Dockatot/sleepyhead - yes or no?

[swiftt]

I wasn’t planning to get one of these, but had a 20% off code so ordered one but now questioning it! I know they’re not recommended for overnight or unsupervised sleeping. I thought it would be handy as a portable napping station. But now thinking maybe I’ve just spent £100 on something that might not even be necessary or get used! I’ve heard really good things about people that have used them. But wondering if I should just wait til baby is here and if it’s something I need, order one then?!

Will be watching this thread as I’ve been looking into the Sleepyhead - everyone on my social media seems to use one, but if I’m honest I don’t understand why they cost so much and if they are even useful considering you can’t use them overnight 🤔 I don’t really get them if I’m honest!

For us it was our best baby buy. I used it in the hospital to keep baby beside me after a c-section for easy feeding and access. We used it to co-sleep with the baby for night feeds. Day and night is the same with a newborn - awake every 2-3 hours so I wouldn’t have considered this to be ‘overnight’ sleeping. Baby stayed in it during the day and it was easy to carry from room to room.

Anyone I know who has had one swears by them. Hopefully this helps!

@MintGreenLife they’ve rebranded as dockatot now so exactly the same thing! I know, I’m a bit the same. Wondering if I’ve just splashed out £100 on an expensive cushion.

If I were you I'd return it and wait and see when baby is here.

I used one for DC1, didn't buy it beforehand but he woke up every time we put him down so I bought it in desperation when he was about 2 weeks old. That was before the official advice about not using it for unsupervised sleeping, so we used it all the time (overnight and naps).

After we stopped using it, we kept it for a possible second baby, but then the safety warnings were made, so we decided not to use it unless we were desperate. As it is, we have managed not to use it for DC2. I recently sold it for £40.

If you are willing to consider buying a used one, that could be a good option. Or just wait and see.

FWIW, I found the Love to Dream swaddles really helpful second time around. DC2 slept pretty well in them (nb my bar was low in comparison with DC1 )

@swiftt I was planning on getting the Tutti Bambini for our bedroom, and then having a moses basket downstairs. The only thing I can think I'd use it for would be downstairs sleeping, but then it seems crazy expensive when you can get a moses basket for £30. Maybe I'm getting this wrong though and there are a lot more uses for them?!

We never really used ours. I would go for a safe sleeping one anyway - purflo make one that's available now I think - over the sleepyhead. But to be honest I would wait and see if you need one. A Moses basket would be considerably cheaper and more useful!!!!

We had a different brand but same idea. Ours was invaluable. For the first few months it's where our DS spent most of his time when with us in the living room. We didn't use it at night, only when he was supervised.

I've been given one by a friend and plan on using it as somewhere to put the baby down but not for sleeping. I don't think we would have bought one but I think it might be useful if I need somewhere to put him while I have a shower etc.

Sleepyhead was a life saver for us, I could put baby in awake and he would go to sleep himself. Also helped transitioning him into his big cot In his own room.
Will be using it this time too x

For showers I use the bouncer chair, it's worked well for both DCs.
If you're putting them down awake I think it's better to put them on a play mat where they can move and roll around tbh (obviously newborns can't move much but they get wriggly quickly!)

@NameChange30 I have a baby bjorn bouncer which I planned to use for things like taking them to the shower with me etc. Whilst the sleepyheads seem really convenient, I’m just not sure I can justify the price at the moment. Although I obviously wouldn’t complain if this were the case, but if my baby is easily settled and sleeps no bother, it will just be a waste.

Sorry yes I was replying to Slovenly

Yes for day naps and for if you're actually nodding off with the baby on the sofa/in bed as you're so exhausted.... if this happens on the balance of risk it's safer for the baby to be calm and sleeping in the Sleepyhead.

We used the sleepyhead for daytime naps. My boys loved it.

I've ordered one from a different brand on Scandiborn. It is cheaper and a nicer look imo.
They are pricey but seem handy to have somewhere to put the baby down wherever you are in the house and also for day time naps in the same room as you.
Definitely one of those not strictly necessary but nice to have.

I had a sleepyhead for DC3 and it was fabulous. She'd nap on the couch in it she absolutely loved it. She slept in it in her co sleeper as well and it seemed to really help to settle her . She was a premature baby so she seemed to like the snugness of it.

@BeesAnkles

We had a different brand but same idea. Ours was invaluable. For the first few months it's where our DS spent most of his time when with us in the living room. We didn't use it at night, only when he was supervised.

Ditto! It was the best thing we bought for those first weeks/months when he would just sleep all day

Did anyone who used the sleepyhead in the daytime find that they didn’t settle as well in an empty crib at night as they were used to the bumpers of the sleepyhead?

@ftmum94 we didn’t have that problem no. Both my boys were fed to sleep in my bed, then placed in the crib when they were asleep. I swaddled mine when they were small. They both seemed to settle better. X

I have a baby bjorn bouncer which I planned to use for things like taking them to the shower with me etc.

Great choice! Our DS got so much mileage out of his. He loved bouncing away and it was great being able to have him anywhere in the house with me.

@ftmum94 Not at all. Our tiny newborn DS slept in a huge 120x60cm co-sleeper at night and had no problems settling!