Customer Reviews

Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium Cradle Swing

5 star:		(584)
4 star:		(175)
3 star:		(54)
2 star:		(29)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

My wife and I just retired our Ocean Wonders swing now that our son has outgrown it and I think that we all felt that it was tough to see it go back into the box. We found that a swing is invaluable for a baby for several reasons:
1. The swing really soothed our son and helped him fall asleep and establish a daily nap schedule.
2. Sometimes you need to restrain your little one while you do something frivolous for yourself like, oh I don't know - eat. But if he or she isn't strong enough to sit in a pack n play, then a swing fits the bill well.
3. If the swing has a mobile or some other point of interest attached, then your baby can begin learning to focus on, follow and reach for objects while playing in the swing.

So now that we've established that a swing is mandatory baby gear, how does the Ocean Wonders rate? Very well except for a few minor points.

PROS
* Very sturdy and durable
* Really good activities above and in front of baby keep him/her happy and interested
* Multiple seat settings, both in terms of recline and in terms of the swing direction, i.e. front-to-back vs. side-to-side. This second point is surprisingly rare in swings, but you want to have all options when your feeling out your baby's preferences.
* Good battery life - we went almost two months between changes using it daily

CONS
* LOUD motor - you get used to it after a while as it's almost hypnotic, but when we first turned ours on, I thought that we must have gotten a defective one. After going back to the store and hearing the display (it hadn't had batteries when we initially bought), we realized that that's just how it is. It's comparable volume-wise to an average dishwasher running.
* Baby will have to grow into it. Like so many baby items, this one goes too far on the low end of the recommended age. Smaller babies will be moving too fast even on the slowest settings.
* The sturdiness comes at a cost in terms of size - it takes up a pretty good size footprint. We recouped some space by storing baby items underneath it where there was plenty of clearance space.

All in all, this was a great swing. I suspect that even the cons that I've noted above would apply to many of the other models on the market.

We received this swing as a gift when we were having our first and now that we are preparing for our second I remember how much I love this swing (and my daughter did too). The side to side (cradle) motion on this swing was a lifesaver as my baby never cared to swing forward and back. I did not like the music and therefore rarely used it but my daughter found the sound of the motor (a swooshing like sound) to be very soothing white noise. I did occasionally turn on the mobile as my daughter grew and she loved that. This is a very sturdy swing, cleans very well, and I liked the adjustable seat.

Buy this swing with confidence, you (and your baby) will not be sorry!

Please read this review before you purchase or register for this swing. I really wish I would have known more about baby gear when I registered. First of all, this swing was a lifesaver the first 3 months of my son's life. If I had written this review back then, I would haven given it 5 stars.
What really disappoints me, is that my son is a big baby. He is over 20 lbs now at 5 months old. He would love to continue using this swing, but it looks like it's going to fall apart now when he is in it. Going back and looking at the weight limit, it's only good for up to 25 lb babies. So here I have a 5 month old baby, that still needs to be swinging and no swing safe/strong enough to hold him. I recently purchased the Fisher Price Smart Stages 3 in 1 swing (Tightrope print) and love it. It goes up to 40 lbs and I wish I would have started off with it from the beginning. It would have saved us $100. Before you register, think of how long you would like your baby gear to last. I was clueless.

I received this as a shower gift from my best friend and I have thanked her many times over for this swing. In our prenatal classes the teacher informed us that newborns prefer a cradle motion and will graduate to the swinging motion later on. This was the reason for us regerstering for this item. My son loved it and would sometimes fall asleep in it. This would sooth him when nothing else would. The fact that is has so many settings really helps in getting milage out of this swing. When he became bored with the cradle swing we simply turned it around and when he began setting up we were able to change the seat position to accomodate his growing needs. When he was fussy the nature sounds really helped and when he was awake and I just needed to get house work done the music really entertained him. If you are considering purchasing or regerstering for a swing I would highly recomend this one. The bright colors really grab the attention of your little one.

This swing is a God Send! We were given a Graco swing- the one with the little bears- as a gift and decided that we just didn't like it. The bears didn't move, it didn't swing side to side, the colors were bland, and the music was annoying. I returned the swing and paid the $30 difference to get this Ocean Wonders Swing. I put it together myself with no problems. Our baby loves this swing. He has colic and isn't easy to sooth but he loves to stare at the fish going round and round overhead and he really likes the different sounds. He's sleeping in it now and I can actually get some work done around the house for the first time in 3 months. Thank you Fisher Price. My only gripe is you have to hit the "reset" button to keep the fish moving. Other than that, this is a great product for babies and parents!

this is truly the best swing ever, we bought it when my son was a few days old because he cried constantly. He absolutely loves looking at the fish and watching the lights and the music helps put him to sleep. He loves being able to swing in both directions. Yes it does take a few batteries, but it was well worth a little peace and quiet. THIS SWING IS A MUST HAVE!

Mobile is brighly colored-more appreciated by infants than some of the neutral toned swings.
Long life when good batteries are used.
Different settings to be used as weight increases. (Someone said that there was not a difference between settings. Not true! You increase the settings to keep up the speed as your baby gets heavier. If you use the highest setting with a 7 lb. baby, she'll turn into a milkshake!)
Can light up- great to soothe at night.
The mobile & seat are at correct angles so that the mobile can be enjoyed, unlike some other swings.
I thought the $100 pricetag was totally nuts- but the entertainment for months & months has been worth every penny. One of my friends has a cheap swing with a stationary mobile- you will appreciate the difference!

I purchased my swing prior to the delivery of my third daughter. She was premature, born at 34 weeks, and she looked pretty small in it at first. However, she seemed comfortable and content. She is now a whopping 23 pounds and our swing still works flawlessly. There have been many nights where my daughter slept from dusk till dawn in her swing. The batteries were pretty well shot by that point, but I never experienced any kind of smell or difficulty with function. When my daughter was 5 pounds, the highest setting was WAY TOO fast. Now that she is 23 pounds, the highest setting is required to obtain the equivalant movement as the low setting for a 5 pounder. Even at 23 pounds and 29 1/2 inches long, the support bar on the back of the unit has not proved problematic. Know ahead of time that it is a "full size" swing. It is not designed, nor represented, as easily portable or compact. It should come as no surprise to the consumer that it is as it claims. I did not experience any of the negative issues reported by the minority on this site. I say, buy in confidence and enjoy.

It took our baby awhile to warm up to her swing. She wasn't wild about it for her first month, but ever since then she has loved it. The "cradle" shaped seat is wonderful for young infants....much better than your standard swings without head support. At four months she uses it often. It's great for rocking her to sleep for a nap. In fact, it's so useful that I have to remind myself to get her out of there for hands-on play more often! My only criticism...I wish there was an option to extend the time that the music plays. The automatic shut-off happens too soon.

I got this swing for my baby shower. I have just resently put it together for my son. Over all it's working out pretty well.
Pro's
1. The fish and lights are great and they keep even my 5 week old entertained.
2. You can switch up the way it swings so that your baby doesn't get board.
3. The music and swing control is nice.
4. The color and paterns are so cute.

Con's
1. There seems not to be a happy medium as far as the speed it rocks at.
2. My son loves to fall asleep in it, however, it rocks so fast it wakes him up and he freaks out because he doesn't get why he's moving.
3. It seems to wobble a little as it swings which makes me a little nervous.
4. It's a little loud but I'm a heavy sleeper so it doesn't bother me.
5. The base is so wide that you need a lot of space for it.