Are baby hammocks any good?

[Scootergrrrl]

I'm thinking about buying this for the soon-to-arrive baby number 3. Does anyone have any experience of using them? Are they any good and are they safe? Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

[Poppet45]

I'm fairly, but not 100%, sure that isn't a sleeping hammock - it's more like an alternative to a baby bouncer etc. The sleeping hammocks are the ambi and the miyo. We had a miyo moffi and it was awesome but sadly DS is on 91st percentile for height and grew out of it at 4 months - not the seven they said. So it was great while it lasted, and he slept through regularly from three weeks! Now he's five months, in a normal cot and never sleeps through. Still I'd use it again for a subsequent child but remember to put them in it awake so it can teach them how to self settle. As for safety they are both very safe - probably even more so than a cot as they reduce flatheadedness that other cots can cause, are better for young backs than a flat mattress and there has never been a SIDs incident in a hammock yet.

[llareggub]

I thought the Amby had been withdrawn in the US over safety concerns following a tragic accident in which a baby died? link

[Poppet45]

Eeeek not heard of that! ?? Thank god we had the miyo instead - no chance of baby doing that in one of them. Poor people.

[Sariska]

The Amby hasn't been withdrawn; the makers have issued a fix that is supposed to prevent such a thing happening again. There were actually two babies who died. In one case the hammock had been suspended from a ceiling hook rather than the stand supplied and in the other it had apparently been assembled incorrectly so the baby's head was lower than it's feet. There's further info on Amby's website and there was also a thread on here about it a while back. Obviously it's absolutely tragic for the families concerned but it hasn't changed my overwhelmingly positive view of Amby hammocks (haven't used any other brand, sorry) and I'm planning to use mine for dc2 due in a few weeks.

[Sariska]

Sorry, I should have said that it han't been compulsorily withdrawn. The voluntary withdrawal is just in the US - although the safety fix (presumably to make incorrect assembly harder/impossible) is being made available in the UK at the end of Jan.

[minouminou]

Used the Amby for DS and DD - brilliant!!!!!!
Dreadful re the 2 deaths, but wouldn't deter me from using it again, especially after Sariska's clarification.

[zumm]

Hi - I am planning to get an Amby, but other mums have expressed fears over whether it is safe for the spine. Any more feedback from those who have used one? (Why don't more people use them if they are so great?)

[BionicB]

Hi there
I am interested to know more about these hammocks - miyo or amby. Are they safe? Zumm had a good question - if they are so good, why aren't they more widely used or known about?? Our newborn hates being put flat on her back - seems to worsen her wind and I am trying to find something that will settle her at night. Not sure if buying yet another bed is the answer??

[scarlotti]

We use one for DS2 (3 months old) and it's brilliant. I didn't use one for DS1 or DD purely as I didn't know about them.
DS2 settled in it straight away and I can put him in it awake and he'll happily drift off. He's on 75th centile and is a big boy (15lb at 13 wks) and it holds him fine. We take it away with us as it folds down and comes in it's own bag. If you put it up correctly there are no safety issues - they use them in neonatal units.

Would def recommend!

[balloard1976]

I had a Poco for mine, would also highly recommend baby hammocks, massively helped with colic.