Choosing A Baby Hammock
Believe it or not, choosing a bed for your newborn may be one of the most important decisions you will make as a parent. In the first 12 months or so of life, a baby spends considerable time in bed. It therefore stands to reason to ensure that the environment he or she will call "home" for the next 12 months is safe and will encourage the correct type of development.
There has been much research in recent years on how the sleep environment may affect a baby. These studies clearly evidenced that with the right type of environment and stimulation, the following benefits were found:
* Increased weight gain
* Better neurological development
* Increased awareness
* Heightened hearing and visual functioning
* Decreased irritability
Most importantly, it is now accepted that some of these improvements are not temporary, but long lasting, developmental decisions.
A baby hammock simulates the conditions of the maternal womb. A hammock is designed to so that that the natural motion of a restless baby will create a rocking motion, which rocks them back to sleep. Waking up will be a slow and pleasurable thing, as his or her stirring activates the hammock into motion, often lulling him or her back to sleep. But unlike conventional "rockers" the motion created by this natural movement is vertical and not side-to-side. Vertical motion best replicates the movement of the womb as the mother walks, producing feelings of suspension and floatation which greatly pacifies an infant.
The design of the hammock means that babies will naturally lay on their backs. Some side to side rolling within the hammock is possible, but the shape of the mattress means that babies will find it very difficult to roll onto their fronts. The soft mattress that is intergral with the mattress cups your baby, making rolling difficult. It also means that there are no specific pressure points on the back of the skull, so the risk of "flat head" is reduced.
All in all, it is the most logical and natural transition from the womb to the outside world during the critical first year of life.
