apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

as hideous as they may be.... when the baby will sit & be rocked for upwards of a 1/2 hour to an hour... (or fall asleep for even longer) it really could be a big huge monstrosity of hideousness & you are sooooo not gonna care. you could also sew a cover for the seat.

You will cease to view it as ugly after it works, and gives you a break! Buying a swing was my doctor's recommendation, and she was right.

Take heart -- they aren't in them for long!

You could try a Baby Bjorn seat, but it doesn't rock 'em like a swing....

I didn't find anything great, but this is what we ended up getting (graco silhouette "g collection"): http://www.babyuniverse.com/genProduct.html/PID/4714587/ctid/17/INstock/Y/D/

Visually, it was the least offensive swing I could find. My main requirement was no white or brightly colored plastic--in all browns and taupes, this blends in fairly well with our decor, which is on the darker side and has a lot of earthy tones. And it has been a HUGE help with the baby. She takes great, LONG naps in it. It's also the only way we've been able to get her to sleep the last couple of days, when she has come down with her first cold--with a stuffy nose she doesn't want to sleep on her back, and the motion helps lull her to sleep. It also has a nice classical music sequence that she seems to like. A mechanical swing is totally worth the aesthetic irritation, in my opinion.

I had a hammock sleeper (Amby bed), and it was modern-looking but could not rock or swing (you have to do it). If you need a swing to get a break, then honestly, you get over the esthetic offense.

you can find these nice looking swings here:
http://www.mohrpolster.at/homepage.htm

it's a German website but they ship internationally

FP Papasan?

http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?e=product&pid=30548&st=2002

try one that you can fold & pack away when not in use.

we used the graco compact swing in "patchwork cow" - it was the smallest/least obtrusive one i could find, and really, as others have said, a total lifesaver. in navy and beige, it wasn't *that* offensive, and the only downside was that it went through batteries like crazy. i don't know what i'd have done without it for the first 4-5 months.

hahha. i remember when i thought all i cared about was design! then i actually had the kid! if it works, i use it. its not like they dont grow out of things in a couple of months.

I don't have any experience with this but this one isn't too offensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Zen-Collection-Cradle-Swing/dp/B0011MQLNQ/ref=pd_cp_ba_1?pf_rd_p=413863701&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0011MOVS8&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0PS8YQQZW797ADRQDR75

We got this and were pretty happy with it:

http://www.buybuybaby.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=15012293&RN=7083&

It's got a lot of bells & whistles that you don't need (uh, iPod dock?) but it's not too bad to look at. Our 5 month old still loves it, and for a while it was the only place she would nap.

I feel you about the "ugly plastic crap" thing. I'm trying to keep that to a minimum. I'm not a bright-colors person but I've had to come to the terms with the fact that my daughter loooooooves bright colors. One exception, in my mind, should be something like the swing, which is supposed to help her calm down and sleep.

They may be ugly (some are getting better) but babies LOVE them and i think this is just a trade off thats worth it.

Do they still make bouncy swings (like above) in the US? I had one and my mother says i spent aprox 75% of my time in it before i was walking. They're good for older children that can use their legs to bounce themselves/have the neck muscles.

My little neighbor that I babysat was ALWAYS in his bouncy seat. He loved that thing. Every time he would bounce up and down he would say "boingy, boingy, boingy." I think his was a little blue airplane with a propeller.

I just stumbled upon this one at Costco.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductSet.aspx?Prodid=11285868&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|48022|48068&N=4014137&Mo=37&pos=7&No=12&ViewAll=38&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=48068&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC5397-Cat48022&topnav=