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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.
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
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.
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??
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
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!!
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.
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.
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...........
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
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.........
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.
is there a mattress as such or just the hammock?
*hugs*
Cailin
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.
Can it be washed in the machine? Sorry just thinking if you have a gastro bub or something LOL!
*hugs*
Cailin
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.
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.........
Well I bit the bullet & just ordered it....
Yay Good for you! Hope it works great.
K
Wooohoo.....well done Sarah...........I really hope it gives Alexzander some really great sleeps! Let us know how you go!
do they comply to an australian safety standard like cots do?
I don't know, I just feel like they wouldnt be as safe as a cot, these are the questions i have.
can the bedclothes be properly tucked in tightly so when bubs is a bit more active cannot move beneath the sheets and suffocate?
what happens when as a bubs gets older and starts to stand up in their cot, what happens in the hammock, wouldnt they just topple out of it?
their spine would be curled slightly when lying in it, is this good for their spine if they are lying that way for prolongued periods of time?
** i am not poo pooing them, just curious about these three points, being the devils advocate really.
Min,
These are all good questions, and ones that I wondered about before I used one with Olivia.
They do meet Australian standards....but they don't fall into the cot category, so I guess from that perspective they are probably not tested as much. In the 11 months we used ours, I cannot think of one safety issue though: they are soft without any hard sides or gaps, so this limits the safety issues.
You can really tuck a baby in well, & I found that Olivia was more secure in the hammock as she couldn't cavort around so much!
In terms of them attempting to stand....there is just no way they could. When they get very wriggly/try to roll over, they just bounce themselves off to sleep again.
The spine thing: I am looking at Olivia now and her spine is as straight as an arrow: she has lovely posture! Although I did wonder about this myself initially, and I actually asked my MCHN about it and she said that if that was the case, she dounted they would ever be allowed to be used in special care nurseries etc in hospsitals (which they are a lot). So that kind of put my mind at rest.
They are not for everyone, but I loved ours!
I ordered an extra spring today so hopefully that will sort the bouncing out.
I told Steven that we could buy one, and it wouldnt take up a lot of room.. and then we could have a baby now..
He declined.. but eh.. it was worth a try.
K
Our hammock arrived a few hours ago & I just put Zander down in it.
One question though - where are they supposed to be positioned in it? If I have his feet near the end like you're supposed to with a cot it seems like his head is lower than his bum which is not good for a reflux baby....
I think that if you look in the instructions it tells you how to make the head higher by gathering more material from the head end into the bit that you tie.
You don't put the baby at the end like you do in a cot, you put them in the middle or if you want the head up a bit, put his head up closer to the head end. Its not a flat surface so they don't wiggle up or down so much
If you email the guy who makes them he usually answers quite quickly.
I have emailed him, but thought you guys would respond faster ;)
I do have him closer to the head end, but just wanted to check that that's ok.
Yep, Sarah, head up at the head end, and that will tilt Zander with his head and chest higher than his body and legs.
HOPE IT WORKS!
Well I am most impressed by the guy that makes them - I got a response to my email in less than 1/2 an hour, impressive hey?!
He seems pretty comfy in there, so we'll see how he goes tonight....
sarah, how'd you go with it?
Well min, bearing in mind that the little guy has reflux, we didn't go so well last night. But I think that might have been due to an upset tummy.
Today though he has been put on new medication & has been asleep in it for an hour \:D/ He likes the bouncing, so if he stirs we just go in & bounce him a bit & he falls straight back to sleep. It (bouncing) didn't work last night, so I figure it had to be tummy pains keeping him awake.
Is it still going good Sarah?
Resurrected this to ask a different question..
Did anyone ever try changing their bums whilst they were still in their hammocks? Howd it work? Or did you think it would be too impossible?
It was a thought that just crossed my mind, so I thought id ask.
K
Yup still loving it Kirby, but the only problem is it's a bit low so I'm getting a bit of a sore back. Not sure how I'll go when he gets heavier.
As for changing nappies in it, the thought never crossed my mind. But as I said it's a bit low so might be pretty awkward.
Yea sounds like it.. Thanks!
Hey.. I was just reading something on another site.. that has a bit of a msg board... and there was a post about the amby... about a recent problem with metal shavings being a bit dangerous.. etc
Apparantly the company has designed a special cover to prevent injury etc... So I just wanted to notifying incase yous need to email to get sent one.. Id hate to have not told u i read this and then hear something went wrong...:
Mine has paint worn off the hanger part. Be sure to look closely at the eye-bolt that the springs hang from. Are there any signs of wear there? Does it look like the spring has sratched the eye-bolt? I think that's where the metal shaving came from, but the chipped paint bothers me just as much.
Look inside the folds of the fabric that covers the hanger. That's how I confirmed what happened. There were tiny metal shavings in the folds....
Does thefabric have adirty look to it right below the spring? Mine does.... Don't use it if you think the metal is flaking off at all. I don't want another baby to go through what Jake is. The hospital experience was HORRIBLE.... I cry every time I think about it.
If anyone wants to the link to the entire thread, about the process with emailing the company (these ppl have posted some of the emails the company sent them etc).. then just let me know and ill email you the link.. that way you know the entire context of the prob
K
Just noticed today that there is paint flaking off my hammock & I have no idea where the paint chips went, I just hope that Zander didn't swallow them.
I sent an email & all I got was "Are you in Australia? I can send you a spring cover." No apology, no explanation or anything, so I'm really cranky about it. I sent an email back with my address so he can send me the cover & I asked why it wasn't sent in the first place.
Hi Sarah,
Did you get a response back from Amby re the cover? I was really keen to buy the hammock but am now a little hesitant, if there are problems with metal shavings etc - even with a spring cover.
Also, I have a bad back - do you think I will have problems with the low height and better off with a cot? I just really wanted something that promoted good sleep, as I work from home.
Thanks
Margot.
Sorry Margot, I only just noticed your post now. We got the cover & everything seems to be ok, but Aaron also put electrical tape over the flakey part before we got the cover anyway. As for the back issue, I'm not sure because as far as I know noone else has had the problem! With the promotin sleep it hasn't really for Zander :( I think he'll just be a bad sleeper like his daddy is!
I think now, not quite three months after getting the hammock it has to be retired :( Zander has woken every hour for the last 2 nights & it seems to me that it's cos he's having trouble moving. Aaron put him in the cot at 6am and he slept until just before 10am so I think he might be in there from now on.
Wondering if anyone out there sleeps their bub in a hammock??
I am due for number three, and have recently found out about the Amby Baby Hammock. Wondering if anyone out there has ever tried one or has any opinions on them??
We loooved our hammock :D We got it when Zander was about 1.5months old after having all sorts of problems getting him to sleep (he has reflux & couldn't lay flat). It was great until he started rolling as he would wake up hourly when he wanted to move.