Fisher-Price Deluxe Take-Along Swing; Great Swing, But Not For Tiny Babies
Written: Aug 05 '04 (Updated Jan 11 '05)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
|
Pros: It's a swing!; collapses for travel; music/lights/toys/variable swing speeds; volume control; colorful.
Cons: Pricy; difficult to place baby into seat/remove baby from swing; little body support; more batteries.
The Bottom Line: The concept of a portable swing is a good one, but the Fisher-Price Deluxe Take-Along Swing might not be your best bet for a small baby.
|
|
|
| krissingene's Full Review: Fisher-Price Deluxe Take-Along Swing |
About four months ago, I found myself planning a week long cross-country trip - with my daughter, who was then just shy of three months old. She's always been a good sleeper, so I wasn't worried about the plane ride or even disturbing our hosts once we reached our destination. She has a ton of toys, many of which can be easily packed into a diaper bag, so keeping her amused wouldn't be difficult either. There was only one absolute necessity that we couldn't fit into a suitcase or check at the airport: her swing.
Yes, mine is a spoiled swing baby - in those early months, parking her in the swing for a few minutes was the only way I could snatch five or ten minutes to myself, and she would occasionally even doze off while swinging. A week without it was not something I looked forward to. So I began searching for a small portable swing - I had seen a couple months before while shopping for the baby must-haves, but determined then that I would probably never get much use out of it. Now I needed one, desperately.
After reading reviews of several swings, I decided that my preference lied with the Fisher-Price Deluxe Take-Along Swing, which was currently sold at Babies R Us (our nearest baby specialty store) for $49.99. Holy cow, we'd only paid $80 for our full-sized swing - and now another $50 for one that we'd only use for such a short time? How in the world would I justify this to my-husband-the-penny-pincher?
Ebay, that's how. I found the swing, listed as being in 'like-new condition' for only $25 plus shipping, paying just over half of what a new swing would have cost.
~* Take It Along, If You Have Room *~
Our 'like-new' swing arrived in a much larger box than I had imagined, and I quickly learned why. Even when collapsed, this swing is somewhat less than compact, standing about 27" tall and 7" wide. A convenient handle molded into the top of the control panel made removing it from the box easy, even though the entire swing (including batteries) weighs about ten pounds.
Now how do I unfold this thing? One of the drawbacks of purchasing anything second-hand is the usual lack of instructions. (In my experience with Fisher-Price, however, instructions are usually nothing more than black and white drawings depicting the steps for assembly, which isn't overly helpful. Some assembly is required when this swing is purchased new, but I bypassed that step entirely.) The first step in unfolding my new swing was obviously to release the dark blue braided-canvas straps that were wrapped around each side of the swing, their velcro holding the dark blue metal legs in an upright position against the back of the swing. With the velcro unfastened, the bottom leg swung downward and folded beneath the swing's seat, forming a large U-shaped base. Two plastic clips on each side snapped into place, securing the position of the legs. The seat, which was folded in half in an upright position, was laid flat with gentle pressure to push it into place, and our swing was ready to go!
Re-folding the swing, however, would prove to be somewhat more difficult. Obviously, the seat must first be folded by raising both the seatback and the raised footrest at the front and bringing them together in an upright position. Then the plastic tabs that held the metal legs into place had to be unfastened - and this is where things get tricky. These tabs hold things tightly, which is great from a safety standpoint but makes collapsing the swing a beast. A great deal of force is needed to pull the tabs outward, allowing the metal legs to slide out of them and collapse; more often than not, I deem this a task for my husband, who struggles with them for a minute or so before they are released. (Whereas I struggle with them for two or three minutes, turn the entire swing upside down, brace the other leg with my foot and entice it with a few choice words before the darn thing gives up and lets go.) Not ideal when you're traveling alone with baby, or if you just don't have a lot of time to spend fighting with your swing.
Now as I mentioned before, the handle located at the top of the swing makes carrying easy if you ever get it folded. However, I was horrified to find the following statement "from the manufacturer" on the Amazon website: "A carry handle enables mom to carry the swing - even with baby seated inside." There's only one problem with this - the seat swings. And while there is a harness to keep baby from sliding off the bottom half of the swing, nothing keeps him from flying out the top. Please, use common sense with this and all baby equipment - don't attempt to carry it with your precious cargo dangling helplessly inside.
~* All the Bells & Whistles *~
When Fisher-Price labeled this swing "deluxe", they were on the right path. To be designed for travel, one wouldn't expect this swing to have the features of a full-sized swing, but in actuality it does more than our larger one. How about the mechanics before I get to the fun stuff though?
First of all, make sure you have batteries on hand - this one needs four C batteries. (Prior to acquiring this swing, our toys ran on AA, AAA and D batteries. Of course we would stumble across something that required C's before long!) Completely unfolded and ready for use, the swing measures nearly two feet long and about eighteen inches wide, and needs a few extra inches in the front and back in which the seat will swing.
The seat is well-reclined and formed by metal rods lining the outside, a softer support beam in the center, and padded with thick, cushiony fabric all over. The fabric is dark blue and yellow stripes, with brightly colored kittens, puppies, birds, butterflies and turtles dancing along the blue stripes. The headrest portion of the seat is a dark blue oval with a butterfly in a white square near the top.
A restraint is sewn into the seat, just below the middle support beam. It too is dark blue with the red and white Fisher-Price logo aligned in the center. There is a white three-pronged plastic clip at each side of the restraint, which fasten into white plastic buckles located near the sides of the seat. The straps are adjustable for a snug fit. Attached to the restraint by a black and white strip of fabric is a soft plush butterfly with a yellow head, green antennae and arms, and a blue body with a red heart in the center. His red and yellow wings are bordered by the same black and white striped material as the fabric anchoring him to the restraint. His bright, contrasting colors are designed to stimulate a young baby's vision, and his wings crinkle when handled.
Attached to each side of the seat is a panel of dark blue mesh, which extends from the headrest down to the center of the seat, and is attached to the top of the long plastic arms at each side of the swing that support the seat. It is designed so that even if baby flops to the side, his or head won't fall off of the seat. Good thinking, huh?
Across the top of the swing, directly above the seat, is the hard white plastic control panel with molded handle. There are three controls on top of this panel. At the far left is the volume control. YES, volume control - every parent's best friend! And what a wide range this little dial encompasses, from barely audible to ear blasting (okay, not at rock concert level or anything, but still plenty loud!)
Next is the sliding mode switch. In the center position, the swing is turned off; by sliding it to one side or the other, you're able to decide which mode the swing will operate in. Slid to the left (with a picture of a smiling baby face), the swing is in baby-operated mode; that is, the lights flash and music plays when baby pulls on one of the toys dangling from the control bar. Slid to the right (with a picture of a swirly circle), the swing runs continuously with music and lights, whether baby does anything to encourage it or not.
Finally, at the far right is the speed dial (and you thought that came only on telephones!) This knob must be turned in order to make the swing move and, to it's discredit, makes a loud clicking noise when turned - not ideal if you're putting a tired or sleeping baby into the swing. There are a whopping eight speed settings - again, more than our full-sized swing, and better functioning at that. The slowest setting is really...really...really...almost painfully slow, and the highest setting moves along at quite a pace - my mother-in-law is constantly terrified that it will pitch my daughter clean across the room, although she very much prefers to swing as fast as possible.
Molded into the underside of the control panel are four round lights - yellow and red on the left and blue and lime green on the right. Hanging just beneath the lights on each side is a rubbery toy - on the right is a red puppy with textured ears and paws and a clear plastic tummy filled with colorful rattling beads. On the left is a yellow cat, also with textured paws, with a ring-shaped body and two plastic rings that slide around the open circle.
So you can see, this swing definitely comes 'fully loaded' - but how does it work with a kicking, squirming baby inside?
~* Just A' Swingin *~
We only used this swing briefly (ie. enough to be sure it worked) before boxing it up and shipping it ahead of us so that it would be waiting in San Francisco when we arrived. There, we would put it to the true test - and if it failed, Heaven help us.
The very first thing I noticed once there, settled, and ready to have my little girl out of my arms for a few minutes, was the level of difficulty in just putting her into the swing. Since it has the control panel spanning the top of the seat itself, I had to maneuver her in with one hand supporting her head and the other beneath her rear, hoping and praying the entire time that she wouldn't pick that moment to twist to one side and flop out of my grasp. Even doing this, some repositioning was required once she was inside - with the seat moving freely beneath, I hadn't slid her back far enough into the seat. Removing her would prove an equal challenge, and I've accidentally hit her little head on the top bar several times. (FYI: remove baby slowly, just in case.) Because of this design, I've drooled frequently over the open-topped portable swings that I didn't know existed when we chose this one...
The swing's seat is also very low to the ground, which makes placing the baby inside from a standing position even more awkward - especially if you happen to be 5'10" off the ground like I am. Sitting in a chair in front of the swing and sliding baby into the seat is much easier, although not always possible.
Once inside with the lap restraint fastened into place, I turned the swing on full speed with lights and music. My daughter was fascinated by the flashing lights and the lively music, which consists of six "classical and lullaby songs" (I could pick out Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Rock-A-Bye Baby, but the rest are beyond me.) I was pleased to note that the metal legs stayed firmly planted on the ground, rather than raising a bit with each forward movement the way our full-sized swing does. The motor was also reasonably quiet, drowned out for the most part by the music, even at only a mid-level volume.
And then my baby girl started to lean. She leaned more...and more...and more, until her little head rested against the mesh panel put there, I assume, for just such an occasion. When leaned all the way to the side (and nothing would keep her from leaning), one of the dangling toys never failed to bonk her in the head with each forward swing, which meant that I had to be constantly nearby, ever repositioning to save her from herself. It seemed as though her favorite swinging position was nearly sideways in the seat, one foot hanging over the side; while this made for a couple of very cute pictures, it wasn't exactly an ideal situation.
I'll pause here to say that, although this swing is recommended for babies up to 17 pounds, my daughter is still using it at 18 pounds plus. In fact, it actually seems to work better now that she's larger; when she was smaller and 'floppier' (three months and about twelve pounds), we actually thought that the entire contraption was off balance because she always leaned to the side, tilting the entire seat along with her. Now that she has better head and body control, she sits evenly in the seat and everything operates smoothly. The lower speeds strain a bit more now with her increased weight, but she likes the faster settings anyway. Once a baby can sit upright without assistance, it's time to retire the swing - my daughter is very close to this milestone, but for now she's still swinging happily away.
Even as the toys knocked her in her noggin, she began reaching for and batting at them from the very beginning. It wasn't until she was about four and a half months old, though, that she was able to actually grab them and hold on to them, thus making the baby-operated mode usable.
As with most battery-operated toys, this one eats it's fair share of alkaline. Although we don't use it frequently, we've replaced batteries twice in the past four months. Be aware, though, that the batteries don't generally die completely - the swing will stop working in full force (swinging with lights and music) before the batteries are truly done for. Try operating just the swing, or just the lights and music, to stretch your batteries to the fullest. That is, if your little one will allow it.
~* Do I Really Need A Portable Swing? *~
Well, that depends on your baby's preferences and how often you travel or visit other people's homes. In my instance of a week-long trip with a swing-addicted young'n, then yes, having a portable swing was a great idea. While I thought that I'd never use it again upon returning home, I've found myself tossing it frequently into the car to keep her entertained during visits to her grandparents, or anywhere else where I thought there would be room to set it up and enough noise to drown it out (family reunion, church social, and picnic in the mountains.)
That's not to say that you necessarily need this portable swing. While the Fisher-Price Deluxe Take-Along Swing does have a lot of features, the difficulty in placing the baby inside and picking him or her back up does bear consideration, as does the lack of body support for younger babies. If your child is four months or so already when you're swing shopping, then definitely consider this model; if you're hoping to use it from the beginning though, you may want to look elsewhere.
~* Contact Information *~
For more information, visit Fisher-Price online at www.fisher-price.com or call 1-800-432-KIDS (1-800-432-5437).
~* Also By Fisher-Price *~
Cradle Swing B0639 * Healthy Care Booster Seat * Kick 'N Play Piano * Laugh & Learn Learning Table * Link-a-doos On-the-Go Goldfish * Link-a-doos Teething Ring * Ocean Wonders Aquarium * Ocean Wonders Aquarium Bouncer * Peek-a-Blocks Barnyard Friends Blocks * PowerTouch Baby Learning System * Sesame Street Light-Up Pet Pals: Ernie * Sparkling Symphony Twinkle Dancer * Swim 'n Spin Fish Rattle
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
krissingene
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Member: Kristin
Location: Southern VA
Reviews written: 267
Trusted by: 119 members
About Me:
The strength of Motherhood is greater than Natural Laws. -Barbara Kingsolver
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.