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38 of 38 found the following review helpful:
 Fisher-Price Cradle Swing: STARLIGHT Jul 12, 2008
By Book Lover
After reading all the reviews on this site, I was a bit confused since Amazon has lumped together the reviews for several different types of swing in one area. This review is specifically for the Starlight swing.
First, Amazon gets bonus points from me for getting me the swing in three days even though I chose the free shipping option (and I live in Hawaii!). I was so glad I didn't have to wait nine days for it.
I have to say, I love this swing! It was easy to put together. It didn't take more than twenty minutes to assemble, which was fabulous since my baby was eagerly awaiting its completion so he could hop in it. He's almost four weeks old and has always been a difficult sleeper, so I was hoping this swing would be a lifesaver for me.
So far he hasn't fallen asleep in it (although he's only tried twice), but if I get him to sleep and then put him in it, he sleeps so much more peacefully and a lot longer. Normally he falls asleep and I have to hold him through his entire nap because if I put him down, he wakes up and cries. That hasn't happened in the swing yet. A couple times he's woken up, started to fuss a little, then settled right back down. He seems to prefer the side-to-side motion of the swing to the regular forward rocking motion, so thanks to Fisher-Price for realizing what babies really like.
A few things you might want to know about the swing but that are hard to find online:
1. This swing is not blue (as it looks in some of the pictures). The fabric is a nice lavender accented with a cream color. I think it's pretty gender neutral and I don't feel at all weird about having my son in it, but some people might.
2. The canopy around the swing is removable. I had wondered about this because it seems it might be cooler without it but I had trouble finding out whether or not it could come off. It can!
3. This swing has a plug, as well as runs on batteries. When using it with batteries, it will shut off after seven minutes in order to save the batteries and you need to restart it. It does not do this when plugged in. This was important to me because I intend to have the swing running the entire time he naps in it and did not want to have to be going over to restart it every seven minutes.
4. The built-in headrest is just perfect for my son. It cradles his head without confining him. I'm not sure if it will be more of a problem as he gets older, nor do I know if it comes off. I would check but he's sleeping on it right now and I am not about to wake a sleeping baby. Sorry! :-)
5. Some of the reviews have mentioned issues with the motor and the 6 speeds. When using the side-to-side motion, the speeds are more distinct and high speed really gets a-going, although that's what I use because it seems to work best. My son does not get bounced around in it at all, even on high speed. When turned to rock forward, the swing hardly moves at all, even on high speed. If I give it a nudge to get it going, then it seems to start up but it never gets as fast as the side-to-side motion does. I'm going to call customer service to see if there's anything that can be done about this. Perhaps it is a motor issue, or maybe I assembled something wrong. Either way, for now it's totally worth having the swing just for the side-to-side motion.
6. The swing does fold in somewhat for storing, but it doesn't really get much smaller. Don't expect to set it up and put it away after each use. And you have to fold up at least one leg if you're going to move it through a doorway, but it's really easy to do.
All in all, I'm totally glad I purchased this swing. It was a great price and it does exactly what I'd hoped it would.
17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Baby and I like this Swing Jan 25, 2007
By elviswoman
I recently received this swing as a gift for my 2 month old preemie. She LOVES the lights, the rotating stuffed animals, and the sounds. And she seems comfortable in the seat too. The seat snaps into two positions, a reclined position and a sitting position. Additionally, you can set the swing up to go from side to side or forward and backward.
I did have an incident last week where we had some power surges here in the neighborhood WHILE we were using this swing. When the power came back on, I tried all the different switches to turn it on and it didn't work, then later on, it finally did work. This swing has so many switches on it and I admit to being too lazy to read the instructions for all of the functions that each of the switches perform. That said, I don't know if the failure was user error or a quality issue. It appears to be functioning just fine as of this writing so I think it was me.
Another user cites instability of the stand on this swing. I have had no problem with this as I tested it carefully before putting baby in. Also, we leave the swing set up in one place in our house all the time, so we haven't had have to worry about not opening the stand up all the way beyond the initial setup. This might be more of a concern for someone who needs to put it away and take it back out a lot.
I personally like the fact that the mobile, the rocking, and the sounds are independent of each other, so you have a lot of variety to entertain baby with. I LOVE the fact that you can use batteries OR the wall outlet to power this thing. Thank GOODNESS for not being held hostage to battery manufacturers anymore, but having that option if we wanted to use it where electricity isn't available.
I would recommend this swing, but I would check for a reasonable return policy first before buying and keep the packaging for a couple of weeks after you receive it just to be sure you and your baby are happy with it.
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
Just a little info on the "fire hazard". Feb 11, 2010
By Michael E. Edington
"parent"
This swing uses a dc motor which all dc motors spark due to the commutator brushes that are installed and are required for the unit to run. The swing uses either 4D batteries or the ac adapter(transformer) which changes the AC power into DC power for the swing to operate. The sparks are totally normal and should cause no alarm. The brushes are made of carbon material which do have a smell to them kind of like a burning smell. If you have a power tool plug it in and smell where you see the sparks. I have no doubt that you will smell the same smell that you do from the swing. Believe me I am a father of 3 and I would never do anything to place my children in harms way. However, Fisher-Price could do a better job explaining this to customers and this would solve alot of concerns. I have been an aviation mechanic for 15 years and typically see this in all DC motors.
17 of 19 found the following review helpful:
 Not a lot of quality for $159.99 Dec 30, 2006
By Gregory V. Stewart
For the price of this cradle/swing, I'd hoped for a lot more quality and reliability than I got. First, the stand seemed a little wobbly--you really need to make sure that the feet are as wide as possible when setting it up as they don't lock into an optimal position. Even worse, however, is that after less than two days of use, the lights, sound, and mobile stopped working. Calls to "customer service" were a complete waste of time and I ended up returning the item. While the netting and other features appeared attractive and desirable, I'd have to recommend purchasing a less expensive Papasan cradle/swing.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Great but..... Apr 25, 2007
By Emmly
My baby loves, loves, loves this swing. We love it because it swings two ways. If he gets fussy swinging one way, we turn him around and swing him the other way.
Now, the reason for the two stars: the motor went out... Twice! We purchased the first swing in December 06. In February the motor went out and we had to get another one. Then just today, April 25, 07 the motor conked out AGAIN!
We don't even turn on the lights for our baby because they distract him. All he ever does is swing. I don't think we got a lemon.... TWICE! I think it's a flaw in the motor.
Someone talked about this item not being sturdy. It doesn't feel sturdy but it is. It has to stand on two legs because you need to turn the swing. We've never had any problems with it breaking down. We only have motor issues.
At $159 the motor should not go out. I'd stay away from it.
If you can get another model that swings both ways, do that. That's the only feature that is absolutely fantastic about it.
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