Did I waste our money - regarding Baby Hammock

I bought a baby hammock tonight and now I'm wondering if I make the right chose in buying it. My DS is 4 months, he only sleeps in the day if we hold him, if we put him down he wakes after a few minutes, then he is gumpy till he gets a proper sleep. We can only get him to sleep by walking and rocking him, if I try put him down and patting him to sleep ect he gets hysterical. We co-sleep with him at night and he normally isn't too bad at night after midnight. I bought the hammock cause I didn't know what else to do. I'm am hoping he will sleep better in the hammock then he is sleeping now. He is getting to heavy to hold for hours. Does anyone use a baby hammock, did I waste our money? Has anyone moved a older baby into one? Anyone got any advice? Thanks

I bought one when when our DS1 was 10 weeks old and it was the BEST thing we could have done. He too would only sleep during the day if I held him and I was going mental. The first time I put him in it for a nap he slept on his own for 2 hours! Sometimes he needed to be bounced off to sleep in it, but that was heaps better on my back than holding him to sleep. He did well in his cot overnight, but the hammock was a lifesaver while he was teething, I would put him in it o'night and he would be much happier.

I really hope you find it as wonderful as I did. You may need to get used to bouncing him in it for a while, but eventually they learn to bounce themselves off to sleep! We used ours for our DS until he was nearly 2 years old! DS2 never took to it, but he sleeps well in his cot during the day anyway.

It's worth a go, if it doesn't work you could always resell it on eBay. Good luck!!

I swear by our baby hammock.
We have a cot but between co-sleeping and the hammock it was only used a handfull of times.
It might take your DS a while to get used to it but if you stick with it he'll probably love it in a week or so.
I used to get a good book and bounce the hammock with a toe while I read and I always amazed at how fast my babies went to sleep. When I had no book it seemed to take much longer lol.

I've only heard good stories about baby hammocks..........soooooooooo should have got one for our DS, we rocked him to sleep for ages. Still do a bit actually.

I really hope it works for you :)

Thanks ladies. I feel a bit better about buying it now. I think dh is sick of spending money on beds/bedding Harrison doesn't use, we bought the cot, cot mattress, tetra snuggle bed plus two covers, air wrap and all the cot sheets and bedding. Harrison hates the cot, he won't go in it. But I'm going to keep it all until after we have our next bub. I hadn't heard about baby hammocks until the other day or I would have got one to start with. Hopefully the hammock will work better. :crossfingers: My back is killing me. Thanks for your replies.

Jo,

I am a huge hammock fan. To the point that I recommend them to everyone. My gf ended up moving her DS into one when he was around 5 months and it transformed his sleeping (and hers, LOL!) so no, I do not think you have wasted your money!

sorry going against the grain here, I bought one for Sam when he was 3 months old, and to this day he has slept in it for a total of 2 hours. He was always a bad sleeper, so we bought the hammock out of sheer frustration, well $350.00 later and no change in sleep it is back in the box, waiting to be sold. I don't know if it is just him or because he was a bit older when we first put him in it but he just hated it. We have since spent $400 on sleep school which worked like a charm.

Thanks Lucy and Clare. I will see how he goes. I can always use it for the next one if he won't use it.

Just a quick update. Harrison sleeps in the hammock like an angel. He has been sleeping so well, and loves it. This afternoon he self-settled. We were listening though the baby montior he sang himself back to sleep, it was very sweet. I am amazed at the difference. It was the best thing I have ever brought.

Yay!!! I'm so happy it is working so well for you! You won't know yourself soon ;)

I agree, it really is the best thing I ever bought too :)

what brand/type of hammock do you guys recommend?

Rainforest - I have an Amby baby hammock and can highly recommend them. They are the original baby hammocks. :)

I got mine of ebay. there is a lady on there who sells them for $149, free post. Alot of people seem to recommend the Amby baby hammocks.

We are going to be renting a hammock for this bub, cos DS is still in his cot, but my sister has made me a little wary of the risks of SIDS after telling her that I was going to go with a hammock.
Can someone make me feel better about my decision to hire the hammock and that its perfectly safe?!!?

Gudism, there have been no known cases of SIDs when using Amby baby hammocks (I did my research).

ETA - From the Amby website:

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To date, there has not been one single case of injury or SIDS attributed to our hammock.

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I'm wondering how you go when you have to "wean them off" the hammock, so to speak?

Very interested in the hammock option if Number Two is as bad a sleeper as DS - won't be able to spend time feeding and rocking off to sleep while he is racketing around.

But what happens when they have to go into a cot? Is it hard to make the transition?

Curly - My DS only used it for day naps, and as I said in one of my posts above he used it until he was almost two, then he just transitioned into his toddler bed with no issues. My sister transitioned her DS over at 6 months without any issues either. I know of others who haven't had a problem either, you just do it when you know your child is ready.

I feel like I should be a baby hammock sales person LOL!

Thanks Trish for that info. I thought I had read something similar, but she looked at me like I was bloody insane, so I started to wonder if I was.. must be preggo brain!!!

Our babies moved straight from the hammock to the big bed. They never took to the cot. Our cot was a total waste of money.

Am a huge fan of the hammock also, I am very happy for you to have found it and so glad it is paying off. You must feel so relieved.

I was lucky enough to have a friend supply one for me for my first child so have never known any different. It has worked like a charm for us. Great night sleeps and portable too!

We use a New Zealand brand - Natures Sway. It is fantastic and can be used up to 12kg. (something to look for when choosing a hammock - how much weight they take and therefore how long you can use them!)

With the transition question, I believe most babies let you know when they are ready for a bed or cot... they begin to want to turn over, sit up or move about too much in the hammock and are unhappy within its confines. That seems to be happening with us at the moment... 7 month old wants to move!

With the SIDS question... there seems to be no evidence of problems using the hammock, I personally felt very safe. It is worth remembering that many other countries and cultures use hammocks for babies as beds, to them it is crazy to use a cot!! My Malaysian uncle was very excited to see us using the hammock, he remembers them from his youth in Malaysia.

Glad to hear of so many happy users, but also disappointed for those who it didn't work for. I'm glad you found a solution to sleep problems though through sleep school! I hope you get a good price for it or get use out of it for another bub!