Customer Reviews

Fisher-Price Rainforest Open-Top Cradle Swing

5 star:		(97)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

We purchased this swing when my son was about one month old. He loves it! He really likes the bright colors of the mobile animals and used to stare at them in amazement. As he has gotten older (he's now over 4 months), he gets bored a little more easily, so he doesn't like to stay in it for as long as he used to. I usually use the swing when I need to get things done around the house and can't take him along - like cook meals. I'm sad that he's quickly approaching the weight limit of 20 pounds (he's a big kid), so we won't be able to use it for a longer period of time.

We bought this particular swing because of the bright colors, its ability to be plugged in, and because it can swing both side to side and front to back. We also liked the music choices. Most of the songs are easy to listen to and won't drive you crazy. There is even one choice of just animal sounds (birds chirping, etc). It's nice for when you really don't want music playing in the background of your phone call.

Some people have reported problems with the swing stopping, saying they have a faulty motor. After a few days, we thought this was our problem as well. But then we realized that the seat wasn't aligned properly. Since you rotate the seat to change the swinging direction, you can change the center of gravity of the seat. Rotating the seat very slightly to the left or right and making sure the vertical swinging bar is centered in front of the plastic part (just under the picture of the elephant) will make it swing much better. As long as I check that the swinging bar is centered before turning it on, it works perfectly.

We purchased this swing for our newborn son based on the fact that my wife uses one at the daycare she works at. Perhaps the biggest selling point for us was the fact that you have the option of using a plug-in adapter or batteries. Since just about every other item used for a baby takes batteries, it was nice to finally see a product with an A/C adapter. Other features that we like are the side-to-side or front-to-back swinging option, the wonderful mobile which features up-and-down movement, and the music/rainfall noises. All of these options work independently of one another, which makes this product even more appealing. We haven't had any problem with the swinging (or lack thereof) that others seem to be having. Sure, the swing doesn't move very fast, but I don't think my son is quite ready for roller coaster speeds just yet. My son seems very content while he naps in the swing as well.

Overall, I think that this swing is an excellent purchase for anyone in the market for one. While it may not have the strongest motor, it has plenty of other options that make it a good buy.

Highly recommended.

I purchased this swing for my 4 month old daughter. I was enticed by the fact it was the only one I could locate that could be plugged into an outlet and work off household electricity rather than battery power. I imagined this would make the "swing" consistantly a better "swing" as there would never be a weak power source. The first swing I brought home from the store was assembled (which only took about 15 minutes) and plugged in. I was immediately disappointed by the lack of swing, and eventually my wife and I determined that there was definitely something wrong with the swing, because even with no baby the swing would stop swinging then slowly...and barely swing again. I returned it...and purchased another. I agree with the other reviewer that it just appears to take awhile for it to "warm" up. As I sit and watch her in the swing at this moment, it seems to be working okay, but I'm not totally convinced. The mobile rotates and the leaves move up and down. If the motor issue could be improved I'd be more pleased with this particular swing.

The "hammock" like feel of this swing did not appeal to my child at all, she had the Aquarium cradle swing before (from her older sister) and when it broke I purchased this one, she just screamed and screamed. If it had the solid seat like the aquarium swing it would have been great, but she really needed to have that secure feeling of being held in place. Beautiful swing, loved that you could plug it in too - wish I could have switched the seat out I would have taken it anyday over the battery guzzling Aquarium swing...

We bought this swing the day we brought our son home from the hospital. For a new baby, it is perfect. It reclines far so that a wobbly-headed baby can lay comfortably. The gentle rocking relaxes baby and puts baby to sleep. At that age, he wasn't at all interested in the mobile.

As he has gotten older, the swing has grown fairly well with him. We haven't had issues with the swing petering out, the music stopping, or any of the other technical issues parents have mentioned in previous reviews. We have never used the tray, so I don't really have any opinion on that feature. I can say that from about 6 weeks through 3 months, our son LOVED the mobile and he has always loved the music, especially the natural water one with the animal sounds.

Now that he is 4 months old, he is almost 26 inches long and he takes up almost the whole swing. I can't sit him with his bottom in the actual dip because his head nearly touches the metal bar that holds the swing. He also likes to sit upright now and this swing does not have a totally upright setting, so he gets frustrated in it unless he is tired. The swinging motion is starting to go a little slower at this point, so I think that at 16 lbs he is already outgrowing it. It is supposedly good up to 25 lbs, but I don't think it will make it past 20. It has been great while it lasted, though.
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We retired the swing when my son turned 5 months old at about 18 lbs. It could have gone longer, but it had started squeaking as it went back and forth, so it is definitely not good up to 25 lbs. It was difficult making the conversion from the swing, but we got through it! He REALLY loved his swing! Despite this not being good through the maximum weight limit advertised, I still feel that this product was worth the money.

My son started enjoying this swing when he was only a week or two old. When he's awake, he stares in amazement at the rotating, brightly-colored animals. Since I keep this swing in my home office, I appreciate that there are four different music choices (or otherwise I might go crazy!). The papasan-style chair seems very comfortable to him - as evidenced by how easily he falls asleep in it. I like too that the chair rotates 90 degrees so your baby can swing either side-to-side or back-to-front. But most of all, I love that it plugs in instead of eating up $30 worth of batteries per month. The only thing I don't like about this swing is the volume control. There are two volume settings, but the lowest one is a little loud - too loud for nap time, anyway. All-in-all a very good purchase.

We bought this swing from Babiesrus and my daughter loves it so much, she likes being in it all the time. The great thing about this swing is that it is a plug in so we dont waste too much money on batteries! We did not have any problems with this swing, it swings both ways, front to back and side to side. The speed adjusts according to what the baby is comfortable with. The mobile spins, keeping my daughter well entertained and the music is great too. It has jungle sounds, rain, and different lullabys. I would recommend this swing to everyone!

We had the duckie cradle swing (short lived production period) when my son was a baby. That swing put him into a coma for naps from 2 months till 6 months and saved my sanity many times. The only drawback was the battery factor... it chewed through D cells like no one's business. We kept it, hoping for another baby... and ended up with twins.

A friend of a friend lent us her rainforest swing and I was stoked - coma for naps and NO BATTERIES!

Unfortunately it's just not as good as it sounds. It didn't swing as high and it didn't swing as fast ... the mobile was slow, one of the leaves stopped flapping before we got it, and it wasn't in a good spot for baby to even view it ... the seat is different. It's easier to recline and seems more comfy BUT instead of being all one piece that tilts back or forward, only the back tilts or comes forward, which is not so good for a reflux baby - squishes the stomach SLIGHTLY more. (one of my twins we have dubbed "the spit up queen" so I am more attuned to these things than I care to be... it's OK if the back is reclined but not it you try to tilt it up)

Neither of my twins cared for this swing at all - they would sit in it and look bored and then start to fuss and then start to cry until you took them out - they preferred the duckie swing. It worked its coma magic on them just like my son. I ended up buying a used aquarium swing (same concept only with music and lights in addition to the mobile) and they are so much happier. The aquarium swing is rigged up to plug in instead of use batteries so everyone is happy.

Skip the rain forest swing - look for an aquarium or duckie swing. For what it's worth - people are complaining a lot about the rainforest motor dying... my son's duckie swing and the aquarium swing i bought are from 2003 and both are churning away strong as ever - maybe the quality was better then?

Our baby didn't really enjoy this swing until he was about 2 months old, then all of a sudden he loved being put in it. we usually don't even put the mobile down, as it is perfect for him to kind of "cool down" after play and it lulls him to sleep. He is a very active baby and can't go to sleep very well on his own so this is perfect for that.

We did notice that sometimes it didn't seem to swing very well but if you push down on the back piece that connects the two side bars and make sure they are locked out as far as they can go it will swing, it seems if that white plastic connecting piece is slightly off then the swing won't work right.

We just finished putting it together and I agree with the other poster who says it doesn't swing much. It hardly goes 3 inches off center, no matter what the speed setting is. I think there must be a manufacturing defect because the swing just doesn't move as much as I remember the one in the store moving. We got ours to swing a little faster on occasion and if you let it warm up long enough, but so far I am disappointed.

I like the music, but the controls are definitely lacking. The controls feel cheap and it's difficult to click them into the place you intend because the settings are so close to each other.

I am thinking there is a problem with the motor/controls and will be revisting Babies R Us to see if I need a new motor.

UPDATE: I did find that the first swing was defective. The replacement swing is much quieter and actually swings. If your swing makes a clicking noise, take it back to the store!

I'd rate this swing a 3.5 or 4 now. I love the plug in feature, but I still have gripes about not being able to cycle through the music. The buttons themselves can also stand to be improved. Finally, it would be nice if the seat had more recline options.