Ingenuity InLighten Cradling Swing Plug-In Swing with Lightbeams Mobile Review

The Ingenuity InLighten Cradling Swing and rocker has been such a helpful piece of baby gear with my now almost-4-month-old girl! We use it every day, multiple times a day, and I can’t believe it wasn’t originally on my baby registry wishlist! In case you’re on the fence about what product to get, here’s my personal experience as a new mom.

I was able to assemble it myself with the product detail instructions, which were clear and helpful. However, the pieces were big, and it did take longer than I expected. It would have been easier with two people. Safety features like click-in-place pieces and a green indicator that the legs were in place properly helped me get through the assembly with more confidence. The packaging was well done so nothing was damaged during shipping.

Once it was assembled, I absolutely loved the print details of the design we had. The seat has two different designs to choose from, and the seat cushion was very soft. (Bonus: It’s machine washable and can easily be removed when it gets dirty!) The seat also has easy-to-remove straps, so you can quickly adjust them to fit baby, with three different height options for the shoulder straps. The five-point harness is very easy to put baby into (working similarly to a car seat), and the lap strap and shoulder straps are connected to each other on both sides—so only two buckles, and baby is in there snug! I also loved that the waist straps could be tightened or loosened if baby moves to give her a comfy fit.

There are two recline positions on the seat, which are nice when my little one is feeling sleepy or more alert, and this feature is simple to adjust. The cushion covering the buckle is a very nice touch, so I feel like the straps or buckle never bothered her. The headrest attached to the seat pad wasn’t very useful for us—it didn’t sit well under her head for proper head support, so we don’t use it most of the time.

I love the mirror on the mobile with plush toys; my baby really enjoyed looking at it. It had her giggling! The light on the electronic mobile is not super bright. It doesn’t seem to hold her attention too much and would not be sufficient lighting if the room were dark. I loved that the mobile could be turned off or on.

The Ingenuity InLighten Cradling Swing is an entertainment swing with an easy-to-use control panel, meaning you can use the ConnectMe feature to connect a smart device and play personalized music, videos, photos or more! It was easy to plug in and had great sound and volume, and my baby girl seemed to like it. The baby swing offers sixteen soothing melodies, three nature sounds, white noise and moving lights. The AC adapter with long cord lets you plug-in to the wall for extended time as well. (It also can run on D batteries if needed.)

My daughter really enjoys the wide range of motion control from the swing. It can move in six swing speeds and three different swing directions, so I wouldn’t have to move the entire swing if I wanted her to face me—or if she preferred a different motion (side-to-side, front-to-back, etc.). The music tunes were not obnoxious and actually appealed to me! Our girl does well with wake time in the swing for about 20 minutes on average, but there’s a TrueSpeed timer setting for up to an hour. We keep it in a main room of the house, and the volume of the music isn’t too loud—it actually helps her stay content through moderate noise levels.

If I had to critique the swing, my one complaint would be its size. The base is very wide compared with some other swings like the mamaroo, and it takes up a considerable amount of room (something to keep in mind if you live in tight quarters). On the other hand, our 2-year-old did a good deal of bumping into the swing while her sister was in it, and I felt very confident that the swing wouldn’t tip. It’s definitely sturdy. Overall, it is a great swing if you have space for it and comes with lots of fun extra features.

Price: $139
Where to buy: walmart.com