REVIEW: Fisher-Price Zen Collection Cradle Swing

One of the things that people first think about when they find out that they are going to have a baby is a swing.  Swings offer parents the ability to soothe their baby if they are being fussy, and rock them to sleep as they are drifting off to dreamland.  Most of all, Swings offer parents the ability to free up their hands for other activities, like folding baby clothes, preparing bottles or pumping, or even feeding themselves!

So, what does this swing have to offer?

The Fisher-Price Zen Collection Cradle Swing is not like many other baby swings.  For starters, you can turn it in 3 directions, to suit for room layout (Why should the baby stare at a wall or dresser because of bad design?) as well as your baby's moods!  Another feature is that you can remove the entire seat from the swing, so you can take it with you from room to room.  This is very useful if your baby has fallen asleep, and you don't want to leave them in a room alone, or if your baby is awake, but you are unable to hold them at the moment.

With this Product, you get a baby seat included with the swing!

So, lets review what this swing has to offer:

Pros: 

• Natural sounds (Birds Chirping and Wind chimes; Water flowing in a stream) in addition to the Music and lullabies
• 3 way seat (Front, Left, Right)
• The seat itself can recline
• The fabric seat is easily removable for washing
• Removable Seat that can be taken off the swing
• No Batteries Required, it Plugs in to the wall!
• Collapsible and easy to disassemble for temporary storage or travel 

Cons:

• The Mobile does not spin on it's own

Yeah, that's the only negative about this swing.  The mobile does not spin on it's own.  If it did, then I would say that this is the perfect swing!

I have spent some time spinning it myself to entertain my baby, and she did enjoy seeing the animals flying in the air, but if they spun on their own, it would be much more convenient
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For us, the one feature that made this swing a must have was the ability to plug it in to the wall out of the box.  Many other swings have the ability to plug in, but you have to order a plug-in kit from a form that is included inside the box.  This swing was made to be plugged in to the wall out of the box, but also has the ability to use 4-D batteries if you have the need (Such as you decide to bring the swing out to a park, or other location that does not have an outlet).

I have not personally used this swing with batteries, but I am guessing that it will have a similar performance with other swings.  When researching our purchase, many blogs and reviews of battery operated swings had said  that at best, a swing could last 45 minutes or less.  Other swings that didn't have as many options(Music, mobiles, etc) could last a few days.

Furthermore, many other blogs, and even official product descriptions on major websites will state that the Zen Collection swing runs on 3-C cell batteries, this is simply not the case.

As you can see, it can run on 4 D batteries.  (Again, this is an Option, you can plug it in, OR use the batteries)  Possibly to further discourage the user from using batteries, the cover to the batteries is not secured by the typical latch system, but instead by 4 phillips head (+) screws.  Not exactly Easy and convenient access. (I know this is standard for most swings, but who can unscrew 4 screws, change batteries, and re-secure a latch, all while holding a fussy baby?!)

I don't know about you, but if I had to use 4 fresh D batteries every time I wanted to use the swing to sooth my baby, I'd go nuts!  D batteries are not cheap, so I'd opt for rechargeable to get a long term savings, as well as to reduce toxic waste. And maybe even buy stock in a battery company.

All in all, I would highly recommend this swing to anybody.  The savings you will have by not constantly using batteries more than make up for the money you may save on a cheaper, battery operated swing.