Baby Hammocks

[Phteven]

Yasin is growing out of his bassinet and I don't want to move him to his cot yet (to far to travel in the middle of the night). I have been thinking of buying a baby hammock. I like the look of the Amby (nature's nest) Hammock. Has anyone used this brand? How did your baby like it? Has anyone used a differant brand? Any advice/feedback would be appreciated because I don't want to pay for something that he will hate.

[christy]

I haven't tried them with MAtilda, but the reflux society highly recommends them & you can even hire them from some places... the reflux society gave me a listing for Brissy where I could hire them, so maybe get in contact with them & see where you can hire one in your area?? That way you can see if Yasin likes it?? Lucy uses on with Olivia so when she gets back from holidays she could let you know how she goes.... HTH

[BellyBelly]

Hammocks are great! Try somewhere like Hire For Babe or something like that - there are quite a few hiring businesses for babies these days where it's really cheap to hire per week. We tried it with Ris and it was one of the things that helped settle her.

[{sarah}]

Alexzander doesn't seem to like sleeping flat on his back so he's in his car capsule most of the time. We are trying to find an alternative & a few people have suggested we try a hammock.

Just wondered who uses / used a hammock for their baby?? What did you think of it, was baby happy in it?? Where did you get it from?? What sort of price are we looking at??

[Rouge]

I have heard good things about Amby hammocks I think its called... Maybe do a google search I think they are in Aus?

*hugs*
Cailin

[Melinda]

Check with Lucy, Sarah. Olivia used one for quite a while from memory, and loved it. In fact I think she has only fairly recently switched to a cot, and as we know she's just turned 1!!

[Phteven]

Yasin uses an amby hammock. We've had a few sleepy issues but he loves his hammock.
Its easy to assemble and it comes with a carry bag so you can take it travelling. Also its not very heavy so its easy to push around which I find usefull because I can push it into a quieter room whan I want to vacuum.
It cost about $300 for the whole setup plus a mozzie net and sheets. Its a bit more expensive than a bassinet but he can use it for much longer.
I bought it online and it was delivered really quickly.

[BellyBelly]

After we got home from the Mother & Baby Unit with Ris we hired one from Hire For Babe. It was soooo cheap! Well worth it too.

[Lucy]

I can only rave good things about the Amby Hammock.........an utter godsend for us: the best bit of baby equipment we purchased!

Olivia was in it from as soon as we got home from hospital, & stayed in it until she was 11 months old for all day & night sleeps. (Sleeping approx 2 x 2hr day sleeps and 12 hours at night)

The hammock holds a baby in the "supine" position, on thier backs, and very similar to the way a baby is held in the womb. This is ideal from a SIDS prevention perspective. (The SIDS organisation will not endorse any particular product, but there has never been a SIDS related death in one of these hammocks)

Ideal for babies who get wind/colic/reflux, as the baby is held slightly tilted.......

There are no hard edges at all, and the ventilation is great, but you can also get your baby all cosied up very easily.

When babies are very little it is easy to settle them because you can "bounce" the hammock gently up and down and they drop off quickly as it imitiates the rocking movement that a baby feels in the womb.

As they get older they bounce themselves off to sleep........Olivia "self settled" from about 4 months, and has self settled ever since. She transferred to a cot no problem at 11 months......I was amazed at how easy the transition was.

Olivia slept through consistently from 4 months and I attribute this largely due to the hammock.

When they wake up in the hammock the tend to wake up very peacefully......Olivia never ever woke up crying. (She has since, since being in the cot, sadly).

I would totally recommend one to anyone. MY GF had one for her daughter (who is now 15!) and this is where I got my recommendation from, so Amby (the guy who invented them & makes them & distributes them from QLD has been around for ages, so it is not a "new-fangled thing".) I know they use them in many special care units in hospitals as they are famous for settling even the most distressed babies.

HTH...........

[kirbay831]

After reading this I thought Id take a look at the amby hammocks.. They look wonderful.. For those who used em, do you mind telling me a couple of things?

What kinda sheets do they take? I know you can buy them when yah buy the whole unit, but do they fit any other standard ones either? etc.. or did you use some other kind of system?

And the mattress etc... did u use any kinda waterproof cover or wash it or anything?

Just thought if I ask now, I can keep these in mind for later..

K

[Lucy]

Kirby,

For sheets I had a couple of the ones that they provided. The quality was pretty cheap to be honest, and I foudn they pilled quickly. So I made some up out of sheeting bought from a haberdashers: dead easy. Normal cot sheets would just be too big I think. You could easily use a large bunny rug though, as a bottom sheet.

I never used a top sheet as such.......just wrapped Olivia loosely and popped her into bed. In a cooler climate than Darwin I would probably tuck a bunny rug over a baby to keep them snug?

In terms of a waterproof sheet, I never bothered. We live in a very hot and humid climate in Darwin and I didn't want Olivia to get too hot and sweaty becasue of a plastic sheet: I figured that if she leaked, it was just as easy to put the whole lot through the washer and dryer.

In actual fact she only ever had one big mess in it: when she was about 3 months she did a huge projectile spew and so I washed her, washed the whole hammock whilst DH cuddled her sick little self back to sleep.

Any other questions, let me know.........

[kirbay831]

No thats wonderful..

Great to know the qualities not so good on the provided ones, and to just use other stuff.. Its so much better when someone can tell you such things..

If I think of any other questions Ill let yah know.

[Rouge]

is there a mattress as such or just the hammock?

*hugs*
Cailin

[Lucy]

Cai, there is a separate "matteress" which is about 3cm thick, with a padded qilted cover that fits the base of the hammock perfectly and moulds to the curve of the hammock, so it is firm but not a hard flat base like a normal cot mattress, if that makes sense?

So when you need to tuck bub in a bit, you can tuck under the mattress, so they are really snug.

[Rouge]

Can it be washed in the machine? Sorry just thinking if you have a gastro bub or something LOL!

*hugs*
Cailin

[Phteven]

yes you can put it through the washing machine but I wouldn't tumble dry it.
the matress has a matress protector that you can wash.
We are having a bit of a problem with it at the moment. It bounces up and down and Yasin has figured that the harder he bounces it the more fun he can have so now I put him down to sleep and its time for the bouncy game - but he does wear himself out after a while and go to sleep.
I'm thinking of ordering an extra spring so its a bit harder for him to bounce.

[Lucy]

Yep, the whole lot can be put through the tumble drier, apart from the foam of the mattress.

dachlostar........the bouncing thing: Olivia used to bounce herself like mad in it. (She is not huge: only 8kg at 12 months) I emailed Ambrose via his website and explained that due to bouncing the hammock was getting a it close to the ground and he sent me an additonal spring for free.........

[{sarah}]

Well I bit the bullet & just ordered it....