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Jun 5, 2008
Poll: Bouncer or Swing?
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Baby Cheapskate by Angela Wynne is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at babycheapskate.blogspot.com.
54 comments:
They both serve different purposes. Bouncers are best at soothing a baby who wants to play. Swings are best at soothing a baby who's fighting sleep. They usually offer different types of music too (if yours has music). The bouncers have upbeat playful music. The swings have calm soothing music.
I picked both... but for different reasons. Both of my kids napped much better in the swing for their first few months. But for awake time, they liked the bouncer.
I chose both. For my twins I use the bouncys a lot when they are awake. They can sit up and see around them better in the bouncys, they are also easier to move around than the swing. I can have them sit whereever I am-kitchen patio, etc. I use the swing to get them to sleep for naps or when they are super cranky. They sleep really well in them.
Our swing was a complete waste of money!! It was heartbreaking really. Our baby girl didn't spend more than 30 minutes in it during her entire infancy. Our bouncer - on the other hand - was a completely different story. Let's just say we have been through 3 of them (and that is not because of poor quality). Even to this day at 9months old she takes her bottle in the fisher-price infant to toddler vibrating rocker!! And mobility is definitely a plus with the bouncers!!
I voted bouncer because my youngest loved his bouncer and hated the swing, but my 4 year old lived in her swing when she was a baby. She didn't have a bouncer but we wouldn't have survived without the swing.
My daughter is a High Needs baby, but she definitely loved her swing more. The bouncy seat we had was the "soothing vibrations" one but it just irritated her - strange, because her bassinet also had vibrations and she slept great in there! Anyway, she always had to be held and swayed and rocked, so the swing was great when our arms got tired.
With my third, we were running out of room! I came across a fisher price all-in-one swing/bouncy seat. Complete with vibration and different speeds and music! The seat easily came off so it could be used as a bouncy anywhere. We were not even sure he would like one or the other, so it was nice to have both. It was a little pricey though. I think @$120, but that was a year ago and it was fairly new.
I voted "both", but it was really that one child loved the bouncer and would nap in it, while he would only be entertained in the swing for ~10 minutes and never slept in it. But my daughter was EXACTLY the opposite. My suggestion to friends is to register for an inexpensive bouncer and to try to get a swing used. Because they have such potential for giving mommy some relaxing time when it is much needed, I think it would be too bad not to try both.
I voted for both. We used the bouncy the first month and a half or so and then the swing.
Swings are so expensive, and you just never know if the babies will like them. OUr 3 never liked them for anything other than sleeping, and we didn't want to start that habit. A bouncer comes in so handy, and it's portable!
I picked both. We resisted buying a swing, and The Boy loved his bouncer, but when it because obvious that movement induced sleep in a baby who would fight it to the death, we bought a swing... and yes, I allowed him to sleep in it next to me when I needed that break.
I picked swing b/c that's what we had, and it worked really well for the first few months. However after seeing my friends bouncer, I think next time around I might be temped to get one of those as well b/c they are so portable. That way when you're anywhere away from home and would like to put baby down, you have that option with the bouncer!
My daughter liked both at different times. For the swing, I recommend a portable swing like the Fisher-Price Aquarium Take-Along Swing. It's spendy new, but you can usually get it used on craigslist or at a consignment store for $30-40. I liked it a lot because I could bring it around to different rooms easily.
My son hated both the swing and the bouncy seat. The only thing he would sit in was his walker. He started sitting in it when he was two months with a blanket in front of him. Although, he was 10 lbs 2 oz when he was born and could already hold his head up. We also would put a pillow on the floor under him so that his legs were not just dangling.
My daughter LIVED in her swing and hated the bouncy seat with a passion. The swing was well worth the money. My parents even purchased one for their house.
The Baby Bjorn bouncer is a must have! It's fabulous. No batteries or annoying music, but it's so sensitive so even with a deep breath from the baby, the seat bounces. Also, for space we chose the travel Boppy swing and it is pretty good for a small baby. It's also very portable and small.
One of those giant exercise balls actually worked best for us. For months 0-3 always calm down if we held him and bounced on the ball. He spit up every time I put him in our travel swing until he was 3 months old. As for the bouncer, he only likes it when he wants to play. However... I put him in one of the new full-size papasan swings at a friends house the other day, and he loved it and started grinning and cooing immediately. Too bad I'm too cheap to buy one for him now - i figure at 4 months old he'll grow out of it soon anyway.
Bouncer. They're cheaper, smaller, fold away well and very versatile. Great for some grooming, feedings, etc. Scored one for $25 on Amazon. Super cute!
No swing for us.
I said neither because the most soothing thing when my son was fussy was to hold him in my arms while I bounced on an exercise ball. I guess you could say I was the human bouncer. The swing never worked for us no matter how many times I tried it and no matter how much I wanted it to soothe my son. The bouncer worked at times but wasn't quite as reliable as my manual bouncing.
For our daughter, the bouncer was a must have item. We took it everywhere (grandma's and friend's) b/c it allowed a place for her to relax and sleep when out. It also was the only place she could sleep at time when she was <4 mos old when she had gas pains b/c she was in a slighly sitting position and not laying flat plus the vibrations and bounce helped her fall asleep. We enjoyed our swing as well, but it was not a must have item.
My daughter never liked her bouncer seat, but she LOVED, LOVED, LOVED her swing! I loved it too because she would take long naps in it and I could get some things done around the house! I even took it outside on the occasional afternoon and she loved it!
My first two LOVED the bouncer and hated the swing. My third would tolerate the bouncer, BUT she had bad reflux and the swing just soothed her better, so I voted swing.
My son loved his swing and showed absolutely no interest in being in the bouncer. But our bouncer wasn't very bouncy, so maybe that was the issue. The bouncer ended up being more of a climbing toy later on. Our real lifesaver was the big exercise ball. We bounced him to sleep on that for almost a year.
I guess it all depends on the child. Our daughter absolutely loved her swing, but hated her little FP bouncy seat. She had colic and that swing was a lifesaver to us.
Then, we moved on to the FP Jumparoo and we could not get her out of it. She would have spent hours just bouncing up and down. Great invention.
Oh, as I watch her run down the hall, I think back to those days. LOL
We got my son the Papasan Swing and I can't tell you how much we used that thing. I swear to you, up until about one year old he used it daily. We finally took it down when he was hitting the weight limit. At around 12 months when he was ready for a nap he would walk over, put his head in the seat and we knew that meant he wanted a nap. He never did pick up on his bouncer.
We love our basic fisher price bouncer (jungle theme $25 at Target). We use it all the time as a portable place where our daughter can sit next to us while we eat dinner, in the corner of the kitchen while I do dishes, etc. It has a toy bar with 3 basic toys (no lights or music)that we rarely use and a vibration feature that we never use. Only downside, the cotton cover started to look worn within the first two weeks.
I bought a swing when she was almost three months old and she has used it exactly 4 times in three months. Maybe if we had tried it earlier, she might have liked it?
I voted for both. I have a combo swing/bounce seat. I loved it until he was mobile. He did naps in swing and would watch me make dinner in the bounce seat.
My little guy loved his bouncer. It had a vibrating seat that the instant we turned it on he was soothed. He was a big baby and out grew it FAST! We then switched to a swing which worked, but not as well as the bouncer.
We tried 2 bouncy seats and a standard swing, and our 9 lb newborn hated both. We ended up trading the swing in at once upon a child for a folding swing that swung faster than the one we had already. THAT was the seat he preferred.
I guess the most important thing to take from this poll is that be prepared to keep your receipts or know where a decent consignment shop is - you'll probably be doing some swapping.
The vibration is the key. We had one bouncer with a very weak vibration that was not as soothing. The fisher price soothing massage chair has a stronger vibrator. In fact we renamed it the "magic" chair.
i don't know, being pregnant with #1, but i'm very interested to see the results. we've held off on buying both b/c we hear some kids like one, some the other, some neither. hope this little on isn't of the latter of the options!
I have weird kids. Neither of them ever slept in the swing or bouncer! The bouncer gave me a longer break from "the fuss" than the swing though.
We got both for our baby shower. We didn't use the swing much. Our daughter liked it for about 10m and then she wanted out. I'm hoping the next one will like the swing more.
The bouncy seat was invaluable. And to stretch your dollar more look for a toddler rocker/bouncy seat. I used this until my daughter was about 8 ms so I could shower. She sat and played in it in the mornings. So it wasn't really a soother so much as a life saver! Now that she is older she can use it as a rocking chair.
I didn't have both, just the bouncer. So I didn't vote.
It was good for the time we had it, but lasted so little time before he grew out of it that I'm glad we bought it used!
For some reason, my son HATED his bouncer. And he was/is one of those kids who LOVES to play and is always moving! He loved the swing though. He spent lots and lots of time in his until he outgrew it (which was a very sad day, for him and his parents!).
A bouncer by far! It's the only way I can get a shower, especially in the beginning. Dd doesn't care for her swing at all, and it takes up so much space.
Neither one of my kids liked the swing, so it was bouncer seat all the way for us. We've also used the baby papasan chair with the boy.
wow-I must be very opposite nearly everyone!! for both kids the bouncy was the only answer, play time, naptime, anytime. Our kids would sleep in a bouncy before a swing any day. We did have both-but I usually used the swing for awake time-unlike what most people did it sounds. I would put them in their swing and then cook or vaccuum or even just lay down! and they would just play. Interesting how God makes each kid different!!! If I only could have one I would choose a bouncy.
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I like both but my son and daughter both were more soothed by their paci and being swaddled combined sometimes throwing a little cuddle in too. :)
My daughter liked her swing best, ours did the side to side and that was her fav. She hated her bouncy seat. Of course she was/is high needs and had colic.
If the cost is coming out of your own pocket rather than a gift I suggest waiting until the baby is born to buy. I got mine at babiesrus and they said I could return it up to 30 days even if out of the box. So this give you a chance to see if your baby even likes it before your stuck with something and out the money. I would double check your store before planning on that though, this was two years ago for me.
The bouncer was only tolerated by my son for the first month and a half.. after that he wanted nothing to do with it. So I could have saved the money I spent on the bouncer and had a swing from the start.
I chose both. Mine loved the bouncer and it was a relief to have a 'spot' to put them when I needed two hands. They even fell asleep in it when it was on vibrate. We also had the swing, which was great because it was high enough that the older kids didn't constantly have their hands all over the baby. I would suggest that if you choose a swing, find one that reclines back far enough so the baby can sleep without his little head slumping over and bobbing about.
I answered swing because my baby likes to fall asleep in it. But, she LOVES her bouncer and would stay in it for hours playing (not very soothing)!
The Fisher Price Take Along swing was the only thing that got me through colic with a little sanity left over. Our baby loved the rocking motion and would gaze at the lights until she couldn't fight the sleep any longer. I tell my pregnant friends it is a must have!
The swing saved my life! My daughter refused to sleep on her back, ever. So she slept in her swing for naps and bedtime (it wasn't moving) until she could roll over and sleep on her tummy.
I also chose both!
My son would fall asleep in both the swing and bouncer, though it was usually for longer in the swing.
I completely agree wtih those who said if you want something new, get the bouncer new and find a nice used swing at consignment. Swings are way too expensive to buy new w/o knowing if the kiddo will like it.
Also, the idea of the bouncer that turns into a rocker is awesome! Probably costs more, but you can use it so much longer!
Anyway, you really just have to wait to see what your kid prefers. Buying nicely used, esp. for the swing, is best if you buy before baby arrives!
I chose neither. My son enjoyed the bouncer but it was not a soothing device for him. The swing he HATED--it freaked him out, I think!
my son was one of the rare few who hated the swing.
As a stay at home mom of two little girls who were two cranky babies (who were never happy unless I was holding them) I would have to say the swing was the best. We had the Fisher-Price Papasan swing. I loved it, and so did my girls. I had purchased a bouncer that played music, and vibrated that neither would use. My money is on the swing. Hope this helps.
When all else failed, I knew I could count on the swing. My daughter loved it! We also had a bouncy seat that was great for putting in the bathroom with baby while I took my showers, but the swing wins hands down!
I would pick both, for most of the reasons others have already said. But now, at 13 months, my daughter STILL likes her swing. (She's probably the only 1 year old who still uses an infant swing.) Don't worry, she hasn't reached the weight limit yet.
I would pick both, for most of the reasons others have already said. But now, at 13 months, my daughter STILL likes her swing. (She's probably the only 1 year old who still uses an infant swing.) Don't worry, she hasn't reached the weight limit yet.
We got much more use out of out bouncy seat...however, the swing came in handy at times. I liked the seat also because you can move it room to room with you. I HIGHLY recommend the graco swing 'n bounce 2-in-1 infant swing. The bouncy seat just clicks in and out of these hangers to quickly convert into a swing or seat. it is WAY cheaper than buying 2 separately. which is the way to go...especially when you don't know which one your kid will prefer.
My son loved hsbouncer and did'nt care much for his swing maybe becuase the way the swings are made with just fabric and the frame instead of the plastic seat. He would just sink really deep into the swing which was really uncomfortable for him. Eleven years ago when i had my other two kids they loved their swing (plastic seat).
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