Fisher-Price Papasan Cradle Swing, Starlight
by Fisher-Price
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List Price: Our Price: $129.99 You Save: $40.00 (24%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $127.95 (click here) Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Fisher-Price Papasan Cradle Swing, Starlight
Customer Review: Starlight Cradle Swing is GREAT for young babies
Summary: 4 Stars
As I write this our baby is 3 1/2 months old. She started having irregular sleep patterns about a month ago and my friend, whose baby is a month older than ours, said the swing was worth every penny for the 2-hour naps her baby has in the morning and afternoons. She was right - this swing is GREAT for when your baby is tired, but having trouble falling asleep (she'll conk out or at least stop fussing within 5 minutes of being strapped in), or for when the baby is awake but you need to get something done and want to occupy her with the mobile (or place the swing near a ceiling fan - babies LOVE ceiling fans!). If she's fussy swinging side-to-side, I just switch the setting to swing front-to-back and she's happy again (or vice versa).
I picked the starlight version because I liked the purple/cream color scheme & the cute princess-like netting, and the "star light" show with the mobile is cool (although since the netting only goes around the back, the baby has to look to her side to see the stars on the netting. If you face the swing toward a wall, they will show up on the wall as well), but mostly because this version has an adapter and can be plugged in. We haven't used batteries once since we got the swing. We just unplug it and move it to wherever we need it in the house and plug it back in. Apparently, these swings eat through the batteries, so the AC adapter option is a cost saver. Not all of the versions have an adapter option, so make sure the one you order has it if that's important to you!
We also bought a vibrating baby/toddler rocker, but this swing has been the most effective method for keeping baby happy and helping her fall asleep. We highly recommend it - it's got a short life span since baby will outgrow it in a matter of months, but it really is worth every penny if you can afford it.
Customer Review: Better than Graco
Summary: 4 Stars
We had the Graco Luvin Hugs swing before, which broke after about 3 months. We could tell the Fisher Price swing was better made the moment we got it out of the box. So quality is definitely a bonus here. For anyone having trouble deciding between Graco & FP, here is my assessment:
Things I like:
Starlight mobile is motorized, and the baby loves the starlights & curtains (Graco mobile was not motorized, and was pretty much pointless)
Swing has two modes - back & forth, & side to side - switching between them is EASY
Music and nature sounds (bird & cricket chirping) sound quality is MUCH better than the Graco swing
The seat looks much more comfortable, and upholstery is softer
Things I don't like:
Wide base takes up more space than the Graco Swing
Baby gets feet stuck under tray - i had to take it off
Songs do not randomize like with the Graco swing. It starts with the same song (Cannon in D) every time you turn it on. It can get a little tedious.
The mobile makes a very loud clicking sound if it gets caught on something or the baby grabs it - you can hear it all over the house (scared me the first time I heard it)
This swing does not have True-Speed (I don't think Graco did either, but I know Bright Starts swings do), which basically means as the baby gets heavier, the swing slows down and you have to manually adjust the speed setting
The seat is smaller than the Graco swing and supports less weight (25 lbs vs 30 lbs)
Head rest is not detachable, only adjustable.
All in all, it is suitable for what we use it for - keeping baby entertained while we eat dinner. I still definitely recommend it over Graco. Why risk $100+ dollars on something that is probably going to break?
Customer Review: Swings too fast, motor clicks, seat doesn't incline enough, toy tray hard to remove and put on, timer too short.
Summary: 2 Stars
This is my third child, and third swing. I have had a traditional swing, another cradle -n- swing, and this one. My favorite was the fisher price cradle -n- swing, but it was an older model ocean wonders that I don't think they sell any more. It was slightly different from their current ocean wonders model.
1.) The Papasan cradle swing that we have swings WAY too fast. As my baby has grown her weight has slowed it down a bit, but even at 16 lbs, it still swings too fast.
2.) Additionally the motor makes a clunk, clunk with every time it reaches the height of its swing (when it changes direction).
3.) The automatic timer for the lights and butterflies turning goes off too fast.
4.) The toy tray is difficult to remove and put on, but it has to be removed to put her in the swing. (I've pinched my fingers several times removing it.)
5.) The seat does not incline enough for an older baby to be happy playing in it. She is 4 months old now and wants to sit up, and the seat is too reclined for her in its upright position.
6.) The headrest pillow should be removable, not just adjustable. In any position, it has always seems to just push her head unnaturally forward, so I ended up just cutting it off.
7.) Yes, it has several songs, but it always starts on the same songs, so she hears the first few songs a LOT more than she hears the last few.
It is not a horrible swing, it's just that there are a LOT of swings out there in this price range. I am sure that you could find one that does not have some many annoying features. The worst of the flaws is that it swings way too fast, especially when she was first born (and she was almost 9 pounds)!
Customer Review: LOUD CLICKING NOISE
Summary: 2 Stars
I just bought a second of these for other daughter Having bought the first more than a year ago. On the first daughter's advise my second daughter was told by her, "This exact swing (Fisher-Price Starlight Papasan Cradle Swing - Cocoa/Pink) was a HAVE DO HAVE." Only gave 2 stars to the rating would list as something important under negatives for all the people who get this swing (really deserves 5 stars).
PLEASE NOTE: We found out that when the swing is CLICKING A LOT AND LOUDLY it was almost always because the legs has shifted to a position (mostly too far apart} that puts the motor in a bit of a bind. If you love the swing as my kids do, when you hear it making any overly-loud-clicking-noise: try adjusting the feet to a position where you can hear an improvement in the motor-clicking and so it doesn't run in a bind and wear out before its time. Some of the newer, more expensive swings have a support bar across the back of the frame that might help to keep the legs from splaying or at least to keep the feet some standard distance apart and may make the swing last longer, but I haven't tried one to know if it works better or not. A little attention to the noise can accomplish the same thing with a lesser expensive model that doesn't have the back frame support bar.
Even if this recommendation is for one type of Cradle Swing, I can only imagine the same principle applies to others that are built the same way. Luck to all and SUPER-KUDOS to the makers of this Mommy-Saver device. Sweet Baby Dreams and Luck to All.
Customer Review: Excellent Swing
Summary: 5 Stars
We bought this Fisher-Price Papasan Cradle Starlight Swing from Amazon.com for our newborn boy after reading numerous reviews here, Target.com, and consumersearch.com (an excellent resource for all types of baby products, where this swing was rated as "Best"). Assembly was a bit more involved than expected (to permit the swing's pieces to fit in a modest size box), taking ~30-45 minutes to complete. As advertised this swing uses both batteries and AC. Its only design flaws are that it has no "OFF" switch (it just toggles between battery and AC operation) and you need a Philips screwdriver to remove the 4 screws that affix the battery compartment's door: not terribly convenient! Thus, if you leave batteries in place, you need to unplug the swing to get it to stop. Since we exclusively use AC when home (and battery on travel), we just leave the batteries out for AC use and use the AC/Battery toggle switch for on/off operation. The music selection is not tedious, including a version of Pachelbel's Canon in D. And the star/moon projector - which rotates bright images of stars/moon opposite the rotation of the stuffed 4" stars/moon - fascinates our son and is quite well executed. In regards to decor, only a small percentage of the periwinkle might be considered light "purple": the overwhelming majority is beige, with some true periwinkle trim: fine for boy or girl. (If you have a chance to see Babies-R-Us' version of this swing, in its custom brown and pink, you will lovingly embrace the periwinkle color scheme.) With a somewhat fussy baby, this well-built swing works wonders.