I'm a mom of 2 and with my first child we got the full size swing...by the time the second child born 9 years later we knew better. Nothing wrong with the full size except that the footprint was huge (even though we had a nice size home) and it was not portable, obviously. We prefer the portable one because we could move it wherever it was needed. If I was folding laundry upstairs, I could have the baby right next to me etc. Couldn't do this with the larger one. Also, most kids grow out of them pretty fast and we didn't think the extra monetary investment for the larger swing was worth it. Hope this helps.

I just had twins in May and everyone swore up and down I'd need a swing for each... Instead I only invested in one portable swing. To be honest, both babies hated it, then occasionally seemed to tolerate it, for the first few months. however, I now use it daily (to keep one baby occupied while I soothe or change the other) and really like it. I also like that I can bring it to the kitchen or living room as necessary. We also have a smallish condo and really wanted to avoid baby crap taking over. I recommend it!

PS. I have two packs of backup batteries in a drawer but have yet to need them!

For our first, we had a huge, full size swing that took up a ton of space, and our son didn't care for it. For baby #2, we sold that swing and bought a travel sized one from a consignment shop for $20. It folds up and fits in a space between the sofa & end table, and I can (and do) carry it from room to room if needed. As it stands right now, #2 does not care much for the swing either!

I only had the small swing for my son - he spent his first three months sleeping in it most of the time. I loved it. :)

My sons both absolutely hated swings of all kinds. Maybe it was because they couldn't move around in the molded plastic seat? But they totally loved the bouncy seat. As in, couldn't get through the day without some bouncy-seat chill-out time. Once they were a little older, they loved being able to kick their legs and bounce all by themselves.

All that to say, you might want to put them in someone else's swing before you buy one, or try to borrow one. You never know what your kid will like. And from knowing other people whose kids have liked swings, I don't think their kids had a preference between different kinds---big or small.

We only had the travel swing and once I read reviews I was having second thoughts about the one we registered for. No music or special features, just swinging. The swing did its job and I am thankful I didn't go bigger now that we are storing the swing till our next little one. I used the swing when I was cooking or working, and kept a bouncy chair (with music) in the bathroom for shower time. By the time he could pull himself to a sit (around 7 months) he outgrew both and the play yard took their place.

We if you have a Graco Snugride you can buy a swing attachment for it. We could transition the first from the car to the swing to prolong a nap. Worked for a brief period and the second baby hated it.

Should have mentioned the best bounce/rocker thing ever is a large exercise ball. Cheap and magic.

One child loved the swing. One child hated, loathed, screamed bloody murder in the swing. As with most baby things, it often depends on the child. Amen for Craigslist.

We had both big and small swings, and they were BOTH indispensible for our kids. The big one has a much bigger swinging motion, and was one of the few things that would allow my first baby to nap during the day. Either swing was good to keep her satisfied before she could sit up, when she was awake but I was not actively holding her. The small swing moved from the bathroom to kitchen, etc. so I could take a shower or make dinner. These were not as critical for my second baby, who was more content in general, but still quite nice to have. Both of my swings were battery powered, and they seemed to have relatively long battery lives and I had no complaints about them. I will say that the big upright had one huge advantage, though--my kids tended to get runny/stuffy noses a fair amount, and if I put them to sleep on their backs at those times, they would get very uncomfortable so that they couldn't breathe easily, and then they couldn't sleep. On those nights, I put them to sleep in the big swing (placed beside my bed), and the upright position and the motion seemed to keep their sinuses clearer so that we could all get a good night sleep. I would say that both swings were easily worth every square inch of floor space they took up in our not-so-big house.

We were space/unnecessary baby gear conscious and bought the Graco snugride swing for the graco carseat. It was around $50 new, and it worked for us. It folds up easy for storage, about 6 inches wide. #1 loved it, #2 could take it or leave it. So we did most of the time, but under the bed.

My daughter loved her swing but, it broke after only 4 months of use! The motor suddenly died and we were devastated having payed over a hundred dollars for it : (

If possible I would borrow a large and small swing from someone and see what your baby likes. I bought the small portable swing for the same reasons as you, but unfortunately our baby hated it, but loved the huge swing I borrowed from a friend. I had a time of it trying to return the portable swing, so if at all possible I would test them both out by borrowing first.

all we had for our first son was the travel size swing. we thought we would be going alot but we never actually traveled with it. we used it all the time it worked great. our son was 9 lbs when he was born and wore 18 to 24 month old clothes when he was one. so yeah i suppose it doesnt last as long for giant kids.

we no longer had the travel swing by the time our second came around. someone gave us a full size nothing special swing. it was almost like having the same thing. it still took up space like the travel size but seemed to look more like clutter as it was taller? idk i did not like the tray that snaped across the front as just the soft belt like the travel size one. our daughter slept most of the night in the swing. well several hours and i believe we only changed the batteries once. she "napped" in it for the first couple of months.

so i suppose they really did not make a diff. if i had my pref i would just get the travel size...easier to move around in the house and can pack it up...they work the same.

We had borrowed a full-size swing for baby #1, and she was "eh" about it. For baby #2, after we confirmed she would like a swing (she used one at day care) we bought that portable one second-hand. It was fine. The swing action was a little less smooth than on the full-size, I assume it had something to do with the size and quality of the motor & workings. The full-size could swing side-to-side which baby probably would have preferred, but, that wasn't a huge deal. It was nice to have something that would fold up and slide out of the way when not in use, because our house is small enough that every square inch counts.

And sure she outgrew it faster than she would have the larger swing, but by then she wanted to be laying on the floor and trying to roll around anyway.

My daughter was collicky and any sort of motion was magic. Our babysitter had a motorized one, we had a simple bouncy one, and she would quiet down in them like she did when a human was walking her.
There's a reason they're in thrift stores though -- other kids get carsick in them, and the kids outgrow them pretty quickly.

I loved the portable swing that I borrowed from my parents for my first child. I couldn't have lived without it and had no complaints. The only downside was it only ran on batteries and I had to replace them quite often because she used it so much. I'm not sure if full-size swings run on batteries as well, but I wish it had an optional wall plug. Other than that I would highly recommend it!

The Fisher Price Take-Along works great. (small and cheap!) I don't see why anyone would have any of those bigger ones. I borrowed ours from friends who have a tiny house. Probably not recommended by the manufacturer, but they always put it up on their kitchen table which I thought was great.

I got one of these swings for #2 from a consignment shop. It was in great condition and being able to 'fold' it up worked perfectly! I used it on almost every room. Baby only used it for about 4 months but I am very glad I had it for dinner times and such when I couldn't have my hands on him. Only precaution is to make sure you have skin clear of the hinges when you snap them into place. Trying to do it with one hand can be tricky.