I’ve owned and used the Sweetpeace for a little over three months now, waiting to create a review until I got to understand it well.
I have a ten-year-old son. When I entered the market for baby products once again in 2008, I had been surprised about what complicated things were. When a simple, battery powered open-top swing was the best you could get in 1998, a “Soothing Center” that promised everything alongside changing the baby’s diaper was on the market now! I had been cynical about this all, but must admit that lots of from the features about this product claimed to make improvements to problems that I remembered learning by learning from mistakes with baby #1 can use improvement. I decided to test it out as the one big nicety of my baby gear shopping.
First of all, the pros:
~ To deal with other reviews, I hear no difference between the motor noise about this and things i remember my battery powered Graco open-top swing sounding like. If it uses electricity, it will make some form of sound. Perhaps varying factors could affect this, I’m not sure, but mine is nearly silent.
~ I find the music/white noise sounds to be wonderful; full of sound with decent variation in selection. Someone mentioned like a con to this product that “Flight from the Bumblebee” (among the song choices) wasn’t a calming song. It isn’t said to be; regardless of the name from the product, not everything onto it can there be to lull a baby. There’s two music buttons. One has slow, soothing music. Another plays upbeat, fun songs which one would use at a non-sleeping time (unless your kid can sleep through anything, like mine so far).
~ Some have mentioned the volume being merely a choice between loud and louder. I disagree! The lowest setting is difficult that i can hear it on (company, even if my ten-year-old is away at school)! The loud is LOUD, though. Probably too loud for baby when IN the seat. But I’ve played baby’s music for her in the end play, and MY music through it while I clean. The sound is clear and rich…almost Bose worthy.
~ The white-noise button has fantastic detail. For example, the mother’s heartbeat choice not only has a heartbeat, but the ’swishing’ noise of the liquid activity the infant would have probably heard in the womb, too. I own a few things that mimic my heartbeat for baby, but that’s a first.
~ On a last note regarding sound, you are not limited to an I-pod if you want to plug-in to play your own MP3s, either; anything that runs on the 3.5mm plug works. I’ve used my Rio MP3 player an even my laptop. Nice touch in a world where it’s getting very rare to locate a creation that gives more than a designated I-Pod docking station.
~ The control pad, incidentally, is excellent. Intuitive buttons, backlit with a non-intrusive blue light. Whenever you turn the swing/sounds off, it remembers your setting next time (i.e., should you have had the speed set on four, four is going to be what it really defaults to when you press the on button next time).
~ As others have stated, the Sweetpeace plugs in to the wall. That right there sold me, as batteries for my old open-top swing practically sent me to the poor house 10 years ago. Unfortunately, the vibration on the seat still uses a D battery. However, that is necessary because the seat comes off to use other places and allow for any Graco Infant Carrier to become placed to be used about the swing.
~ Being able to result in the seat face backward, foward, right or left plus three different recline positions brings MUCH variety for baby. Just when mine appears to become ill of 1 view/movement, a brand new position from the chair makes it like a totally new swing. Sanity saver.
Now, though few, I count these as cons:
~ Some of the selling points with this product are gimmicky, in my opinion. Their idea of you sleeping with the swaddling blanket allow it your smell for baby is a sweet one. But my smell is already on much stuff she’s near often, namely ME. The swaddle blanket was too cumbersome and small to be used with my baby, anyhow…and she is small-ish as babies go…within the 30th percentile in baby size for her age (seven pounds at birth). The teddy bear looking head support (though adorable) was too large for my newborn’s head and kind of got in the manner. We took it out and used two tightly rolled security blankets on each side of her body to aid her instead. I recently gave the head support another chance since she’s bigger. Now it places her neck/head within an uncomfortabe position.
~ It can be difficult to move around the area like I did with the old swing. I have a small family room with a lot of furniture to maneuver around, to ensure that tends to be an issue for me personally. If you’re tight on space and want to move your swing to a different location within the room in order to store/use it, take that into consideration. It feels very sturdy though, which puts one’s mind at ease.
~ The other bother may be the lame attempt at activity toys for baby. Mine is just three months old and it is already bored. The toy bar includes a mirror having a rattle that can’t be held, along with a teether that can not be chilled and can still be far too fat for my baby’s mouth in six months. Oh, and a third spot that looks enjoy it must have a toy, but which actually has/does nothing. It’s my job to just take away the toy bar altogether (maybe that will change when she’s older). However, when you factor in that this isn’t an Exersaucer–it’s a swing–that drawback is really a small one.