How does a baby swing hammock work?
Through the gentle up and down movements, the baby is automatically rocked to sleep and reminded of the time in the womb in a natural way. The swinging is triggered either by the baby itself in the baby hammock, by its own movements for example, or by the parents who briefly set the baby swing hammock in motion.
How is a swing hammock constructed?
The spring cradle usually consists of various tested, approved and purely ecological components.
- The hammock is fixed to the ceiling with a dowel and a hook. There are also racks and doorframe clamps on which you can hang the cradle, so that you can really take it everywhere.
- The spring cradle belongs to the family of hammocks (baby hammock). Unlike most hammocks, however, it is suspended from a steel spring and swings from bottom to top, quite unlike comparable baby beds, such as bassinets or the like.
- The swing hammock for babies and toddlers is made of cotton fabric, which has a strong calming, relaxing and sleep-promoting effect due to its special suspension system with integrated special spring.
The swing hammock is a type of baby hammock that swings from top to bottom and is used and highly recommended by hospitals, doctors, midwives and therapists, especially for writing babies and babies with colic.
The benefits of a baby swing hammock
- healthy sleep for your child
- help with writing babies and colic
- promotes language development and the sense of orientation
- travel bed for on the road
- simple to handle and easy to stow away
When to use baby hammock?
With the swing hammock, the earlier the better. It is recommended to use the cradle from the beginning after birth. In this way you will have the greatest possible benefit from the very first day. For your baby, rocking in the feather cradle feels almost like being safe and secure in the womb, so he or she will quickly get used to his or her new sleeping environment and the cradle will look so familiar to your little one that he or she will slumber calmly and relaxed.
When should you buy a swing hammock?
The ideal time to buy the swing hammock is therefore already during pregnancy. This way you can rock your newborn child to sleep in the hammock right after the hospital stay. At the age of three to six months it may take your baby a little longer to get used to the cradle – depending on where he or she has slept before – but even at this time it is advisable to buy a swing hammock. Especially at this age, your baby may suffer from acid reflux, which can make it difficult to sleep at night.
The swing hammock is ideal for calming the little one and letting it sleep better. Even if you notice that he does not want to sleep in the bassinet or cot as soon as you take him out of your arms, the spring cradle is ideal. Because it imitates the rocking movements of your arms, your baby will fall asleep very quickly and you will also be able to take a break for a breath.
Your baby is very active and needs exercise to fall asleep? Then it will appreciate the gentle rocking movements of the hammock. At an age between six and nine months, many babies have problems sleeping for long periods at a stretch. A swing hammock can work wonders here. However, at this age, it may be more difficult for your baby to get used to the new sleeping environment. So take a little time to try out the swinging feather cradle. But older babies also like to sleep in the feather cradle.
Up to what age can you use a swing hammock?
Since the cradles can usually hold up to 33 lbs, sleeping in the swing hammock is no problem even at the age of twelve months. Due to the shifting of weight in the cradle, babies up to nine months cannot straighten themselves out of the cradle. A good option: put toys in the cradle and your baby will play for the first time when he wakes up, which gives you enough time to take care of your baby during the waking phase.
Sleeping in the hammock – the cradle swing for newborn
The back-friendly shape of the hammock distributes the baby’s body weight over its entire body so that the intervertebral discs can develop wonderfully and also prevents the flattened back of the head. The back-friendly shape is the naturally rounded lying surface that the baby knows from the womb.
By the child’s own movements or with the help of the parents, the baby hammock swings up to 60 – 70 times per minute, which corresponds approximately to the heart rate of a pregnant woman. It is the gentle vibrations of the baby cradle that remind the baby of the peace and security in the womb and lull it into a peaceful sleep.
The nine months before birth in the mother’s womb are the most beautiful and safest time in the world for a baby. Here he feels safe, isolated from all the disturbing noise of the outside world and in the amniotic fluid he is always gently rocked a truly perfect world. With birth then, everything becomes different. Your baby hears loud noises from everywhere, it smells intense smells and even the constant rocking is suddenly over.
The swing hammock for babies gives the baby exactly this security back from the womb. At first, the cradle basket is similarly tight and cuddly wrapped around the baby and then the cradle imitates exactly the rocking in the amniotic fluid. Feather cradles are constructed in such a way that they can swing up and down as well as back and forth in a three-dimensional movement.
Baby bed with swing and rocker
Due to the easy handling, the quick assembly and the low weight, the baby hammock is not only suitable as a cradle, but also as a replacement for a side bed or nursing bed, a bassinet or for the first baby bed. It can not only be used as a sleeping environment during the day, but also at night. The hammock can also be used as a travel cot and can be hung anywhere with the help of various frames and door frame clips without the need to drill a hole. This way the child has his or her familiar sleeping environment with him or her even when out and about.
The Hammock-Swing-Test
So to test beforehand whether your baby really likes the feather cradle and whether the investment is worthwhile, a swing test is recommended. To do this, simply stretch a wrap around your back and place your newborn in it. Now gently rock your baby back and forth and up and down. If your baby likes the rocking, he will love the swing hammock.
In fact, this is the case with most babies. So give it a try and you will find that your baby will sleep calmly and relaxed and so will you!
How safe is a hammock for babies?
The spring cradle of your choice should have firmly processed push buttons at the foot end. These prevent the baby from slipping out of the cradle. Some manufacturers have also processed safety belts or offer them for retrofitting. This makes it a wonderful sleeping environment for the baby at night.
Where do I attach my swing hammock?
Swing hammocks are typically attached to the ceiling, unlike a conventional baby bed. Completely closed eyebolts with a diameter of at least eight millimetres are used. These are safer than rocking screws, which are also turned, but are not completely closed. This is because there is a risk that the spring cradle will come loose from the screw due to the rocking up and down movement.
Swing hammock for twins
You know, there are times when your newborn child isn’t born alone. So if you are doubly lucky, you will also need two resting and sleeping places. The company Nonomo offers here for example a model for twins.
In this solution, however, the cradle bags share a suspension. This means double load for the suspension and spring.
Perhaps not the best solution
At this point you should take another look at the basic principle of the swing hammock. Due to the sensitive spring the cradle reacts to the movement of the baby. So if twins share a spring, the movement of one of them will also make the calm baby vibrate. This does not have to be a disadvantage, it could also disturb the calm and sleeping baby.
Swing hammock for every Baby
Unfortunately, this means that it is probably best for each baby to have a place to sleep. Of course, these are considerable additional costs. A circumstance that parents with more than one child should know about.
Buy and sell used swing hammocks
Of course it makes sense to think about buying a used spring cradle, considering the rather high prices. The cradle bag can be washed and checked for external damage without any problems. The only variable is the spring. Nobody can say how many strokes the spring has really had. With a manageable purchase price a new purchase makes sense here.