Amby Baby Hammock

DISCLAIMER:  The following is an account of my personal experience with this product.  It is not intended to be a recommendation or an endorsement.  No guarantees are made that you will have the same experience or results with this product.  Please read the "Product Disclaimer" section of the Terms of Use for more information.

From the Manufacturer:

The Amby Baby Hammock is a unique, patented womb-like bed that soothes even the most restless baby to sleep. Excellent for all babies, including babies with reflux and colic. 

Click here for more information about the Amby Baby Hammock from the manufacturer!

I recently had the opportunity to try out the Amy Baby Hammock and the following is an account of my experience with the hammock.

Ease of Assembly

I received the hammock during the week and waited until the weekend to put it together thinking that I might find some quiet time to concentrate.  Ha!  What was I thinking!?  I ended up putting the hammock together with the little one in the Johnny Jump Up and the eldest running around the house like a banshee.  Amazingly enough, I was able to put the hammock together in a short amount of time.

The instructions were fairly simple to follow, although I was unsure whether I had done a couple of things right.  The assembly starts out with snapping the frame together.  This was an easy step.  I was able to put the frame together by myself ( well, with some *help* if you count a 2-year old dragging the pieces into the other room saying,  "I help you Mommy!"), but you might want another person to help to make it really easy.  

Then it was time to attach the bolt and lock nut to the frame.  This combo holds the spring, which holds the hammock.  This is the only point during assembly where a tool is required.  (Good news for me!)  It was a little tough tightening the self-locking nut onto the bolt ( I'm no Ms. Olympia... ), but with a some "elbow grease", I was able to get it done.  This is one point where I wasn't sure if I had done something right.  Even though I had attached the bolt and nut as directed, the bolt still spun around in the hole in the frame. ( I thought maybe it should have been tightened so it didn't move around. )  I have since been reassured by the manufacturer that this is the way it should be.  So I did it right after all!

The final step was to attach the hammock to the crossbar which hangs from the spring.  I couldn't quite figure out from the instructions what to do with the velcro strap at the top of the hammock.  I improvised and again, found out from the manufacturer that I had done it right ( you should see me try to follow a recipe... I can make simple instructions very complicated!).  The sides of the hammock gathered easily into the "horns" of the crossbar and tied nicely with the bows.

I attached the backup cord from the bolt to the crossbar, inserted the mattress and I was ready to go!  All in all, factoring in my "help" and constantly picking up the teething toy that the little one kept throwing into the floor from his Johnny Jump Up, I think it took me about 30 minutes to put it together.

Will It Work??

Then it was time to test it out.  I first put the little one ( he was 5 1/2 months at the time ) in while he was awake.  He just kind of laid there for a while inspecting his new surroundings.  He could tell there was a new bed in town!

Then later on, I put him in the hammock after he had already fallen asleep in my arms.  I laid him down in the hammock and his eyes opened.  I thought, "Uh oh".  So I immediately started the hammock in motion.  The spring that the hammock hangs from allows the bed to move in a vertical motion.  This is supposed to simulate the movement in the womb.  I also nudged the hammock a bit so it would sway ever so slightly.  He instantly closed his eyes.  ( Although the spring does not keep the bed in constant motion ( a thought I had when I first heard about the hammock's natural motion), it does move the hammock when the baby moves, which can help lull the baby back to sleep.  I thought this was a clever design. )

Then the waiting began.  Just how long would he last in the hammock?  He has never slept on his back.  He has always slept on his tummy on an apnea monitor.  We discontinued the monitor at the doctor's recommendation as soon as he turned 5 months old, so I have been looking for a way to get him to sleep on his back.  ( He had outgrown a swaddling blanket I had been using. )   I didn't think he would stay asleep when put on his back.  But the unique design of the hammock allowed the mattress to flex and conform to his body.  That way he was not laying completely flat on his back.  When we put him flat on his back in the crib, his feet fly up in the air - he just can't lay flat - that ends up waking him up.  With the hammock, since the mattress shapes to him, his feet were resting on the mattress.  He didn't wake up!

Success!!

He also is notorious for sleeping *exactly* 30 minutes during naptime.  Well, the 30 minute mark rolled around and he started to stir.  So I ran over and started the bed in motion again.  His eyelids drooped once again and he went back to sleep.  He slept for another 35 minutes!  All total, he slept about an hour on his back.  That was a pretty good trial run for him!  I was impressed!

Success!

More Naps and Nighttime Relief

I have put the little one in the hammock for naps whenever we are downstairs.  That's where I have been keeping the hammock.  He has taken several more 1 hour naps in the hammock (without waking up at the 30-minute mark!) .  I had not yet tried the hammock at night.  Then one night I had put him down in his crib and he started fussing something awful.  I couldn't get him to go back to sleep.    I went and got him out of the crib and out of frustration, took him downstairs and put him in the hammock and started it in motion.  He immediately went to sleep - no more fussing!  I put him back in his crib later on since the hammock was downstairs.  Then several nights later we were having a rough night with him.  He woke up screaming during the night and we couldn't get him settled.  I had my husband bring the hammock upstairs to the nursery.  Once again, we put him in the hammock and he settled quickly!

So What's the Trick?

I think the success of the hammock can be attributed to two things:

•  The mattress has give, so it conforms to the baby's body - no laying flat on their back.

•  The spring provides vertical motion that soothes the baby by simulating the movement in the womb.

And That's Not All!

The hammock package includes the frame, spring, hammock sling, mattress and carrying bag.  You can also order other additional accessories as well including:

•  Package of 2 fitted sheets for the mattress
•  Snuggler ( useful for centering small babies in the hammock )
•  Mosquito net
•  Amby Baby Jump Jump
   

Amby Baby Jump Jump

I was also able to test out the Jump Jump.  The little one loved it!  I like the design because it has a "headrest" to support the baby's head when he jumps so his head doesn't fall backwards.  I also like the fact that it has straps on the sides of the seat that can be tightened so the baby doesn't fall over to one side in the seat.  The little one just jumped his little heart out!  And the best part of all is that it does not depend on a door frame.  We have 9 ft ceilings or higher in our home and the doorframes are too tall for a traditional Johnny Jump Up ( we have one doorway from the kitchen to the dining room that we have been using that is low enough, but it is not a convenient location ).  Since the Jump Jump attaches to the same frame that the hammock uses, it can be moved from room to room or can even be brought along on a trip!  Also, because the Jump Jump attaches to the frame, I don't have to worry about whether a door frame will support it and the baby's weight, which I sometimes wonder about with the traditional Johnny Jump Up we have.

Some Thoughts

The only thing I noticed with the hammock is that at the same time I began trying out the hammock, the little one started learning to roll over.   If I tried to put him in the hammock when he was awake, (thinking he might drift off to sleep), he would tend to try and roll over.  At one point he made it over onto his tummy (he's a strong one!).  The hammock is not designed for babies to sleep on their tummies.  I think the key is to get an early start so that the baby learns how the hammock works early on.  I just wonder if we had something like this when he was first born, then maybe he wouldn't have had to sleep on his stomach with the apnea monitor.  Maybe he would have been able to sleep comfortably on his back.  I know he would have welcomed the soothing motion of the bed.

I also think that maybe if I were more consistent in putting him in the hammock exclusively that he would adapt to it better.  Because I have been keeping the hammock downstairs to test during naps ( so I could watch his behavior for this write-up! ), I have not been using it exclusively at night.  So my testing has not been "scientific" by any means.

Because the manufacturer's website says that the bed is for use up to 12 months and beyond (possibly up to 2 years), I also wondered what would happen when the baby reaches the age where it could attempt to climb out.  The idea with a crib is that the mattress is lowered such that the child cannot get over the rails (although this does not always work...).  There is no way to adjust the hammock with regard to the height of the sides.  As with any baby bed, when the child shows signs of trying to climb out of the bed, another type of bed should be considered.  But one plus is that when the baby does reach that age, if it does attempt to get out, the hammock does not hang far from the ground at all.  The distance from the crib to the ground is much greater than the distance from the hammock to the ground.

Again, I think the key is to start using the hammock as early as possible and discontinue use when the baby's development dictates that other arrangements should be explored.  The same would be true for any sleeping arrangement.

Final Summary

The hammock was easy to put together.  A wrench was the only tool required and was only required in one step of the assembly.

I was able to get my little one to take hour long naps in the hammock - on his back.  He will not sleep flat on his back in his crib for any period of time.

The design of the hammock allows the mattress to conform to the baby's body and distribute his weight evenly.  This helped my little one rest more comfortably and kept his legs from jerking while on his back, thus helping him stay asleep.

The spring allows the hammock to simulate movement in the womb.  This vertical movement, (along with the slight side to side movement that I used) helped comfort my little one and lull him to sleep.

I think the benefits of the hammock can be increased by starting baby out in the hammock as early as possible.  Particularly during the first few weeks/months when colic, reflux and other sleeping problems are present.

More To Come

I will continue to use the hammock and will give an update on how it's going.   I plan on taking the hammock on an upcoming trip, so I will be able to report on how it works on a trip.  So check back!

We'll here it is!  My update on traveling with the hammock.  Disassembling the hammock was no problem.  Sometimes it was hard to push the locking pins in while pulling the poles apart, but I found if I twisted the pole while pulling that it came out very easily.

I wasn't sure if all of the pieces were going to fit in the travel bag, but they fit in there just fine without any shoving or rearranging.  I was even able to fit the Jump Jump in as well.  The travel bag fit just perfectly in the cargo area of our minivan.  It wasn't quite as heavy to carry as I had thought it would be.

I was easily able to reassemble the hammock in our hotel room.  I didn't have to refer to the instructions, as it was intuitive on how to put it together since I had done it once before.  We stayed in a small suite so we had plenty of room for the hammock.  It does take up some room, but I would imagine that you could find a spot for it in most hotel rooms.

But the big question:  How did he sleep??  He slept just great!  He woke up a couple of times, as he always does, but all I had to do was give him his pacifier and set the bed in motion again.  After the second time he slept for five hours straight until time to get up.

So overall, I was very pleased with how well the hammock traveled and how well Garrett slept in it away from home!!

Ready to order a hammock or want to learn more?  Just click on the banner below and it will take you to the Amby Baby Hammock homepage.

NOTICE:  The hammock is recommended for babies from birth to 12 months.  However, their website indicates that some babies sleep in the hammock up to 2 years of age.

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This site was last updated May 30, 2007.  All contents copyright © 2005 InfantReflux.Org.  All rights reserved.