Infant Swing

I would try to borrow one first. My oldest was born 11 weeks early and never really liked the swing and the specialist actually said to really limit the time in them - and not at all for quite sometime because of the positioning risks mentioned earlier. My baby now is 9 months born just 4 weeks early and she didn't like the swing until she hit full blown colic. The girls at work actually bought M. the Fisher Price take along swing (only $50) to try to give M. a break...and it helped sometimes. It's just a lot of money to invest if not going to be used or enjoyed!
...my sister and a friend swear by the moby. my baby just wants M.!

I have the zen collection swing and bouncy seat and the only thing I don't like is that the swing is a tad bit noisy when the baby weight is put in it. Not obnoxious, but I have sensitive ears! On the other hand, the noise seems to put my little guy to sleep. And...it will look small and crowded, but, especially for a preemie ( I had three of those, the most current now two and a half months), it keeps them calm. My guy will sleep for two, three hours at a time in this swing using the cradle motion. He doesn't care for the back and forth.

That said, once baby is sitting up really exploring his surroundings, you will have to invest in a more "sit up" swing as this one really is made for 'zen' relaxing with two elevations, neither of them sitting up.

I had the Fisher-Price Rainforest Swing with the cradle motion, which was also convertable to the front and back motion too. I loved it, especially since it comes with a power cord and AC adapter. A lot of swings don't, which I always thought was weird. I've never had a preemie so I can't help you with that side of the question, but I did want to let you know that the Fisher-Price swings are great and be sure to get one with a power cord. The ones that operate only on batteries will eat up all of the money you thought you saved on them in no time with all of the batteries you'll be buying.

I bought the starlight one, and liked the ones the go both directions. We actually never ended up using it though for more than a handful of times. I couldn't bring myself to put him down long enough. :)

Congrats on the baby! I have the Fisher Price Papasan cradle swing, not the starlight one, but the Nature Touch ---- basically the same thing. I love it. We had a one with more of a seat and my 2 older children hated that one. When I of found the papasan swing I was thrilled. My little guy was in it literally from the day we brought him home from the hospital until today he still uses it (he is 7.5 months old) and since it goes up to 25 lbs it is perfect.

I agree with the others about getting one that plugs into the wall, we ended up buying rechargeable batteries for our and that solved a lot of our problems with burning through 4 "D" batteries.

Another side note, the cover comes off very easy and washes up as if it is still brand new.

Good luck!

PS another thought -- check craigslist if you want to save $$ I see them all the time for the Fisher Price ones and they are about 1/2 the cost of a new one.

i dont recommend any of these; i recommend holding babies and using slings/carriers. the moby wrap is the best one that i've tried.

however, if you do choose to use one, take great care; these swings, etc can reduce the oxygen supply of infants and babies because of their positioning. :)

Hello,
We had a papasan swing and loved, loved, loved it! We bought one, barely used, on craigslist for nearly half the cost though. Despite the price new, it is an amazing swing that I think you should absolutely get!

I received as a gift from my sister in law and she also had the Fisher-Price starlight papasan cradle swing. It was the best swing I have ever seen and great quality. Also, I didn't have to buy a thousand batteries because you can plug it in. Definitly a plus. Congrats on your little one!