back like this one add a minor amount of hassle - you will need to use a gentle cycle). The cord is well routed: your baby won't be able to grab it and even if they did, the exposed cord is short and has a quick disconnect that can help prevent accidental choking. They are reasonably portable. There is a bar in back that you flip up to enable the legs to fold together so you can fit it through doors. Once you get it to your new location it snaps easily into place. It's a little awkward to move but it's not heavy. Make sure you shop around the different models Fisher-Price has out: these swings change very little if at all over time. Mostly they just change the theme, so you can save money by buying last season's model. They also sometimes charge more for a more popular theme. Remember: the baby doesn't care. Overall these are the best swings on the market, and I highly recommend having one.