Baby Hammocks

Cee_Cee99 · December 10th, 2006, 02:45 PM

Sarah
He hee.. sometimes I think it is us as Mums that want to hold on to the current situation rather than our babies. We just love them to bits and can't imagine anything else.

Poor Ally had to spend 3 weeks trying to tell me she wanted to change her bed routine... She must think I'm a silly mummy!

chickibicki · January 3rd, 2007, 06:32 PM

Heya

Fox moved out of his hammock at around 8 months. He was trying to roll too and resisted going in. He is now sleeping in a port a cot waiting for me to move his sister into a big girl bed (will be 3 in 2 months) but I haven't had a full nights sleep since she was born and i dont want to start her night wakings again by moving her.

Anyway, I was a bit naughty and I put bedding around him in the cot, pillows or fluffed up blankies to make him feel snug and moved them once he was in a deep sleep. We also coslept half the night but he sleeps better alone now. So there it is, recreate the cosy feeling. He also needed a wind down routine as well to make sure he knew it was bedtime (see the baby whisperer, or PM me and i will go into more detail)

Anyway I am here looking for help to get him to sleep through. I am absolutely buggered!

Beck, Mum of Charlie 34 months and Fox 10 months

**August** · June 25th, 2007, 09:20 AM

Hello
If anyone has an Amby Baby Hammock I'd love to know what linen they used and whether they think they were warm for their baby to sleep in, as well as any other tips and thoughts in general. I have one and it is beautiful, but I want to make sure I use it safely as it was given to me and I dont know much about them. I believe you would have to sleep the baby with their feet at the end like bassinets and cots?

I also want to sew extra covers for the mattress (might get mum to do it actually, she is more savvy with a sewing machine!!) maybe some plastic backed ones too.

Any tips and thoughts appreciated!

***charmalea*** · June 25th, 2007, 09:33 AM

i hired a amby hammock and did not like them at all... and i dont think they are warm at all ... we had nix in one and he just kept rolling over in it all the time and getting cranky in it .. personally i like the baby hammock co ones they are cheaper and are alot shorter which i think is better as amby are quite long and narrow .. i tested ds in on at the baby shop and was more comfortable in it ... and heaps cheaper .. and they dont look dated as i think amby do ...

however they do have a good reputation , but others out there have the same intention .... if this hammock that you were given comes with instructions and all necessary componets to ensure saftey for your bub ... i would try that first and if bubs doesnt like it ... then you know... and if they do .. maybe save your money and keep the one you have ...

i know of a few ppl who have forked out the money for one and have had expectations shot to pieces because the bub was not happy in it ...

but see what other ppl say and shop around ... only bub can let you know what he like ... as they are not yet used to the idea of conformity !!!

**Pandora** · June 25th, 2007, 09:39 AM

WE have one and loved it. DS grew out of it fairly fast, so theres no way I could have got a shorter one.

No linen other than a sheet wrapped over the mattress that came with it. this was we were still wrapping DS when he was in it, so I would wrap him the same as if he was going in his cot, and put him in the hammock wrapped.

**christy** · June 25th, 2007, 09:45 AM

I had an Amby hammock and loved it. It did take a week or so to get used to it, but I actually brought it to the hospital with me so Jovie went straight into that. I had a double sheet made into 3 sheets for it from a tailor we use. I then just dressed & wrapped Jovie in it.

I loved the fact that you can bounce them up & down which helps with pain receptors in the brain. When Jovie had wind or reflux issues I would bounce her & she settled very easily.

**Phteven** · June 25th, 2007, 01:58 PM

Both my boys loved thier Amby hammock. Imran stayed in it for his day sleeps until after his first birthday so a shorter one wouldn't have been such good value for us.
I wouldn't bother making plastic backed sheets since in summer they would reduce airflow and might be a bit sweaty. The matress isn't very thick and nor is the cover. I found that if they needed wash in summer I could wash them in the morning and go out for a few hours and they would be dry when I got back. In winter they would dry before bed timeon a sunny day with a bit of a breeze.
I bought sheets but it would have been easy to make them.
I usually put the boys down wrapped and if the needed a bit of extra warmth I used baby wraps as blankets.
When Imran was very small I used one of those back snuggler things (with a roll on each side and a bit of fabric between to stop them from rolling - in baby shops) to keep him centered.
Yasin was about 3 months old when we got it and took about a week before he decided that he loved it.
You can rent them so if you wanted to try before you buy that's a great option

**~Trish~** · June 25th, 2007, 08:27 PM

I used an Amby hammock for my son and LOVED it too. He took to it immediately. I used to wrap him then put a light blanket over him. He stayed pretty warm in there because it is so snug. In summer just a sheet would do. I only used the mattress sheet it came with and would use a normal bassinette sheet if I had to wash the fitted one. Like dachlostar said, you can just throw the mattress in the wash, it dries really quickly. You can buy spare mattresses if you ever want an extra one while one is in the wash.

FellowTraveller · July 6th, 2007, 08:31 AM

Just wondering if those who use a baby hammock noticed that bubs needs time to settle into it. My DD is nearly 6 weeks and we decided to hire a baby hammock (prior to buying) and she seems a bit restless in it. SHe will doze off but not for long sleeps, she then wakes and cries and I need to resettle her. Having said this, she does not seem to mind the hammock...just wondering if she needs time to adjust or is it too much stimulation for her??

Appreciate feedback...

Thanks...."A new mum with 2 left feet!"

**Pandora** · July 6th, 2007, 08:45 AM

DS didn't. If he was really unsettled it would sometimes take a while for him to go to sleep, but once he was sleeping, sometimes I'd have to wake him to get him out.

All babies are different though, your DD might take some time to get used to it, or it might be that its not for her?

**Phteven** · July 6th, 2007, 08:47 AM

Yasin started using it when he was about 2 months old and he took a while to get used to it - may a week or two (it's hard to remember). Imran went into it from birth so he never had an adjustment period.

**Ozziehoffy** · July 6th, 2007, 03:02 PM

I have used it from birth. He won't sleep in it during the day but sleeps well in it at night. I would suggest that there probably would be some period of adjustment if bubs is changing from one sleeping environment to another.

FellowTraveller · July 6th, 2007, 03:11 PM

Do others use the Amby or the Baby Hammock Company hammock? And do you swaddle in a hammock or not? Thanks!

**Phteven** · July 6th, 2007, 04:06 PM

we used Amby. His service was fantastic and we loved the hammock

FellowTraveller · July 6th, 2007, 04:23 PM

Dachlostar you seem to be a real fan of the hammock...any tips for settling my dd into one - she is 6 weeks old. And do you swaddle your babies when they are in the hammock? Thanks

**Phteven** · July 6th, 2007, 05:02 PM

I swaddled Yasin in it because he liked it but Imran grew out of being swaddled very early.
Yasin sometimes took a long time to settle so I would just find a novel or trashy mag and read that with one hand and bounce with the other hand (or a toe if I needed 2 hands). It never seems to take so long if you're not watching & waiting IYKWIM.
Yasin took a while to get used to it but when he woke up if he seemed grumpy I would just bounce him back to sleep.

**Berry** · July 6th, 2007, 05:14 PM

We had an Amby one, which was similar to one our daughter got used to in the Hossy special care unit. She liked the gentle swaying or gentle bouncing. I didn't swaddle her in it as it seemed cosy and enclosed enough - just tucked a bunny rug loosely over her. We had tried the same hammock with my son and he wasn't keen on it. Some babies take to it more than others. Good luck with it; I liked having it out in the living area and bub seemed to like having her nigh nighs there.

**Ozziehoffy** · July 7th, 2007, 08:37 PM

We have an Amby one. There are some pics on the website if you click on Oskar's name. One in the birth to 12 weeks folder and then one in the 12 weeks to 6 months. He's almost 14 weeks and still in it and loves it. He's partially wrapped...by this I mean from under his arms as he doesn't like his arms wrapped. Then I actually tuck him in with a cotton blanket so his arms are held down but he can get them out. The blanket I tuck under the mattress so it's firm across him. The pics don't show this though cos I only put it on him when I go to bed.