Luxury Baby Swings

Pricey mamaRoo Infant Seat receives excellent reviews

As with other baby gear like strollers and car seats, there's a whole class of products that pushes the envelope of price and features. Luxury baby swings offer a bevy of vibrating and multidirectional movements. Parents often praise these products, saying their myriad features can often soothe the fussiest of babies. Luxury baby swings also tend to look very different from traditional swings.

In 2010, a company called 4Moms launched a baby seat/swing that's receiving rave reviews. The mamaRoo Infant Seat (*Est. $200) moves in three directions (back and forth, side to side and up and down) and has several pre-programmed motions, including kangaroo and car ride. The unit also features a mobile of plush toys covered with the paintings of famous artists like Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet and Georges Seurat. The paintings on the toys are black and white on one side (easier for newborns to see) and in color on the other. Its plush toys also pop out of the mobile, so kids can play with them independently. The mamaRoo features five swing speeds, five nature tunes and a port for an MP3 player. The swing comes in six color schemes, all with a white base and a three-point harness.

The mamaRoo swing won the National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval award for 2010. One editor at Pregnancy & Newborn magazine also praises the multitude of motions this seat offers, saying "it really rocks and bounces just as I would when holding my baby, moving side to side, front to back and even in circular patterns." Some drawbacks: The mamaRoo is not that easy to move around, and because it can't run on batteries, you always need to use it near an outlet.

User reviews for the unit are positive -- about 30 parents posting on Amazon.com give this baby swing an average 4.5 stars out of 5. Some say they owned the Graco Sweetpeace Newborn Soothing Center (*Est. $150), a competitor of the mamaRoo and ConsumerSearch's former Best Reviewed luxury swing, before owning the mamaRoo. They say the Sweetpeace was good, but pales in comparison to the mamaRoo with regard to its ability to instantly soothe baby. User reviews at Target.com are also highly positive.

For consumers who want to spend a bit less, the Graco Sweetpeace Newborn Soothing Center (*Est. $150) still receives solid reviews. According to the manufacturer, this swing is supposed to "keep your baby calm and content" with several vibration and movement modes, and different sounds -- including simulated "womb sounds." The Sweetpeace features four seating and three reclining positions. Like most swings, this model is meant for babies up to 25 pounds. Parents can choose to power this swing with five D batteries or the included power adapter. This swing also can double as a stationary rocker, with a removable carrier seat that can be positioned on the floor.

Although we can't find any evidence that babies feel like they're in utero when in the Sweetpeace, parents do seem to like it. More than 100 reviewers on Amazon.com give this swing an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars, with most parents saying the swing did a great job of soothing their baby. You can choose among several built-in sounds, but there's also a standard 3.5 mm input for plugging in your own iPod or MP3 player. The main consistent complaint is that some units have motors that die. These parents also say they had to return the swing to the store or call Graco for a new motor. Some parents also say their babies quickly grew bored with the activity toys. A few others say the swing is overpriced.