Newborns love swing hammocks. Babies find a restful sleep in the soothing rocking. But that is precisely why many parents are afraid of what comes after the swing hammock. What happens if the little ones get too big and are supposed to sleep in a normal crib? Will the crying start again? Is the weaning difficult? And how can the baby be gently adjusted to the new sleeping environment?
Will my baby ever sleep in a normal crib too? – First of all: Don’t worry, your baby will sleep in a normal bed. If the swing hammock is preferred and nothing speaks against it, let your child decide for himself. There is no blanket solution for breaking the habit anyway.
Do you have to give up the swing hammock?
Actually not, if your baby loves to sleep in the hammock, just leave it alone. The swing hammock are usually designed to withstand a weight of up to 33 lbs. This refers mostly only to the feathers, the hammock bag itself can sometimes hold up to 66 lbs. So if your child reaches the critical limit, leave out the springs or consider buying a spring upgrade.
How long you can use a normal spring cradle, we have explained further here.
From the hammock to a baby nursing bed
There are babies who can use the hammock until the age of 2.5 years and then switch directly to the crib – without the detour via the baby cot. Most babies will not have any major problems changing over to the normal crib.
But if you find that your baby is sleeping restlessly, there are several ways to get your baby used to the new bed.
- Some parents take the small detour via their own parents’ bed. In this way the little one feels the security of the swing hammock and the closeness to the mother, but at the same time gets used to lying quietly.
- Another possibility is to create a soothing background noise for the baby in the crib – an old, loudly ticking alarm clock is enough here.
As simple as it sounds, this banal solution can work wonders. If your baby lacks the tight security of the swing hammock, you can also wrap him or her very tightly in a blanket at the beginning and place him or her in the crib. Another way to imitate the rocking of the hammock and rock your baby to sleep in the crib itself is to use special runners for the crib. These are attached to the footbed and create a rocking motion similar to the rocking motion of a cradle.
In this way, your baby will be able to fall asleep in a normal crib without any problems.
