Baby Hammocks # 2

My pg sister wants to get an Amby hammock but doesn't have a big budget for all the baby items she will need. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether this is something she could get second hand? Are they easy to keep clean etc?

Hi Dusty, I bought my hammock second-hand and it is so easy to keep clean. The whole fabric section and foam mattress can be machine washed. If she is worried about the mattress she can buy a new one directly from Amby. The owner Ambrose is really helpful. I sell second hand baby goods and have bought new mattresses and spare parts from him before. TBH I didn't buy a new mattress for mine because it can just be washed in the machine.

Tell your sister to look on eBay for one or even contact a baby hire place because sometimes they sell their older ones (that's how I got mine ;))

HTH :)

Hi Dusty,

I have our hammock that I have been looking to sell, if it is any use to you?

We have the frame, the mattress, 2 hammock slings, some sheets and a new canvas holdall that it all fits into.

It is all in white/calico. It has seen a lot of love (all 3 of my babies where in it for a fair while each) but it is very clean with loads of life left in it.

PM me if you want more info.......

Hi Jackrose,

Sorry, I only just found your reply in my inbox. Thanks for your thoughts. I'm glad to report that my bubs is now happily sleeping in the hammock again - you're right - it must have been a stage - and lack of boobie ;)

He'll sleep for 3-4 hours to begin with and then has a late evening feed and goes back in the hammock for a few more hours before coming in with me. I can't say that he's soothing himself to sleep just yet, however that may (or may not) come to pass.

He looks pretty snug in there, however I'm thinking that it's actually quite comfy and may remind him of the womb. So take heart, I think he'll be in there for several more months (and he's 6.5mths now). :)

i am debating whether or not to get a baby hammock second time around. had heaps of trouble with first who wasnt a good sleeper at all and i reckon a hammock would have suited her but by the time i realised i didnt have enough money (after all the other things i had bought).

the thing is... i sorta feel like i am gonna be different second time round and let the baby cry a little more than i did with first so i am wondering if a cot would suit second one.... or will i crumble again and be an ol softie and then leave the hammock unused and a waste of money?

also... is it then hard to move from hammock to cot when they are bigger?

Hi Hollo, I used a baby hammock for my first DS who was a bad day napper (only slept if I held him), it was WONDERFUL! I could actually get stuff done and he loved being in it. He would sleep in his cot overnight really well though. I didn't actually move him from his hammock until he was nearly two! When I did move him, he went straight into a toddler bed and we had no issues whatsoever. My sister moved her DS over from a hammock to his cot at 6 months of age with no problems either.

The other side of the coin - I tried my second DS in the hammock and he wouldn't sleep in it! It actually disturbed his sleep rather than helped it, much to my disappointment. Luckily he loves his cot so we don't really have any issues there.

Do you know anyone who owns one that you could borrow first to see if your bub likes it? Alternatively you can hire them so it may be worth trying one out that way. If you are worried about costs, you can buy them second hand on eBay for heaps cheaper.

Good luck with your decision!

oh i never even thought of ebay. what are some good brands? how much for a bargain? how much (roughly) do they cost brand new? thanks!

I have an Amby baby hammock which is fantastic, they are around $265 to buy new (+ freight). On eBay they sell second hand anywhere from $100 - $200. I wouldn't pay any more than half the retail price, but that's just me! Also, make sure you check where the hammock is located because a lot will be pick up only.

There are other brands of hammocks that are probably just as good, I haven't tried any other brand though. Do a search of the word "hammock" under the "Baby" category and see what comes up ;)

hollo, I have just merged your thread with our existing thread on baby hammocks. I f you read back through the thread I'm sure you'll find lots of useful information :)

I wish I had found this thread when DD was younger. I used to have a horrible time with getting her to sleep during the day. But as she has gotten older, it has been slightly easier. She now catnaps during the day. I am definately going to buy a hammock for the next child.

Hi hammock experts! I am hoping you might have some advice for me. I am a long-time lurker but this is my first post. :D

My LO has had an amby hammock since birth. Initially, she rarely slept in it, as she was very unsettled and spent long days and nights just sleeping in my arms (frustrating at the time but I look back on it now and think awwwww). We co-slept a lot for the first few months but now she only comes to bed if she is very unhappy and won't sleep, as my partner is a very heavy sleeper and tends to pull blankets up over his head without realising! Once she got to a few months old, DD was mostly pretty happy sleeping in her amby, and in the past month or two has mostly been self-settling in it.

However, she wakes up a LOT. I consider 4 wake-ups a good night and anywhere up to 6 is very normal. However, lately it has been a bit worse, and also she has been crying and crying when I try to put her down (both at night and for day sleeps). So I have gone back to feeding to sleep, rocking, picking up and putting down etc.

I know it is very normal for babies to go through periods of wakefulness, but for some reason I wondered if it has to do with the hammock - if maybe she was ready for more room and if it was time to make the transition. After being up with her 10+ times the other night, I cracked and thought 'enough is enough'.

She has been in the cot since yesterday morning. It has been taking a while to get to sleep, she's been catnapping during the day and woke 6 times last night, but not nearly as bad as I expected.

However . . . I am having huge hammock withdrawals!! I hate the thought of her sleeping in the cot, it looks like a cage to me :lol: and she always looked so happy and comfy and snug in the hammock. It breaks my heart to think her days in it are over.

So now I am thinking of moving her back! Am I crazy? Could I just put her in it for day sleeps and keep her in the cot at night (or vice versa), or should I stick to my decision so I dont confuse her?

She is just shy of 8 months, no idea of weight but is fairly skinny. Is pretty long, though.

I just always thought she would be in there for longer than this. :(

Should I just let it go? Am I being ridiculous to think of moving her back? Or was I ridiculous to move her in the first place, as her bad sleeping most likely has nothing whatsoever to do with the hammock??

For those of you who did make the transition, how did it effect your LO's sleeping, and how long did it take to get back on track? Anyone out there whose LO started sleeping BETTER?

And when did you recover from the transition yourself? :doh:

Thanks for listening. It actually seems very silly now I have written it down. :redface:

Oskar was in his Amby until around 6ish months old. He was starting to become a little more unsettled because he wanted to move around and lay on his side and is now a tummy sleeper. It could be that your little bub wants a bit more freedom to move as she is older.

Hi Aesthetica,

If only we had the benefit of hindsight when we are going through the difficult times! I know how you feel, with my DD I am going through a very similar thing:

to bed in the hammock happily then co-sleeping with me after the first feed successfully for the first 6 months

getting grumpy in the hammock at about 6 months and beginning a sleeping cycle of waking up to hourly for feeds

now back to 2/3 feeds at night but sometimes quite vocal when she wakes up and quite a protester when I put her down leading me to consider that she doesn't like the hammock

However, I have persevered with the hammock and it appears to me (there is that hindsight benefit!) That her trouble was more about changing sleep patterns that lots of babies apparently go through at this age, and about me letting her develop an attachment for the boob to settle rather than a dislike for her hammock.
We are now over the worst of her night time disruptions (I hope!) at least it is not as bad as it once was. She seems to sleep so soundly and cosily between wakes in the hammock and I, like you, don't really dig the idea of a cot. So based on my experience.... I suggest that if believe in the hammock, keep it up. HTH

Sorry, did I mention she is 8 months now... so same as you pretty much!

Thanks for your replies. I must confess that after 2+ hours of trying to get her to sleep in her cot last night, I caved and put her back in her hammock, and she did sleep much better. I got a 4-hour stretch -- it has been a LONG time since I had that much sleep in a row!! Not sure if it was because she prefers the hammock or if she was just so exhausted after barely sleeping for the past few days.

ozziehoffy - I have been thinking that maybe she wants a little more room. When you moved Oskar, how long did it take for his sleep to improve? Or did he start sleeping better straight away?

jackrose - Sounds like we are in a pretty similar position! Glad to hear you are over the worst of it. I've been reading the NCSS and trying to implement it for the past month, not sure how much success I've had, though. I guess the hammock was the last possibility, in the back of my mind was the thought that JUST MAYBE in the cot she would sleep through, and then sleep through every night for the rest of her life!! :lol: You've got to laugh at that sort of optimism (or is that naivety?? ;))

If anyone else has any advice or wants to share their stories about how they knew it was time to transition to the cot, and how they went about it, I would love to hear them.

Thanks! :)

From memory I think he actually started sleeping better pretty much straight away. He didn't go to sleep in his cot to start with, everything was transitioned. This was built around how he settled best etc. So, by the time we got to him going to his cot at night he was actually being put down on our bed at first then transferred asleep into his cot when we went to bed. Then when he started to move a bit too much he was straight into his cot and now can be put down awake and go to sleep on his own. So, I kinda used a little bit of the old mixed with new I guess.

Can I ask any of you who may be experienced in the hammock department - what signs did you use to determine that it was time to move to a cot other than the obvious: size and weight?

Wriggliness! Olivia was about 11 months when she started to bum shuffle on dry land, so that is when we moved her to a cot. Charlie was a demon shuffler from earlier, and started protesting at the hammock at 10 months, so we moved him then. Lexie was more placid, and was content int he hammock until about 12 months, until she started to bounce so vigourously much by herself I was fearful she would start hitting the floor!

yah!! i've just bought a raw cotton amby hammock for our newborn (due feb). ds is a really bad sleeper so i'm really hoping that the hammock will help the new bubs to be a better sleeper than him!
after reading all your rave reviews on here i'm really looking forward to using it. i'm sure i'll be coming on here all the time and asking you guys heaps of questions!!

Thanks Lucy,
It is as I suspected. DD is doing a lot of wriggling and even turning right over in the hammock in the last few days.... right on the back of her first few days of crawling.

It is such a pity because she still goes down to sleep in the hammock so peacefully and seems so comfy and snug in there.

Ah well.... 8 months is not so bad.

I have just purchased a hammock for my dd nearly 9 weeks old as she only sleeps with us or in a swing or bouncer or car capsule (snugly thats why she does) so hopping the hammock will do the trick for me. It should arrive tommorrow.

Just an update:

Hammock arrived this morning, put bub down for a sleep at 1pm she was asleep within 15 minutes. First time she has self settled herself since she was born. She has stirred twice since and put herself back to sleep. The 15 minutes it took her to get to sleep she only winged a few times now big screams or crys so happy.

Now just hopping this continues for the next sleep and night sleep.

Just wanted to pop in here and say how much we are loving the hammock already and it has only been less than 24 hours!

Our little man strains and groans from wind pain and is a bit chucky and hasn't slept for more than about an hour without us having to resettle and cuddle etc.... Since sleeping in it he has been going 4 hourly between feeds and is sleeping for up to 3 hours in there, with a few noises inbetween but by the time we get in there he is gently swaying and is fast asleep! :leap:

A few questions though - we put him flat on his back wrapped up and he still tilts to one side because he turns his head - is this normal?? He is a big boy but I wonder how your kidlets lasted so long without rolling over or tilting the whole soft hammock part?

Also on cold nights we normally wrap and then pop a blanket over him and tuck it in the cradle - is it ok to add a blanket at night when its cold and tuck it under the mattress??

TIA - Im sure I will be back with more questions at some stage! This thread is great!

I didnt even know there was a hammock thread here! We got an Amby for DS to see if it would help him with his wind and possibly sleep for longer, but he doesn't like it! Well, he likes it if you stand there and bounce him to sleep, and then continue bouncing. If you stop he wakes.
He hasn't been in it for probably a month or two now. Last week he was in a rocker at my parents and worked out if he kicked his legs, then he bounced. I was wondering if he might do better in the hammock now? Will have to try him out in it again and see what happens.

Hi Tanstar,

I though I would answer some of your questions.

we put him flat on his back wrapped up and he still tilts to one side because he turns his head - is this normal?? This happens with my bub to though she has never been wraped as she hates it. I put her down on her back and then tuck a blanket around her, she tilts it to one side to.

He is a big boy but I wonder how your kidlets lasted so long without rolling over or tilting the whole soft hammock part? My bub is now 4 months old and has just started rolling over but in the hammock she just gets on her side she actually so far has not been able to roll in it.

Hi nic,

With my daughter the first week or so in it I would have to bounce her to sleep, now I put her in it when she shows her tired signs and she bouncers herself. Durring the night I can her bounce herself back to sleep. (she sleeps in our room). If your bub is still having some problems with sleeping I would try again and see how bub goes.


I got my amby hammock when dd was 9 weeks old best thing I did, before that only would sleep with me. I am hoping she stary in it till 2 yrs if possilbe. I also got it as she is a windy baby and this seems to help her.

Hope this answers your questions.

Tan, all 3 of mine looked "crooked" in the hannock: but it hasn't done them any harm at all!

Charlie was a winter baby (born into an adelaide winter in a fffreezing house!) and I wrapped him in a double wrap, then popped another blanket over the top, ticked in. Snug as a bug. OOoooh, I am envious!

I'm so glad the hammock is working for your little man Tan! Ours was a lifesaver with DS1. He did look a bit crooked at first, but I found that by moving him down a bit he looked straighter. It's almost impossible to get them straight! He never rolled over in his, I'm not sure why! I used to wrap him and also put a lightweight blanket over him on the cold days.

Tan, I was sooooo in lurve with my hammock too! When Oskar was little he didn't look too crooked, but as he got a bit bigger he did. He NEVER rolled over in it, we transitioned to a cot when he started getting too restless for it though and was wanting to lay on his side - around 6ish months from memory.

As for the blanket, I used to have him in a jumpsuit, wrapped then he'd have 2 blankets when it was really cold. Never had a problem. What I used to do though was with the first blanket I'd have the top of it around armpit height then the second around waist. Also used to have his arms out as he hated them in.

Hello,

we have used a Miyo baby hammock for my baby boy for his daytime sleeps up until today. We have been planning his transition to his regular cot as he's getting quite big, almost 10kg, however transition time came early as the spring snapped this morning and the hammock fell to the (hard concrete) floor with my baby in it. Thankfully I had a giant pillow under him so he was unscathed apart from the shock. I signed up to this forum specifically to warn parents using hammocks, we have loved ours, it certainly made longer daytime sleeps easier as you can bounce the baby back into dreamland when they stir after a sleep cycle, but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you use one, place something thick and cushioned under it and NEVER leave the baby unsupervised in case the same thing happens again. The hammock states it is safety approved and suitable for babies between 0 and 15kg, though the spring can tolerate a weight of up to 200kg, however this does not seem to be the case. In retrospect, I would teach my baby to sleep in a proper safe cot from the beginning...

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I'm glad you had a pillow underneath.

We use a Amby Hammock and have no such problems and ours is second hand. My baby currently uses it as his jolly jumper and if that spring is going to break then it would be now.

I'm interested to know where the spring broke. I've inspected ours and there doesn't seem to be any wear and tear. The Amby hammock have a 'saftey chain' so if something like this should happen then the baby won't hit the floor.

I bought a stronger spring from Amby when my DS1 would bounce so hard the hammock nearly hit the floor (he was getting close to 2 years old though!) and the stronger spring snapped :o. Luckily I was holding it so I caught it before DS was hurt. I contacted Amby and he sent me a new spring and it never happened again. I also used to keep a small foam mattress under the hammock just in case.

I think the issue for us was that my DS was that much older and he would bounce himself so hard!

hi experienced hammock users , i have just got my hammock today , ( i bought it 2nd hand off ebay)i dont think its an amby but its pretty much the same ..

after a little getting used to it DD has slept longer than her usual 30 mins :0 and had sitrred tiwce and gone back to sleep !!!!!

BUT im not sure how do i use it for a reflux baby , when i put her in it , it seems as though her bum is higer than her head , then she will start to scream . i have put a Tetra pram pillow under the matteress so her head is higher .. and the end part of the hamock is undone .. is that right ??

do i put her at the end of the hammock , in the middle or right up the top . how do i get it so its on a recline , it didnt come with instructions and ive been trying to google but cant really find any thing besides pics ...

DS went in a hammock to late and hated it , he rolled over in it all the time and got caught in it .. (it was hired so i just took it back ) and today DD did it too she was stuck down the side of it , but i think the matteress was off line ..

so could some one tell me , how to put baby in it ..she is 3mths and 6kgs , does she still need those safe and sound "roll bars" or is she too big for that now ??

TIA

Can you post a pic of the hammock? I have an Amby and you place bub down the bottom so basically their feet almost touch the end and because of the ties at the top where it connects to the springs you can adjust the incline if that makes sense. So I could tie it a bit tighter to raise the head end slightly. He never had his bum higher at any stage though... so I would suggest without seeing a pic of your hammock that bubs may need to be placed a little more towards the bottom of the hammock??

I have a pic which shows fairly well how close to the bottom of the hammock Oskar was.... if you click on his name and then click on photos and go to the one Oskar Levi 12 wks - 4 months there's a pic about the 5th one I think it is.... hope that might help you a bit. PM me if you get a pic and I'll help more if I can :)

Hi I actually have an amby and put bub as high to the head end as a can otherwise she is tilted downwards. She is 6.4kilos started in it at 9 weeks and never anything to stop rolling, some times she gets on her side but seemss fine.

Google Amby and have a look at bubs in tha hammocks there.

Does anyone want to sell or hire their Amby Hammock (Victoria)? Please PM me ASAP if interested.

Hi, Cass .. i saw the pics oscar is so cute !!

I dont have any pics of her in the hamock but ill get some over the next few day , it doesnt have the ties like the amby does , just a wooden bar across the top ...( from memory the amby has a metal one ??? )

im so happy i have it thought .. no more cat naps !!

Question for the girls who have an Amby. Did you buy the jump jump attachment? Did you use it and what age did you start?

DS likes to bounce when you hold him standing up, and even though he has pretty good head control, he has started throwing his head around a bit, which makes me think we should wait another couple of months before we put him in the jumper? I'm yet to buy it, was thinking it could be from Santa for christmas, but think I'm running out of time to order and receive before then lol!

Nic

Nic, we didn't buy it, but we already had a hand me down Jolly Jumper on a frame in the garden instead.......all my 3 loved the jumping! (Probably from around 5 months?)

Nic, did you end up getting the jump jump?? Wish I'd seen your post earlier.... I found it a waste as Oskar didn't like it and it got used like maybe 6 times!! I personally think that the jolly jumper is a better option as it is more responsive than the jump jump and also sooooooo much easier to use! The jump jump is quite a pain and difficult to get bubs in and out of. Live and learn huh...lol.

Cass,
No haven't got it as yet. We were planning on ordering one in the next week or so. Thanks for the tip about it being a pain to get bubs in and out of. Will go have a look at them online again.
Nic

Nic, where in Qld are you? If you are near me then maybe you could have a look at it and give it a go? Pm me if you like :)

Cass, Thanks so much for your kind offer, but I live about 1000k's from you...bummer!