Baby Hammock
Archived Q&A and Reviews
July 2007
I am wondering if any one out there has started to use an amby bed with an older baby and, if so, how did it go? I have a seven-month old son with leg and hip issues (braces) and sleeping has always been difficult for him and it's now becoming *very* difficult. This bed looks as if it might be a good option for us but it seems to be for smaller children/newborns only -- my son is already 20 pounds and 21 inches. Thank you! sleepy mom to sleepy baby
We bought the Amby bed for our daughter but didn't start using it much until she was about 6 months old. Before then she either coslept or napped in a cradle swing. She liked the Amby bed and we used it until about 14 months when she started trying to crawl out. She is an exceptionally active baby, but she slept well in the Amby bed and I hear that many people can use it longer. an Amby fan
Our son used the Amby until he was 18 months and close to 30 pounds. He's a big guy and long, so his legs were a bit bent by the last couple of months but he was still sleeping very well in it. On occasion a leg or 2 would pop out of the bottom. We placed pillows under it in case he crawled out, which he only did once. We also had to hang it with 2 springs, which it came with, or he would bottom out. We loved it and were very sad to give it up! onika
Dec 2004
I am considering an Amby Hammock for my baby (1st child I am due in March) but have not found a lot of information about them except on their website where, no surprise everybody is in love with the product. They have a strick return policy, you can't. Though the baby will be sleeping with me I am interested in this as an alternate option. Thanks. Anon
after many restless nights and many futile attempts at placing my 3 month old from his car seat to his crib (he is now in his swing), i am thinking of purchasing an amby hammock. i have heard good things and would like to know of any shortcomings with this product. thanks! Judy
I have an amby hammock and I absolutely love it - my 8 month old son does too. I'm actually dreading the day he grows out of it.
It's been great for many reasons. A few of them being:
1.) Anyone can bounce the hammock ... so others are able to comfort the baby to sleep (i.e. not you!).
2.) We have a small apartment with one bedroom. Our son goes to sleep in the hammock in our bedroom, but when we give him his 10pm feeding, we move the hammock into the living room so we have our room to ourselves - portable bedroom!
3.) Our son has now figured out how to bounce the hammock himself. I can hear him playing in there. He has a field day!
4.) We travel a lot and the hammock is so easy to cart around. Also, wherever the hammock is, our son knows it's time for sleep. We can be anywhere, a hotel in the middle of nowhere, and he's in his very own bed.
I could go on and on. Terri
May 2004
HI! I am six months pregnant with child #2 and came across an interesting product yesterday. It is the Amby baby motion bed, kind of like a non-electric baby swing/ hammock. I remember well all of the sleepless nights with colicky baby #1 and am wondering if anyone has tried this interesting looking bed for their little one. I would love to hear any positive or negative comments about it before I shell out $200 for it! thanks
I have an Amby baby hammock that you're welcome to come look at - but we're moving soon, so come quick! (We're near the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland) We started our baby in it later than recommended, but he still naps very cozily in it -- doesn't usually jiggle himself back to sleep though (although once in a while he does...) Alysson
My 8 month old daughter has slept in the Amby bed since she was 4 months old (would have tried it earlier, but I didn't know about it). We like it: it's not a miracle worker, but it is a nice place for a little one to sleep. She didn't have colic, but was a restless sleeper who hated co-sleeping and was too tiny to be comfy in a big crib. She took to the Amby right away and has always enjoyed being in it. At first I had her right next to the bed, and at 3 am it was great to be able to reach over and bounce the Amby with one hand when she started to stir. Now she sleeps in a separate room, but is still happy in there. When I put her down to sleep, I set the bed swinging a little bit and it seems to help her fall asleep completely. The portability factor is nice too, it comes with a carrying case so you can take it on vacation.
However, even though the Amby helped her sleep more soundly, it did NOT magically make her sleep through the night, or even sleep in longer stretches than she was before. The 3 am bouncing only worked sometimes, other times I still had to get up and rock her. And now that's she's bigger and more mobile, I'm thinking of transitioning her to a crib. The Amby site says babies can be in it for up to 2 years, but I just feel like she needs room to roll around. I'm happy we got it because she was so small that the coziness of it really made me feel better, but for a normal sized baby, I don't know. Maybe it does work miracles for some people, but for us it was more of a helpful tool. (Sleep training ended up being our reluctantly chosen miracle worker.)
We used the Amby baby hammock with my daughter until she was 6 or 7 months old. I loved it and she seemed to like it as well. She wasn't colicky though. Just VERY alert and awake. I sometimes bounced her to sleep in it when she woke up in the middle of a nap or the middle of the night. She had many good sleeps in it. But when she started to roll over and wanted to sleep on her side, she would wake up frustrated because she couldn't roll over in the hammock. I know the company says that kids can sleep in it until they are two but my daughter never would have made it. She's a tummy and side sleeper. But I would use it again as a first ''bed'' and recommend it to friends. Gentle mama