Fisher-Price Zen Collection Cradle Swing

by Fisher-Price

• Part of the new high-end exclusive Zen Collection for Baby, sophisticated look has upscale materials and all the must have features moms look for
• Features a seat that rotates 90 degrees to provide side-to-side cradle motion or front-to-back swing motion together with a range of speeds
• Features two sound effect sound tracks and fourteen songs in a unique Zen-like orchestration - six lullabies and eight entertaining musical tracks
• Beautiful accents and fabric design
• Uniquely designed mobile with three fun patterned characters that moves gently and freely on their own to soothe and captivate baby

Product Description

Amazon.com

The Zen Collection Cradle Swing from Fisher Price offers a variety of ways to comfort and soothe infants. And with its lovely, contemporary design, it's designed to integrate nicely into your home's interior. The swing is built for infants up to 25 pounds who cannot yet sit unassisted.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: The Good: Swing provides versatile and comfortable options for soothing infants The Bad: Large footprint may be problematic for smaller living spaces In a Nutshell: Contemporary design, comfortable touches, and versatile functionality let you soothe your infant in style At a Glance Ages: For babies who cannot sit unassisted, from birth Requires: 4 D batteries, Phillips screwdriver for assembly

The cradle swing provides a safe, comfortable place for baby to rest. View larger.

The Zen Collection features soft fabrics in rich colors.

A Secure and Soothing Place for Your Infant
Yes, it's lovely to hold and cradle an infant in your arms -- but even the most dedicated parents need to put the baby down and take a break! This is why we love the idea of a baby swing; we've seen how they provide a comfortable, safe place for an infant, with soothing, rocking motions to help maintain a very important sense of security and calm. If you're familiar with older models of baby swings -- with their creaky mechanical noises and uncomfortable seats -- you should know that the Zen Collection swing definitely takes baby swings to another level.

The swing's seat is designed for infants who cannot yet sit unassisted. Its basket shape provides security and support for the youngest babies, and it can be adjusted to sit the baby up or recline down. A plush seat cover, padded head support, and built-in cover keep baby comfortable. The swing seat can be positioned to move back and forth or from side to side, and it has a speed-control dial to allow for a variety of graduated speed settings. The swing is powered by battery or can be plugged in with the included adapter. It moves in a smooth, quiet motion with minimal mechanical noise. While baby is swinging, he can listen to one of 14 different soothing sounds with adjustable volume, including Muzak-esque remixes of classical favorites and unobtrusive nature sounds, like chirping birds and babbling brooks.

Knowing parents will especially appreciate that the baby seat is removable and portable. So once baby falls asleep in the swing, you don't have to disturb him by removing him from the seat. Just lift the seat out of the swing to carry him with you to different rooms in your home.

It's So Lovely!
A baby swing is not small -- it's basically a piece of furniture. So we're delighted to find that the Zen Collection swing offers a contemporary and sophisticated palette that can complement your home's décor without making your house look like one big nursery. You won't find any frills or pastel colors here. Its contemporary pattern features sprays of leaves and dragonfly silhouettes in stylish tones of cream, chocolate brown, and moss green with ruby-red accents.

Its lovely textural touches include wood-finished handles, satin accents, and embroidered detailing on the cover, as well as on the mobile toys, which are cute and stylish. The toys include two plush dragonflies and a plush turtle, topped with matching umbrellas. It stands on a sturdy, dark brown, metal frame that's heavy enough to provide good support and security. Not only is this swing good looking, it also makes a great choice for unisex decorating.

Easy Assembly, Sturdy Construction
The swing took us less than half an hour to assemble and required only a Phillips screwdriver. One minor problem: we had to re-thread the mobile so it could hang properly. The assembled swing has a 26-by-33-inch footprint and stands 47 inches tall with the mobile attached, so it takes up quite a bit of room. This is something to consider if you have limited living space. However, the base folds together easily, so you can lean it against a wall when it's not in use.

What's in the Box
Removable infant seat, mobile, swing motor, swing frame components for assembly.

From the Manufacturer

Bring baby a sense of comfort with the motion he enjoys most—whether it's rocking side-to-side or front-to-back. Surround him in softness—soft fabrics, a variety of soft music and the soft gentle motion of the toys on the mobile. For you, the function is two-fold, because the plush seat of this cradle swing is removable, with wood handles that let you take baby from room to room! Whatever room you and baby end up in, the cradle swing's rich textures, earthy colors and beautiful wood accents will help create harmony in your home. Additional features include three-point restraint, two-position recline and machine-washable seat pad, pillow and attached blankets. The Fisher-Price Zen Collection Cradle Swing requires 4 D batteries, or use the plug-in option to save on batteries.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

108 of 110 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great swing. Ambiguous instructions June 20, 2008

By Vano Chu

Amazon Verified Purchase

I will agree with the previous reviewer that the assembly instructions leave a bit to be desired. In particular:

1. The infant seat legs can be installed backwards (and it looks like it would take a screwdriver plus a lot of elbow grease to ease the locking "tabs" back out to separate the parts again -- I was lucky and guessed right the first time)
2. There's some white foam wrapped around the inner support bars of the seat frame that have a "do not cut" sticker on them. That does NOT mean "find some other way to remove this packing material besides cutting it off".. those styrofoam pads are supposed to STAY on the bars (as cushioning since they are right next to the baby under the seat material), so DO NOT REMOVE THEM at all. The tubes are white (i.e. don't match the rest of the swing) which makes it look as if they don't belong in the assembled product at first, so it would be easy to mistakenly rip them off in the initial frenzy of unpacking.
3. Yes, the mobile plug has 3 prongs and the socket has 4, but push firmly and everything snaps together fine. The mismatch prevents the mobile from ever coming back out. Fortunately, you can't accidentally install this part backwards. :-)

As for the swing itself, it's great! I didn't think we'd really use the removable infant-seat feature, but it comes in really handy: when kiddo has a wet diaper, I can just pick up the entire chair off the swing (with baby strapped into it), walk to the room with the changing table, and put him down while prepping the wipes and new diaper. The built-in, foldover blankets are a nice touch. The "Zen" music is just new-agey versions of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and a few classic pieces, but is still less jarring than standard baby-gear music.

Switching the swing direction from side-to-side to fore-aft direction is best done by picking up the infant seat out of the socket, rotating it, and then reseating it. It is possible to rotate the chair without picking it up, but it takes a fair amount of force and would be quite jarring to any child who was actually seated in the chair during that operation.

The swinging action is smooth and quiet. There's just the tiniest bit of sway in the frame itself with each swing because of the slight gap between the legs and the sockets in the motor housing where they snap in. It doesn't bother me (i.e. there's no accompanying rattling noise and the swing is still rock-solid), and could probably easily be remedied by shimming the gap with some paper.

The mobile doesn't move on its own. And the stripe pattern on the parasols is not reproduced on the bottom which seems a bit silly to me. (i.e. you and I see a high-contrast pattern from the top, but the baby just sees a uniform brown disc of plastic from beneath -- whose visual acuity is supposed to be stimulated here anyway?) It is nice that the mobile swings out of the way. Getting the baby in and out of the swing is a breeze.

Overall, very happy with this purchase. The design, materials and operation are solid. I withhold one star because the assembly instructions really don't cut it.

96 of 103 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Originally Disappointed; It's Worth 4 Stars Now June 17, 2008

By emory2001

Amazon Verified Purchase

I was severely disappointed in this swing at first, but after a few fixes, it's much better. I've included my original review with updates:

1. The seat base has a strap that isn't shown in the instruction diagrams, so you don't know whether that is the front or the back of the seat base . . . until you've already attached it to the swing base and are putting the rest of it together. Then, you find out that strap goes in the back (this will make sense when you put it together - put the strap in the back). Not a big deal, except that I've already attached it to the swing base, and it turns out the huge orange Warnings are now at the front of my once-beautiful, most-expensive-on-the-market swing . . . and once you click these pieces together, IT'S PERMANENT, so I can't turn it around. I don't even know why screws are included, because even after I removed them, this sucker doesn't come apart. So I can't put the huge orange Warnings facing the back (I only need to read them once, I don't need them in my face forever). If anyone finds a remedy for this, please feel free to describe it in the comments.
UPDATE: Many thanks to the reviewer who recommended acetone nail polish to remove the print. Worked like a charm!

2. When you go to attach the toy bar, it has 4 prongs. The opening that it's supposed to go into has 3 divets. It won't go in. So there's a big hole at the top of the swing where the toy bar is supposed to go.
UPDATE: Finally got it to go in after about eight tries.

3. I pre-ordered this swing before it was released and it just arrived today. Already, I'm upset to see that the immediate post-release price is $30 less than what I paid for it. That's what we get for giving Fisher Price early sales and being their guinea pigs on finding out if the thing works??
UPDATE: Many thanks to the commenter about the Amazon refund on price difference. I contacted Amazon and they refunded me the difference.

There are some great things about it:

1. Great colors and luxurious fabric.

2. The seat rotates, so baby can swing front-back or side-to-side.

3. The seat comes off the swing, so it can also be a regular portable baby seat (it's not a bouncy though).

4. Adjustable swing speed, volume control, and choice of sounds.

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal Swing! September 23, 2008

By Georgiana E. Athenry

I am so glad that we spent the extra money and bought this swing. I put this swing together in about 30 min while I was 35 weeks pregnant and on modified bed rest. It was a cinch, and the directions were self explanatory. I never had the slightest problem.

The design and color of this swing is a perfect match for our homes decor and paint. The swing itself feels sturdy and comfortable. The cover comes off easily to wash and the mobile is just enough to keep baby entertained but not restrict the view for him to look else where and for us to see him. The seat comes off so easily and turns directions without any effort. It is so easy to place the seat back on the swing, no need to jostle baby around. I was very pleasantly surprised how high the seat actually sits up off the floor when not on the swing. It is almost chair or couch height which is perfect. It is also good if you have pets walking around. All in all we are so pleased with this swing. If I had to pick one thing that would make it better, would be the music is a little low at full volume, but considering the rest of the perks. I can live with that.

Update on swing since our son arrived:

I can't say enough about this swing, it is literally worth it's weight in gold to us. Our son is 2.5 weeks old and he has slept in the seat since he came home from the hospital. He LOVES it! I can take him anywhere with out waking him and he sleeps like a rock in it. He hates to be swaddled so this swing gives him the snuggled feeling that makes most babies sleep well but keeps his arms free like he wants. He is in the seat or swinging day and night. Our pediatrician told us while they are newborns that whatever makes them sleep and is safe to let them sleep there, so this will be our most used item for a while since he is not very comfy in his crib or playard yet.

He loves to swing also. It's nice that it rocks both ways. The cover on the seat is so soft and the blanket on it is very nice to have. It comes off and washes in a cinch. The music if very nice a soothing, however I do wish it would go a little louder.

This swing was by far our best purchase for our son!