Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A disappointment for Fisher-Price
As a mom of now 3 children, I have to admit I probably have almost every baby item there is. I thought the idea of a portable swing was genius, considering we travel to visit family frequently...not to mention the space-saving it would do! However, when we brought this swing home and set it up, I immediately was bothered by the loud motor noises. I also have noticed there doesn't seem to be any difference among the supposed 8 speeds...they all move at the same pace! To add insult to injury, the bar is low and barely misses my 5 week old's head when we are putting him in/taking him out. The only reason I gave this swing 2 stars (and am not returning it!) is the fact that we do travel quite a bit and it serves the purpose for that...it does fold up nicely. I would not recommend this as an alternative to a full-size swing unless you are cramped for space or are going to use it solely for travel purposes!
Rating:  - great swing - recommended
This is a great, multi-functional swing. My baby can sit and play in it for 20 minutes or more at a time (which allows me to get other household chores done). There are colorful flashing lights, music (with adjustable volume control), colorful hanging toys and can swing on it's own without you standing there pushing it. My daughter is 2 months old and she's able to sit in the seat very nicely- but I wouldn't recommend it for a younger baby. Your child should be able to hold his/her head firm and steady before using this seat. This swing can also be folded up in 2 mintues and be carried from room to room or be put compactly into your car to take to grandma's house. My husband and I use this mostly around dinner time so we can enjoy a peaceful meal--and it works! My ONLY complaint is that the swing mechanism swings a little to fast for my daughter at this age so I always have the setting on LOW. Just make sure not to leave your baby with the electric swing on with out supervision. I highly recommend this product.
Rating:  - Baby enjoys, but buyer should be aware of pitfalls
My husband impulsively bought this swing for our 10 week old daughter after he visited a friend with a 12 week old. They had the swing and he thought it would take the place of several "toys" we have. We have been using hand-me-downs from a relative - a bouncy seat and a battery operated swing. Our daughter (and her parents) enjoy both. But because they are "used" they are missing the toy bars, and she's now to the age where that stimulation would be helpful. We also have a Fisher-Price activity gym with music and lights (not used, but a gift). So, this portable gym looked like a combination of all three devices, and it could be easily carted to relatives homes. So I didn't balk too much at the purchase, but was a bit concerned at the price.We put it together (pretty easy to do) and put our 11 1/2 pound daughter in it. She fit in the seat beautifully, and as her head has flopped/fell forward in her conventional swing, it seems that she won't have that problem in this swing. However, after turning on the swing and giving it a push, it stopped within a few seconds. We thought we may have a defective product. We checked the batteries and tried it again, but it continued to stop. We then figured out that if you turn the speed to above 5 it would sustain the motion. Evidently, the lower speeds only work for lighter babies? It does seem to work well when turned up to 5 or higher. Like other customers have reported, we were also dismayed that the product is recommended for babies under 17 pounds. While our daughter is only 11 1/2 pounds, and presumably has a few months until she reaches that weight, that information should have been disclosed on the box. And given that this was a "impulse" buy, my husband had no idea of this limitation, nor did we find out until we had opened the box and carefully read the enclosed instructions. Nevertheless, our daughter does enjoy the product. We will be keeping it. She seems very comfortable in the seat (which has a very colorful and "fun" pattern), the restraint is safe and easy to use, and she enjoys the lights above her head. It will take the place of our "used" bouncy seat and swing for now, but the swing will come back out after she's "outgrown" this product. We will also keep the other Fisher-Price light and music gym in current use, as it plays for up to 10 minutes (longer than the portable swing) and is completely portable (it will fit in her crib or can be used when she's laying on the floor.) This is a nice product for baby and parents, but just beware of the swing speed issue and weight limitation.
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