Fisher-Price Papasan Cradle Swing - Nature's Touch N1973
by Fisher-Price
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List Price: Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Fisher-Price Papasan Cradle Swing - Nature's Touch N1973
Customer Review: GREAT!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have B/G twins and they are almost 5 months old now! I recived an Aquarium swing and this papasan swing for my shower. They are both excellent but me, my husband, my twins, my 2 year old son, and all of the other people who have ever slept over our house LOVE this swing more... Let me explain...
My twins are VERY fussy sleepers (it really doesnt matter where but they always end up in odd possitions that seem dangerous) and they are always moving all over the place (We hear it on the moniter and are constantly checking on them, you never know if that one time you dont, that they are in a life threatening situation!) No one was getting any sleep (they didnt cry but EVERYONE heard my husband and I walking across the hall to check on them) so we needed a solution. So when the twins were about 7 weeks old we tried both swings... The aquarium was great, the music was cute, the craddle motion was nice and it seemed comfortable, but the papasan was way better for why WE needed it... WE needed it for sleeping, not for entertainment, so just keep that in mind.
The Aquarium
It was very "loud" and I couldnt see them falling asleep with the "fun" and "boistrus" music. It swang WAY too fast and it was startling to our newborns. The seats design didnt seem to be made for sleeping, it seemed more designed for a shorter period of time and the babies never looked too comfortable for long. The toys were too much and I felt like it was another bouncer, almost like the thing you get before an exersaucer, not something for sleeping in (in our opinion)
The Papasan
It had very "soft" colors that were very soothing and dreamy, and the music was calmiing and soft, very, very easy to fall asleep to. The papasan did swing fast at first (we read the manual and did the old blanket trick, it worked like a charm) and my babies went to sleep very easily. The seat is very soft and cushiony with an adjustable pillow. The fabric is soft and comforting and the design really cradles baby well for a nights sleep. The toys were nice and slow and calming, the mirror was an excelent idea for the sleepy baby, but they are still up. I also like the toy bar now...
We use the papasan without the toys and very slowly for naps and for those restless nights (we bought another papasan and returned our Aquarium) and the twins love them. But in the morinings when its too early to put them into their Excersaucers, we put them in the papasan, sometimes with the toy bar. Its great for the cranky times too and perfect to keep visitors to the babies away, like a nice way to tell them that you dont want them fussing over the babies anymore! The swing is great side to side, but my twins are now apriciating the front and back motion as well! My twins love it and it always works like a charm!
They still fit in it, and have room to grow at 5 months (only in the 13th percentile though!)
I am not discrediting the Aquarium Cradle swing at all, just saying that it wasnt the best for us and we needed something different, but if you want it for entertainment I may recomend you buying that instead. We highly recomend this Baby Papasan Swing!!!
Customer Review: BEST SWING EVER
Summary: 5 Stars
My daughter loves this swing and the features mentioned in the other reviews are awesome. I will admit she sleeps at night in her swing because she hates her crib and bassinet (we call her crib the CRYB! even daycare cannot get her to sleep in her crib there. Basically our choices were for her to sleep in our king size sleigh bed, car seat, or this swing. The swing seems like the most comfortable and safest choice. We have repeatedly tried to get her to sleep in the cryb, no luck so far (13 weeks old now) plus she has been stong enough to roll over since 9 weeks so she sucks the mattress, rolls into the rails and bangs her head in her cryb in addition to being hysterical. The swing goes to 40 lbs (which is higher than some other swings) thank goodness! We say she'll be swinging in kindergarten. The battery use has not been bad for us because even though she sleeps in it she is fine with being stationary almost all the time. In the early morning I will turn it on if if she is restless because the mobile delights her and she likes the swinging and the music. I will say almost gave it 4 stars because the music shuts off after 8 minutes. Shame on Fisher Price for not offering us an option. Also I'm not sure why things like this can't come with an AC adapter or at least have in available as an add on. A big pro is the washable cover, our super pooper stained it the first week and we had it machine washed and back on looking brand new very quickly. Now I keep at flannel pad under her bottom and that has been a good idea! My friend got it for her new baby and my daughter was so happy at her house (and she is normally very fussy and demanding) because she was in "her" swing. It is well worth the money!
Some comments on other reviews:
1.People write about the legs jumping and the birds and leaves not twirling right, I think they may be putting it together wrong, it is not the easiest item to assemble and I have seen one put together wrong and it didn't operate correctly.
2. Lots of complaining about the swing speed, Mine doesn't swing super fast at all when I have going back and forth instead of side to side. I also have read that swing speeds are just for heavier babies, as in crank up the speed only as your baby gains weight so they can still swing at the same rate. You can easily strap in a swaddled infant with the straps adjusted right. My friend's baby only weighed 6 lbs at birth and was swinging just fine, not fast at all at 1 week old...I will say when we didn't have it fully reclined when she was a newborn I was concerned, once we reclined it, it seemed a lot more secure.
3. My daughter is super long over 24" at 13 weeks and she just started sitting with her knees bent to the sides in the swing so she fits fine.
4. The view isn't bad from the babies perspective. I laid on the floor next to her weeks ago because I curious what was making her so smiley. They can see the birdies.
Customer Review: By far the best swing
Summary: 5 Stars
There are so many good features to this swing that it's hard to imagine buying a different one for our daughter.
The papasan shape is a great feature that snuggles and comforts baby. The cloth cover is soft, removes easily, and is in one piece for easy washing. It snaps back on easily as well, which is a major plus given that so many baby items these days aren't so user friendly. The pillow portion is cushioned nicely and provides side support for her head.
The toy tray snaps on and off without any effort as well. The toys are plastic, colorful bug shapes. The middle toy is tethered to the tray with a cloth strip so baby can pick it up to play with it, but it won't hit the floor if she drops it. It's nice to have the tray on while she's active, but also nice to remove it when she is napping or simply doesn't want it there.
The safety straps are secure and the toy tray is not necessary to keep the baby positioned in the seat. The lap is cushioned and holds firmly to the baby's abdomen area, but doesn't squeeze.
The papasan adjusts from front to back motion to side to side motion with a push button at the front of the unit. The whole papasan moves easily, and there's no jolt to the seat when the position is changed.
The mobile is really cute. There's a bulb-shaped mirror over the baby's head so she can see herself. The mobile spins and each leaf, bird, butterfly and bug moves independently as well. There is a separate switch for the mobile movements and music so that the movement can be switched off when the music or other sounds are playing.
The music is calming and has nature noises in the background. The unit also has a feature where just nature noises can play rather than music. There are rain forest, bird chirping and cricket noises. The volume control is nice and allows for a quiet play for all sounds.
The swing feature has six speeds. The slowest speed seemed a little fast to me at first, but is just right for baby. I haven't really tried out the faster speeds yet.
The unit as a whole is very neutral and should match any decor, unless you have a very bold room. The seat is mostly light tan/almond with a light green sage accent color. The metal base is light tan as well. It's certainly not an eyesore, and we think of it as an additional piece of furniture in our family room just for our daughter so that she has her own place and can be where all the action is. In all, there really isn't anything negative to say about it.
Customer Review: Couldn't have lived without it the first few months!
Summary: 5 Stars
This swing is so great! When my husband and I were walking down the aisles in Babies R Us, this swing was instantly the most visually appealing to us. The colors are more neutral and less gawdy than the other swings out there--and it really seems like they are calming to our baby, Camdyn, while not an eyesore in our home.
Our daughter is now 6 months, and she is a big girl and is on her last uses of this swing now. We have had this product since she was about 2 weeks old and I am so thankful that we bought this product nice and early!
-Our daughter loves the mobile with the cute butterflies on it, and the convex mirror which allows her to see all of her self in the swing and not just her face. Whenever she goes in the swing she instantly looks up knowing that those things are up above her!
-For the first few months she mostly enjoyed the rocking motion in the swing and recently she is really starting to enjoy the swinging, I like both these features.
-The two chair positions are helpful, and the upright position sits our baby pretty upright so that she can really see what's going on around her.
-We do not use the toy bar too often, she likes to be able to pull her feet all the way up to her mouth and play around with her other toys, but sometimes in the swinging motion she will grab on too the two toy loops like shes riding a bull and it puts a smile on her face and it's just the cutest thing.
-It's very sturdy, even after we have dragged it from room to room all over the house.
-I really like the soothing nature sounds that you can play instead of the music! They really are pleasant.
-We have had to replace the batteries only maybe once a month or less since we have bought this, we use the swing a lot although usually only on the first few speeds, since the others are pretty fast.
Overall, I definetly like this product and will use it for any future children and will hand it off to my sisters when they have kids! It's nice to be able to have a spot to put your baby when you need that extra hand. A few things I would note--always get in the habit of strapping in your baby even if the swing isn't moving and your baby can barely wiggle around yet! It's just good peace of mind when you never know when your child will start wiggling around like crazy and trying to roll over, and also, it's so easy to keep your baby in the swing for hours on end because they are loving it so much but make sure you get that personal time in too!
Customer Review: A lifesaver for a fussy baby!
Summary: 5 Stars
My baby is 3 months and has been sleeping exclusively in this swing every night for over a month (per my pediatrician's permission/orders). She has acid reflux and cannot sleep on her back in the crib or without the swinging motion. In this sense, the swing has been a godsend! Here are a few notes:
1) Forget buying tons of D batteries and instead go ahead and invest in rechargeable ones. Believe me, you will get a lot more mileage and save money in the long run. The swing takes 4 D batteries.
2) A negative - When she was a newborn even the slowest setting of the swing was WAY too fast (she was 7 lb 9 oz at that time). We tried weighing the swing down by putting a blanket over her legs but even then, without more weight from the baby, it seemed too perilous at the time so we rarely used it at first. So, if you have a small baby, don't give up on the swing but wait until he/she gains more weight because it really WILL come in handy!
3) As others have mentioned it is tedious that the mobile/music/sounds stop after about 10 minutes. Instead they should put the option for the parents to set a timer. Luckily my baby is usually asleep before the mobile and bird sounds stop but for others using this other than for bedtime I can see how much of a pain it could be to keep resetting the sounds and mobile.
4) My other main complaint or question is why the cradle swing has an option to lift the pod into a sitting position? The baby looks like she is going to fall out when I've tried changing it to the upward position...I would assume this is meant for a stationary option only???
5) Finally, other swings have a very convenient and important locking mechanism to stop the swing from moving when it isn't on. This one doesn't so given that there is a mobile right above the swing portion it is very difficult to get the baby in and out of the swing. I'm constantly hitting my head (or unfortunately her head) onto some part of the mechanism (fortunately the items most in the way are the soft toys on the mobile but it's still perilous). Fisher Price should've installed a way to maneuver the mobile out of the way for easy child retrieval and a lock so the swing doesn't move as you're trying to lift and place the baby.
Otherwise, I give it 5 stars because at this stage of my baby's life it has made my life so much easier. She wouldn't go to sleep at all without it and wakes up if the swing stops. She'll even sleep over 10 hours straight!!