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Sleepyhead - reviews?

17 replies

lulaloops · 29/07/2015 14:09

Hi all

My 6.5wk old LO will happily sleep for hours on this comfy inflatable bear we have from Mothercare and I'm guessing its because he's cosy and warm but still open and spacious. He doesnt settle as well or as quickly in his Moses basket especially at night.
We also think cramped in our room we disturb him and he disturbs us. And Moses basket is enclosed and not spacious! I know their vision is limited at moment but not much to look at!
In the next few weeks were contemplating moving him into his own room and cot. I know a few people who've done it earlier than 6 months for this reason and the fact baby has outgrown the basket, which we reckon will happen soon too!

So, we were told to try the Moses basket in the cot for a few weeks as sort of transition for him but I've just come across the Sleepyhead.

Anyone used or experienced with this? Would it help him settle at night perhaps or help with transition to cot? I know all babies are different but generally speaking?

Thanks

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Teeste · 29/07/2015 15:03

I bought a Sleepyhead after reading all the rave reviews. To be honest, it's a flat pillow with a tubular one wrapped around it in a cover for about £100. DS (6 weeks) sleeps in it quite happily, but also in everything else we put him in! If you're going to be moving him to his own room/cot anyway, try the Moses basket first, then consider investing in a SH or a Poddle Pod (same thing, smaller, cheaper, not officially recommended for night sleeping) if it doesn't work out. I really don't think they're this magic sleep bullet everyone makes them out to be and I find white noise and a dummy work much better at settling him. But then again, it could be great for you, who knows?!

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taybert · 29/07/2015 16:12

We've just got a toddle pod for our 10 month old after soooo long without sleep and he is definitely sleeping better and is easier to settle in it when he wakes than he was just in the cot. That said, it isn't recommended for overnight sleeping and they're quite clear that it doesn't comply with current guidance on SIDS because it isn't a flat, firm, mattress. The sleepyhead is also not a flat, firm mattress and does not comply with SIDS avoidance guidance. Sleepyhead are less clear on this. They quote lots of standards that they comply with and I'm sure they do but they don't meet safe sleep guidelines.

That's not to say that the products aren't safe - cot death is such a rare occurrence that you'd have to have millions of babies using a product for years and years to definitively say it is as safe as a normal mattress. We weighed things up and decided that what my husband falling asleep holding DS on the settee because we couldn't settle him in the cot or co sleeping on our soft mattress with two strug out parents was likely to be more risky than a theoretical increased risk in a 10 Month old. We have held out until this age though, I've thought long and hard about it. I would (and did) make a different decision with a younger baby.

It's bloody hard!

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CultureSucksDownWords · 29/07/2015 16:21

We used a sleepyhead as after being in SCBU my DS was used to sleeping with a rolled up muslin/blanket around him. The sleepyhead replicated that feeling. He was in it from about 2 months as he also wouldn't go in the Moses basket (or be put down at all...).

It is expensive, and extra covers weren't easy to get hold of, but I liked it and felt it was helpful. I did think about SIDS guidelines, but felt that as he was sleeping in a bedside cot, breastfed and in a non-smoking household that it was a very minimal risk if any.

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trilbydoll · 29/07/2015 16:22

We have a sleepyhead in the cot bed, which is right next to my bed with no side on it.

It seems to work well, DD2 sleeps much better than DD1 ever did. She can see me from the sleepyhead and looks pretty comfy.

I suspect she is a much better sleeper than DD1 full stop, and it wouldn't be fair to attribute it all to the sleepyhead. She hates the pram carrycot though, so I think there is something to be said for being snuggled up.

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squizita · 29/07/2015 17:19

Our mw advised one as I was nervous about rolled up towels (also technically not safe sleep but hcp do this all the tims). Ours was used as a safe Co sleeping aid as I roll/move in my sleep. dd loved it and we now have the grand as the next step.

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MissTwister · 29/07/2015 18:24

I bought one for our 3 week old. She looks cosy in it and doesn't turn horizontal in her sleep like she did in the snuzpod before but she hasn't slept any longer in it and wakes every 2 hours still....

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Bohemond · 29/07/2015 18:34

We had ours from birth and ds has just, at 6 months, come out of it and we have moved his cot into his own room. We got one instead of a Moses basket so he has been in his big cot from day 1. We only took him out of it because we think it was waking him up as he prefers to sleep on his front/side. It has been brilliant - he has slept in it in hotels, at friends' and downstairs in the very early days. We intend to sell on eBay and hope to get 2/3 of the cost back.
The only downside imo is that we were not able to use it with a grobag in the winter months as the wide shoulders of the grobag would not sit properly in the sleepyhead.

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squizita · 29/07/2015 18:40

Bohemond we used non brand ones and didn't have problems- Asda I think.

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Bohemond · 29/07/2015 18:55

Thanks squiz. Unfortunately we had the gro bags before we realised!

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Noctilucent · 29/07/2015 18:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

applecore0317 · 29/07/2015 23:04

Love the Sleepyhead, she has slept well in if from when we got it at two weeks a d it stopped her from rolling on her side. It fits nicely in her crib and will be moved to rhw cot at some point. I like how portable it is, can pop it on the couch in the daytime or in the bed with me.

We didn't buy extra covers.I washed mine yesterday morning and it was dry by the afternoon.

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avocadotoast · 29/07/2015 23:11

DD sleeps really well in hers (she's 9 weeks old) but she's had it from birth, so whether she'd have slept just as well without it, I don't know. (She did spend her first two nights home from hospital just in her bedside crib, and the other week she slept for three hours in the bedside crib after dropping off when I popped her down for a couple of minutes while I got dressed.)

It is bloody expensive though. We only really justified getting it because we had a gift voucher that covered half the cost.

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avocadotoast · 29/07/2015 23:12

Oh, and we use Grobags with ours! They seem to fit fine for us.

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ohthegoats · 30/07/2015 10:07

We had a Sleepyhead from birth - she was in a side-car cot next to me, and in the Sleepyhead. It was ace until the 4 month sleep regression hit us like a ton of bricks. At that point she also wanted to roll onto her tummy, so we just co-slept without it. She's now almost 10 months and is a rubbish sleeper - we bought a Sleepyhead Grand a few weeks ago and things have improved a bit. Not loads, but enough to make me think it was worth the money. Definitely it was worth it in the early days - I obviously didn't know she was a crap sleeper until she was out of the Sleepyhead, but knowing that demonstrates that it was a god send in the first few months. I think she was sleeping more then than she is now to be honest.

Also, I never bought the sheets - I just put a normal cot sheet over it. I do the same with the Grand now.

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lulaloops · 31/07/2015 11:10

Thanks for the feedback all x

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FireflyGirl · 31/07/2015 17:53

Love ours. Had it from DS being about 3 weeks. He was quite a good sleeper anyway but it stopped him snuggling right up to the side of the co-sleeper cot.

I also just put a normal cot sheet on it rather than pay for more covers. Expensive for what it is, but having tried to wean him off it then hit the 4 month sleep regression, I would gladly pay it again. Put him back in and we're down from waking 8 times a night Confused to his usual once/sleeping through. We will be getting the Grande!

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MissTwister · 31/07/2015 18:24

Fireflygirl our little one does that in the Snuzpod - smooshes her face right against the side within 5 minutes! Sleepyhead solved that

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