The Amby Baby Hammock - Review

If your baby has colic, acid reflux, or you are worried about your baby getting a flat head from laying on his back...or if you even just want a more natural way for your baby to sleep, the Amby Baby Motion Bed may be the solution for you.

Also known as the Amby Baby Hammock, this unusual "bed" is designed somewhat like a hammock, and hangs from a sturdy spring on a heavy duty tubular frame.  The hammock surrounds the baby, with plenty of room for your baby to grow.   The sides are made of a breathable net fabric to allow air circulation.  There is a pad with a cover in it, and the hammock can be adjusted so the baby's head is raised a bit, helping reduce reflux, gas, and colic.  The baby feels warm and swaddled, like in the womb, and you are able to lay the baby on his back, as recommended, without the worry of causing a flattening of the baby's head, as with a firm crib mattress.

Most babies sleep longer in an Amby.  If the baby wakes, his thrashing movements can make the bed jiggle and sway, often calming him back to sleep.  Many mothers keep the Amby bed near their bed, so they can reach out and jiggle the hammock and soothe the baby back to sleep. 

My experience with the Amby is a positive one.  I didn't quite find it the miracle that some did, but it was helpful with my baby, who was so restless that I just can't sleep with him in bed most of the time. He also had trouble with gas in the beginning, and it seemed to help. Now, at almost three months old he sleeps for a very long time.  When he sleeps in it, I set my alarm so that I can get him up and feed him (to keep my milk supply up, for natural child spacing).  Otherwise he'd sleep too long, and I could have a drop in milk.

The nice thing is it just fits through a bedroom door, so you can move it from room to room without taking it apart.  When taken apart and put into the carrying bag, it is easier than a Graco Pack n' Play to carry.  It's not too hard to put together.  I did find, however, that I couldn't get the baby's head raised at all, even following the directions.  So I bought a memory foam wedge designed to elevate a baby's head slightly, and I used that in it until just recently.

The Amby can be used until your baby is 12 months or 25 pounds. Because of its design, babies are not able to sit up in it until much later than they normally would for a baby swing or crib.  However, starting at age 9 months, Amby recommends that the parent be in the same room with the baby, so you can monitor when he wakes up, to be sure he can't sit up in it.  Once the baby is too old to sleep in it, there is a jumper seat that can be attached to it, for the baby to use it as a Johnny Jump Up type of thing.  There are a few different packages you can buy, and one of them comes with the seat and a heavier duty spring.  If you purchase the basic package, you can buy the jumper seat later.  There are also other accessories, like the cuddlers, which hold a newborn or preemie in place and make them feel more "snuggled".

One word of warning:  the American distributor of the Amby Baby Hammock, in my opinion, has TERRIBLE customer service.  I had called with a question about ordering, and the woman seemed reluctant to be bothered to find someone to answer my question.  But she promised she would get back to me shortly.  Hours later, I called, and got voice mail, and left a message.  I was polite, but made it clear that I wanted to get one that day, and needed an answer, and that I was desperate.  I had already told her earlier that I was recovering from the birth, very ill, and was getting no sleep because of the baby, so it was urgent for me to find out the answer so I could get an Amby right away.  I not only didn't hear from her that day....I NEVER HEARD FROM HER, EVER!  For a company that specifically serves post-partum mothers, many of whom probably have colicky babies and are already emotional, it seems rude and fiscally detrimental for them to have such poor customer service. 

Needless to say, I decided not to do business with them.  I knew already that there are Amby beds on craigslist and ebay, and it isn't too hard to get one half the price of new.  So that's exactly what I did.  I was happy, because the woman who I bought from was SO nice. She couldn't find one of the sheets that went with it, and promised to look for it.  She did, and not only mailed it to me, but followed up with me to make sure I got it.  The American Amby distributor could learn a lot from her!

So my opinion of the Amby is that it is very useful and an excellent product...however, I recommend getting it second-hand.

UPDATE:  4/18/08 -  This has been one of my most popular posts by far.  Almost neck-and-neck with Organizing Little Girls' Hair Accessories, this post has brought in a lot of traffic.  So it's only fair to update you all with my complete Amby Baby experience...my son loved his hammock.  He slept so long at night, and at naps.  When he woke up, he stayed happy in his hammock until we came to get him (which, with a large family, was sometimes delayed a while).  Now, I have to say he also was without a doubt my happiest and most easily self-entertained baby, but I still think the Amby helped.  Around the age of 8 months, he started twisting around in the Amby, always rolling onto his right side.  Sometimes he would push himself up towards the head of the hammock a bit, and sometimes get his blanket pushed up under him.  It did make me nervous that he was getting so mobile, but I knew he couldn't sit up on his own yet (his only desire is to play in his walker-toy, which is amazing and I will have to review very soon...so he hates to lay down or sit anywhere else).  The reviews I had read all said that as long as the baby couldn't sit up on his own, he should be safe.  Even now he can't do that, but at 9 months, his contortions were making me a bit nervous, so we moved him to the crib.  Big DOWNSIDE to the Amby...the transition.  As expected, he hated going from a snug, cozy, womb-like environment to a cold, "hard", open one like the crib.  He cried a bit the first day or so.  But I attached some crib toys and now he's fairly happy.  I still think he misses the Amby though.  It has been a useful product.  It has lasted much longer than a bassinet and was very easily transported.  We used it when we were in a temporary apartment, waiting to move into our new home.  With five children in a two bedroom apartment, he ended up in the master bathroom.  But the Amby fit, and was easy to set up, and could be moved from room to room without being broken down.  Definitely a good buy, especially if you get is used, which I highly suggest.  If I weren't having more children, I could sell it for what I paid. 

Comments

[Zonya]

We have used an Amby for our daughter, who is now 8 months old, from the time of her birth. She loves it, most times refusing to sleep anywhere else. I, however, have some complaints. The sheets are a joke. They are basically flats with two elastic straps across the back to hold them on. The elastic wore out almost immediately. I have had to pin the sheets on which makes changing them a big pain. Also, the whole bed gets very smelly from my daughter sweating. I haven't found an easy way to clean it all up without taking the whole thing apart. A real pain.

However, after all that griping, I must say that the Amby has been a life saver for us because of space issues. We live in a tiny apartment, with no room for even a pack and play. We put a heavy hook securely in our bedroom to hang the Amby, and that is where little girl has slept since birth.

She has slept through the night since about 6 weeks old. I can put her in the Amby, give her blanket to her and walk away. She puts herself to sleep.

[HearthandHomemaker]

Update: Another idea for this...we will be travelling in an RV this summer. We plan to find a secure place to drill an eyebolt in the ceiling, to hang the Amby hammock from. This way, the baby will have someplace familiar and comfortable to sleep, and it won't even need to take up any floor space. Which is great, because while the Amby frame takes up less space than a pack-n-play, it still takes up a lot of space. We'll probably remove the dinette table or lower it, and hang the hammock above that. NOTE: Be sure the eyebolt is secure...pull on it really hard to make sure! And I hope I don't need to add that no baby should be in it while the vehicle is in motion...they belong strapped in a safety seat!

[Steve Yuen]

Excellent review. We have people asking about hammocks for the nursery and was wondering about the effectiveness of this product. Good to know about the customer service of American distributor.