Fisher-Price Cradle 'n Swing, Scatterbug (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

We purchased the Cradle'n'Swing Scatterbug in January for our second child. The swings we had for our older one where hand-me-downs and the motors had run out on both of them. One of the reasons I picked this swing over the others was because it had the multi-position feature that our daughter loved at daycare but we didn't have at home the first time. I also picked this one because it was slightly less expensive and didn't have a head rest as my kids tend to have big heads and I didn't want our son to grow out of it as quickly as our daughter did with her swings.What I like:The multi-positioning, the various speeds, the sounds (occassionally), the durability(stands up to a 2-year-old stopping it to give baby kisses in mid swing on a regular basis), it sooths our baby right to sleep and is used several times a day. The recline position. After having a baby with reflux, I like the position of the seat on this swing and it seems to help this time around. It's neutral in color. Yeah, it's green but it would work for either a boy or a girl and it makes a decent background for pictures :) It's also portable enough to move from our living room to our kitchen where I am a lot.What I don't like:The motor does make a bit of a "motor" noise but it's not terrible (this bothers my husband more than me), the "toys" or bugs are really cheap looking and not very entertaining to look at although our son doesn't really miond. The speeds change as the batteries wear down which is to be expected. We start at the lowest speed and gradually increase it as they wear down and it seems to work just fine.In regards to other reviews:Batteries: We've been using the swing for almost 9 weeks and have changed the batteries once (today, actually). I turn the power off every time I take him out of the swing and have tought others to do the same.Motor being too loud: I mentioned this already but it's not that big of a deal to me. If you're expecting a quiet machine, you need to remember that it's a fairly simple mechanism and even the old crank swings made a noise. Ours doesn't smell like the motor is burning out and the motor has always made the same noise.Swing speed: For a newborn it seemed a little fast but he has never minded and often falls asleep quickly.This swing would be REALLY Aweomse if it had an AC adapter and you could plug your MP3 Player or iPod into it to play your own baby playlist, just say'n!

Not having an AC adapter makes this a very cheap product. I discovered this inconvenience a little too late and now I'm repacking it to return right now. I'll keep my eyes peeled for another brand.

My boy seems to like sideway cradle motion ( similar to cribs/basinets) more than the traditional front-back swings. I was able to put this product together myself in about 30 minutes. Dont forget - you need FOUR D batteries which are not included. Our boy is clearly enjoying the sideway swing. I like the selection of music/nature sounds, volume and speed selection. Unexpected bonus - the seat pivots in circle left and right in small increments so there are more than just two directions. First speed is fast enough for us. Now lets just hope the battery life is good.My reservations are -- wish the animals could be bigger or replaceable with our own toys; wish the back angle of the seat could be adjusted from flat to seating - there is only one position; wish the whole product/seat was a bit bigger - my 7 weeks old is already taking up a lot of space - I hope we can use this swing for a while. Need to check the weight max on this thing.

Great value! My baby loves it. I love that the seat has two positions and a variety of sounds to play.

The swing doesn't swing like it should and the motor is loud. When we first got it, the swing would swing OK, but now, even with fresh batteries, it only swings sporadically. Sometimes I'll leave the baby in it with the motor running and it will barely rock, and I'll look over a little while later and it will be rocking fine. Most of the time it doesn't rock much at all and never gets going, even if we push it to get it started. There is no rhyme or reason to it -- it seems to just have a mind of its own. We tried pushing it to get it started, which sometimes works, but not always. The motor is super loud, louder than the music/sound plays. Fisher-Price is sending me a replacement motor.I wish we had bought one that had an A/C adapter instead of running on batteries. There is no reason why a swing of this size, which is clearly not meant to be portable, should only operate on batteries.Do yourself a favor and buy a swing that plugs in to an electrical outlet.

My husband and I just assembled this swing today for our 'just over 1 week old' grandson. We haven't had the chance to try it out yet, but overall, I was very pleased with the looks of it, the easy assembly and the sturdiness of the unit. The music is very pleasing, and I love that the volume/swing speeds can be adjusted. I think this swing will be put to good use at TTgrandaddy & Gabby's house!

I can't tell you how much I dislike this swing... we bought it from target and from the first day, it never worked. Plain and simple it DOES NOT SWING... which is what I believe it's supposed to do... i mean... it does say "Swing" in the title of the product...It will work just fine with fresh batteries, but it takes 4 D size batteries and after about 15 minutes of use, it's back to being a useless item.Advise.1. Get a swing that plugs into the wall. you will love yourself for it.2. Stay away from Fisher Price swings.3. Figure out how to return an item if you dislike it. Target's return policy is horrible.Horrible product from day one... I wish I had my $100 dollars back... :(

I know you aren't supposed to let you babies sleep in a swing, but it was the only way I could get either of mine to self sooth at night and sleep more than a hour at a time. It is wonderful! Its slow back and forth motion while they are laying down really does it. I may have died without this.