Graco Sweetpeace Newborn Soothing Center Review

This is the most unusual swing - we loved showing off all of its cool features.  We purchased this for our fourth child.  Our middle two children wanted nothing to do with a traditional swing, so we were a little wary about the price tag ($169) in case the new baby also had her siblings' distaste.  However, it really appealed to us on many levels.  

First, we had a Graco infant carseat.  The Graco SafeSeat infant seat can be used in the base of the SweetPeace...this was great for coming home from the grocery store with a sleeping baby.  I put her still sleeping in the carseat right into the frame, turned on the swing, and she stayed asleep so I could actually get my groceries put away.  Frozen food stayed frozen!  We liked that aspect of the swing.  No more rocking the carseat with my foot.  

Second, the way you can position the swing is very cool.  You can place the swing seat three different ways.  Each position mimics the way you would hold your baby when he or she is fussy.  You know how moms are always rocking or swaying back and forth?  This is the motion of the swing.  Not up and back or side to side like a traditional or cradle swing.  

Third, the seat is super soft and snuggly.  The seat reclines in three different positions, you can raise it as baby grows.  It holds up to 25 libs.  It has a shade and cute toy bar.  It also has a five point harness so you know baby is secure.  I also liked the fact that the top is open...there's no mechanics or swing arms or anything over baby's head.  She could see the whole room because the swing mechanism is in the base.  

The rest of the features are great too.  There's an iPod hookup; 11 songs - 6 classical and 5 nursery rhyme (although I wasn't thrilled with the Flight of the Bumblebee...not a very soothing song!); 5 nature sounds including a distant thunderstorm and forest sounds; great volume control; a timer; a LOCK feature to keep siblings from pushing the buttons; a swaddling cloth for brand new baby; and a newborn head support pillow.  

Yes, it's expensive...but not much more than the traditional swings. It doesn't have bright colors or toys but babies can't really focus on those things anyway when they're zooming up and back in a traditional swing.   Our baby got a lot of use out of it, it was really great to have.  Our friends went and bought one after their colicky 3 month old quickly fell asleep in ours during a visit.  We were very, very pleased with ours.  I do recommend watching a tutorial, we watched one on Graco.com, and reading the owner's manual to be sure you understand all the features.  It's a great swing.