Baby Hammocks

[jolovett]

Considering getting a baby hammock - like the one JoJo Maman Bebe sell as an alternative to a crib/moses basket.
What I'm worried about is will the baby get cold from below as there is no matress/bedding? Any opinions on this would be great - or if anyone has one, can you let me know if they are safe and any good?

[nably]

Hiya, Ive just had a look on the website and my honest opinion is that they dont look 100% safe. Remembering my own amusing attempt at using one once on holiday, it makes me wonder if the baby wriggled a lot, it doesnt look as though there is anything to stop it falling out.

[bonym]

jolovett - I can highly recommend the Amby Nature's Nest which is like a hammock. I bought mine after jimjams recommended them on another thread. My dd2 is 4.5 weeks old now and loves her hammock - sleeps really well in it and it looks so cosy. Best of all, when she wakes in the night, the slightest movement makes it gently bounce which rocks her back to sleep again (unless she's hungry of course!)

[jolovett]

Thanks for your advice and congratulations. Will look into it a bit more before we decide I think.

[morningpaper]

Bonym: I'd be worried about transferring from that to a cot? Do you reckon it would be all right?

[bonym]

Hi morningpaper - looking at the letters on the websitet, people don't seem to have had problem - apparently a child can stay in the hammock until age 2 (!) if you add an extra spring, although not sure that I would personally want to do this . Tbh I'm sort of taking the attitude that we'll cross that bridge when we come to it - at the moment we're getting decent nights' sleeps (dd is not quite 5weeks and for the last 2 nights has slept for 6 hours on the trot) and that;s all I'm really worried about! (As someone who doesn't cope well without her 8 hours!)

[FLUM]

I had one. It was lovely. Just used it for naps though as had it in the kitchen. I put a lambskin rug in it.

Baby looked really cosy in it.

You have to strap them in though, even when they can't move about a lot. as they slip down and can fall out. not far to fall but would be a bit shocking for the wee mite

[bonym]

FLUM - assume you are talking about the hammocks in JoJo Maman Bebe? A baby can't fall out of the Amby hammock and deosn't need strapping in

[FLUM]

oh sorry. not sure the difference. i got mine from an ozzie company it was not designed to be a bed, just a kinda rest area.

[thattysmall]

thinking about using a hammock for my christmas baby,it's interesting to see opinions of others, everyone i know is a bit shocked that i'm considering using anything other than a traditional moses basket (clarke family crib...)

i've seen the different types and prefer the look of the one from Jojo, although i saw it in a local baby shop, lady in there said it's been wuite popular and all that have used it have been delighted...

[bonym]

Just thought I'd add that dd2 is now 16.5 weeks and still loves her Amby hammock. We even took it on hols to Sardinia last week as it comes with a carry case and mosquito net - it's the one piece of baby equipment we wouldn't be without. . I think one of the benefits of it over the JoJo one is that it can be used for much longer.

[Boompi]

Great to hear that BoneyM. We have our Amby set up waiting for little one. Just over 7 weeks to go!

[bonym]

Boompi - you and babe will love it! Dd2 has slept brilliantly in it since almost day one - even when very weeney would only wake twice (max) in the night for a feed. Good luck with the birth .

[triceratops]

I bought the amby one - it is going to have to wait for 3 months before there is a baby to put in it though. I have it set up by my bed and it looks soooo cute

[rodeo1]

Just to say I'm ordering the Amby one too (Bonym convinced dp after he read her posts!)

[suzi2]

i've bought an Amby one - everyone thinks I'm mad but hopefully baby will love it when he arrives in a few weeks.

[Soomicro]

We used an Amby hammock for 10 months with our daughter. She slept brilliantly in it, and loved having naps in it too. Once she got bigger, and started trying to roll over in it (which isn't possibe) we moved her into a regular cot, without much hassle. If baby still loves sleeping on their back, I think you could keep them in the hammock for longer.
The first 4 days in the cot she had trouble dropping off, but she loved being able to roll around. My midwife mentioned that there has never been a case of SID in an Amby hammock. This was reassuring for a nervous first-time parent like myself. If I have another baby, I wouldn't hesitate to use the hammock again, its great for soothing baby to sleep.

[goodall]

I am expecting my baby at the end of feb and im very worrid about the lack of sleep and coping with a baby and a 3 year old. My daughter was a dredful sleeper waking every hour on the hour.
In the end i put her in her car sleep just to get some sleep as it was the only plave she would drift off. Then i would move her to her moses babsket. I have been looking at the nature nest by amby and think they look great but i was wondering what other hammock type beds are there out there does anyone know.

[Ducy]

Hi there, I am expecting my first baby end of May and really like what I'm hearing about the Amby. However, one of my concerns is, does it give baby proper support? Shouldn't newborns lie flat on firm mattresses for the first few months? Looking at the picture of this hammock it looks pretty soft can anyone tell me how firm the mattress in it is? Just concerned about future posture/bone development problems if this mattress is too soft...also I'm new to all of this so any advice would be welcomed...thanks! :-)

[eclectech]

Ducy: I had similar concerns. The mattress isn't particularly soft, is relatively thin and the tautness of the fabric base seems to provide reasonable support. I'm a first time mum (3 months in) so am no expert but all I can say is that my DS absolutely loves it, sleeps well and the midwives that saw it thought it looked great (the latter was of great reassurance to me) According to the web site they're used in a number of UK hospitals which also encouraged me to stop fretting about it

[dublin1]

My mother used a hammock for me (in India) until I was 1. She said it was brilliant as it was easy to get me in and out of for night feeds and the rocking motion was great to get me back to sleep. I am defo buying one for number 2 - we used a moses basket for number 1 (borrowed) and it was good, but we ended up having to swaddle her and rock the moses basket anyway. I figure the hammock will provide the cosiness newborns love, plus the rocking motion.

[FloriaTosca]

Ducy; the amby doesnt have a very flat mattress but holds them in firmly in a very natural position...think cradling in arms...and is a much more gentle and natural transition from the womb to the outside world than straight to a flat cot mattress.

My ds is nearly 5 months old now and sleeps miles better in the amby in our bedroom than the firm mattressed pram in the living room. It took us a while to realise it, but for his first 3 months he suffered horrendous colic but mainly during the day, it wasnt nearly as bad at night.... when he was in the amby! The amby also bounces (better with baby in than without) and swings the baby to sleep really easily. It is definately the best buy we made.

For those 1st timers still wondering what is essential and what is not, as a veteran of nearly 5 months IMOP I would reccommend the Amby and a hugabub or similar wrap style sling (I now use this much more than the big expensive pram! and wish I had had it earlier)And I also remember wondering if it was worth the expense of a baby car seat that needed an isofix or similar base...again imop...yes, yes, and emphatic yes!!!

[delcymru]

I've bought an Amby for my bub due in 3 wks.Did loads of research and they look great. Also started a thread on this last week and had loads of positive and reassuring comments from parents that had used them. Not sure what the JoJo one is like but the Amby looks fairly structured and supportive and baby can't fall out of it.
I also had lots of sceptical looks from friends/family as it looks different from standard moses basket/crib. Can't wait to try it out.

[weeonion]

another amby fanhere. fab fab fab. dd loved it. she moved into her big cot no problems!

[suzi2]

Just came across this thread I posted on years ago! DS loved his ambi hammock. DD (now a year) was less of a fan, but isn't much of a fan of sleeping anyway. Mine is now being sold to a good home and I'll be sad to see it go.

[MrWinnie]

Daughter number 1 had a moses basket and a cot, and didn't reliably sleep through the night until she was 18 months old.

Daughter number 2 has been in the Amby since we came home from hospital, and has been sleeping through the night (and I mean right through - none of this "midnight until 5.30" nonsense) since she was about ten days old. In fact the oonly times she's had a disturbed night has been when in a hotel travel cot.

Maybe it's nothing to do with the Amby. Maybe we just got lucky second time around. But it certainly seems more natural than a stationary flat-mattressed cot.

I've never heard any advice that babies have to have a flat surface to sleep on. Just how flat was the womb, for the first 9 months? And (again, FWIW), our little one had good head control early on, was sitting and holdng herself upright at a fairly early age, and shows no signs of being anything other than a happy, healthy little baby.

(posted by Winnie's other half)