Did you know that the type of baby swing can either calm or upset your baby more? If you have a colicky baby, it is important to have the right swing for them. Having the wrong swing will not only be frustrating to you, but may also upset your baby more. What is the best swing for a colic baby? We will discuss this in great detain in this article!
How To Choose A Swing For Colic
Know what you want. Do you want a swing that automatically responds to baby’s crying? Or would you rather adjust the vibrations manually? Would you enjoy a swing that can double as a rocker?
When choosing a swing for a colic baby, it is important to know what direction (or directions) the swing rocks in. Is it a front-to-back swing? A side-to-side swing? Or can you manually change the direction of the swing yourself to either front-to-back or side-to-side?
Often with colic babies, and babies that spit up, swings that rock front-to-back tend to upset their stomachs more. In my opinion, for a colic baby, the best swing to get is one that rocks side-to-side. I would also make sure the swing has multiple vibration and speed settings. Swings with several different sound effects or tunes would also be on my list!
What To Look For In A Swing For A Colic Baby:
- Swings side-to-side or swinging direction can be manually changed
- Multiple vibration and speed settings
- Has various sounds and tunes to choose from
How Swings Soothe A Colicky Baby
Babies love rocking, swinging and swaying motions. Probably because they had continual motion to rock them in the womb. Swings are great for colic babies because, first, the motion of swings help relieve the tension in the baby’s stomach. They will feel better when the tension is relieved by the swing’s motion.
Secondly, colic babies will respond well to the side-to-side swaying of the swing. As mentioned above, colic babies, or babies who struggle with spit-up, will spit up less and enjoy a side-to-side swing much more than a front-to-back swing.
So my recommendation is to be sure to purchase a swing that can be manually changed from a front-to-back swing to a side-to-side swing. This is because as your baby gets older, they may end up enjoying the front-to-back motion! Or, if you have more children, they may not suffer from colic and also enjoy the front-to-back swinging motion.
It’s good to have options!
Now let’s talk about what is the best swing for the colic baby!
Best Swing For Colic Baby
For Ages/Weight: Recommended for babies between 5.5 – 25 lbs.
Swinging Motion: Multi-directional swing. Can swing front-to-back and side-to-side
Features: Detects crying and responds, 3 reclining positions, doubles as a portable rocker
Music & Vibration Settings: 3 speeds, 8 soothing motions, 15 songs & sounds, 2 vibration settings
Item Weight: 25lbs
Plug-in: Swing is able to be plugged in and does not require batteries to work.
Machine Washable: The seat cushion is able to be removed for washing. However, you will need to refer to the label on the seat pad for washing instructions.
What We Love About It
- Swing detects baby’s cry and responds
- Multi-directional swing (swings front-to-back and side-to-side)
- Has 3 reclining positions!
- Doubles as a rocker
- Portable
What We Don’t Love About It
- When responding to baby’s cry, some mothers may find the automated changing sounds of the swing annoying
- Takes a couple seconds for the swing to switch gears when soothing baby
- Some have reported the volume of the swing to be quiet
How does this Graco Sense2Soothe swing detect and respond to the baby’s crying? The swing detects baby’s crying through a microphone. It then adjusts itself by alternating between the swinging speed, vibration, and sound. When the baby stops crying, the swing will stop adjusting itself.
The 3 reclining positions is especially nice to have for a colic baby! Being placed in a more upright position while swinging will bring them more comfort than laying down. This is also true for babies who suffer from reflux or spit-up!
For Ages/Weight: 5-30 lbs.
Swinging Motion: Side-to-side only
Features: Deep seat with good head support. Very sturdy swing!
Music & Vibration Settings: 6 swing speeds, 2 vibration settings, 10 classical melodies, and 5 white noise sounds
Item Weight: 13.55lbs
Plug-in: Swing can be plugged in or use batteries to work. 5D batteries required.
Machine Washable: We washed the seat cushion of our Graco swing. Be sure to check the seat label for washing instructions.
What We Love About It
- Deep seat with safety straps
- Sturdy swing
- Side-to-side swinging motion
- Portable
- Certified frustration-free
What We Don’t Love About It
- Only has side-to-side singing motion
- A little wide, but we found it was worth it!
This swing weighs almost half of the Graco Swing2Soothe. Keep that in mind for you Mama’s who may not be on a weight-lifting limit.
I love the deep seat of this swing! We have a Graco swing with a deep seat like this. Personally, I felt more assured my daughter was in securely and not going to spill out easily. She still got great body/head support, and her colic symptoms were soothed in her swing!
We found the swing to be very sturdy, functional, and safe. I would highly recommend this swing to any mother with a colicky baby!
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Graco Duet Gliding Swing & Rocker
For Ages/Weight: For babies up to 25 lbs.
Swinging Motion: Side-to-side or front-to-back swinging motion. Has 4 swinging motions.
Features: Converts as a portable rocker so you can keep baby close around the house.
Music & Vibration Settings: 2 vibration settings & 15 songs & sounds
Item Weight: 19.86lbs
Plug-in: No batteries. Needs to be plugged in to work.
Machine Washable: Seat padding is machine washable. Look at seat label for washing instructions.
What We Love About It
- Has 4 swinging motions
- Converts as a rocker
- Machine washable
What We Don’t Love About It
- Doesn’t take batteries. Some may find this inconvenient.
- Only 2 vibration settings
The ability this swing has to rock baby in a more confined space may be beneficial to some parents. Baby is also higher off the ground. This makes baby harder to reach from older siblings.
The side-to-side swinging motion makes it great for colicky babies. It also has the deeps seat with straps, so baby’s back and neck are well supported.
For Ages/Weight: For babies 3-25 lbs.
Swinging Motion: Side-to-side or front-to-back swinging motions
Features: Simply press a button and turn for changing swinging directions.
Sounds & Vibrations: Swing has nature sounds, 6 swing speeds, and 16 songs
Item Weight: 24.9 lbs.
Plug-in: Swing can be plugged in or use batteries. Swing takes 4D batteries.
Machine Washable: Seat cushion removes to be washed. Reference washing instructions for proper care.
What We Love About It
- Easy to convert between swinging directions.
- Has lots of sounds to choose from
- Machine washable
What We Don’t Love About It
- A little flimsy. Needs to be handled with care.
- Not portable
Fisher-Price’s Snugabunny swing is simple yet practical. It has multi-directional swinging options, which is great for colicky babies.
We had a Fisher-Price Snugabunny swing and really enjoyed all of the sound options it had. The volume could be adjusted to either quiet or louder to suite baby’s needs.
Keep in mind that this swing is not as sturdy as some of Graco’s swings. If you are moving the swing or setting it up, be extra careful not to drop the motor or accidentally hit it against something.
Ingenuity Convert Me Swing-2-seat Portable swing
For Ages/Weight: Recommended for babies up to 20 lbs.
Swinging Motion: Front-to-back swinging motion.
Features: Easy to transport and can use USB cord instead of batteries.
Sounds & Vibrations: Has nature sounds and melodies. However, it doesn’t say in the description how many of each.
Item Weight: 13.38 lbs.
Plug-in: Has a plug-in option so you don’t need batteries. If you use batteries, it requires 4 D batteries to operate.
Machine Washable: The seat pad is machine washable. Be sure to follow washing instructions on seat label.
What We Love About It
- Super portable!
- Fits in small places.
- Easy set up.
- USB plug-in so you don’t need to use batteries!
What We Don’t Love About It
- Only swings front-to-back
- Can only hold infants that weight up to 20 lbs.
Although this swing does rock front-to-back, I wanted to include it in your list of choices of baby swings due to its light weight, easy set up, and size.
Ingenuity’s convertible swing does not take up a lot of space. So it is great for parents who live in apartments or other smaller living spaces. Also, it converts into a stationary seat so you can have baby close to you throughout the house.
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Summary
I recommend a swing that rocks side-to-side for a colicky baby. This is the best motion that will soothe and not upset their tummies. The same applies for babies who suffer with spit-up or acid reflux.
In this article, you have learned what the best swing for colic babies are, their features, and what we love and don’t love about them.
You also learned that we have had great experience with the Graco brand! They are the most durable swing, we found. They did a wonderful job soothing our extremely colicky baby.
Hope you find a swing that you love just as much as we did!
Want To Learn More?
If you would like to learn more about colic, check out these related articles below!
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