"The boy has now slept through the night two nights in a row!"
It's the kind of news a new parent wants to post on his blog, which is what Chad did at The Little Man.
One thing that might've helped: his kid's new [or gently used, actually] Amby baby hammock, one of Australia's favorite baby hammocks. Like other bassinet/cradle-type setups, which a kid graduates from after sitting or pulling himself up, the Amby doesn't have a very long useful life [unless you count selling or passing it on to the neighbors]. But it appears to get the job--rocking a kid to rare, deep, restful sleep--done quite frequently.
Celebrity parents who love their Amby's include: AJ from Thingamababy and Zero Boss Jay, who shared his Amby Baby Motion Bed love on bloggingbaby. [And who got sucked into a dispute between a parent and Amby about a defective eyehook. Always fun.] Meanwhile, Eric of More Diapers and the H-bomb love their Amby too, but they hate the pesky hand-washing and air-drying of its unfortunately absorbent all-cotton construction [washing machine or bust, I say].
Check out the Amby Baby Motion Bed [ambybaby.com]
what do you think?
Frankly, you can make your own. The guy who founded Amby got the idea from travelling in SE Asia and seeing parents in Indonesia/Singapore/Malaysia sleeping in something similar. They make it out of a sarong, some rope and a spring. Ok, so maybe people won't be rushing out to do this, but it does make me laugh that these things with a six month self life are actually something that the "natives' can whip up in a few minutes. Oh and yes, it seems to work.
Personally? I think you should put a spider plant in it and fire up the bong with Fleetwood Mac.
But then, our kid slept fine from very early on and didn't have any reflux-related problems, either; in cases like that, I'd hope design-obsessiveness would not be my top priority.
That said, if that Leander hanging cradle does the same thing, though, I'd take a hard look. 800 million Danish parents can't be wrong...
I think you should stop with the one you have, then, Greg. We had that model the first time around. Slept, good natured, cautious, loved to go to restaurants and try nibbles of whatever (and I do mean WHATEVER -- this is a kid who loves sushi) her parents were having. You can have a life and preconceived notions about what it will be like with an agreeable child like that.
All bets are off on what you'd get if you threw the dice a second time. I'm pretty sure design-obsessiveness would not be your top priority. Getting four hours of sleep in a row becomes your number one goal after six months without it.
I will agree that it's not the prettiest thing in the world, and I did lose a bit of skin putting it together. However, between the hammock and the special formula, the little man's acid reflux has practically vanished - which makes it worth every penny in my book.
We've got one. And it's useful life isn't over. My daughter is 11 months and we plan on using it until she moves to a toddler bed. She does sit up in it when she wakes up, but due to the rocking motion she can't stand up or climb out.
Our Amby bed was suggested to us by a delighted friend. When Alyson had horrid reflux at 11 days old, we were grateful for the Amby bed so that she could sleep and not aspirate.
I also like our Amby bed better than a sarong idea, as it has spreader bars to keep the baby safer.
The Leander cradle looks sweet, but I think Aly would be able to climb out of it by now. (Amby's also cheaper. ;-)
Hi, I was sold on the Leander cradle for months not seeing anything else to get the same job done. Now I'm hearing about the Amby Baby. The two things I'm concerned with are the life span of the Amby, and the snugness of it around our baby. The Leander seems so much more versitile. I found it for around $152 U.S. funds on one website (plus shipping $42.00). I'm really fishing for more comments/experience with the Leander.
Louis,
Are you in the USA? I am able to order the Leander Cradle....my wife and I are both sold on it....but shipping the tripod from overseas (Denmark, England) costs more than cradle itself... any chance of getting a link to that site you mentioned?
Hi, I was wondering where you found the leander cradle for 150.00? Could you email me back at dianecraft@gmail.com and let me know. Thank you, Grandma