Amby Natures Nest: Parent Review

REVIEWER: Sarah Easedale (Mum-of-two)
PRODUCT: Amby Natures Baby Nest
RETAIL PRICE: £164.99

We are quite partial to hammocks in our family and if there's ever an opportunity to leap into one, we'll seize it. So when our newest arrival was offered the chance to try out the Amby Baby Natural Motion Bed, we couldn't resist.

The hammock and frame were quite easy to assemble (says my husband), who put it up with the "help" of our three and a half year old son in about twenty minutes. Once erected, it's quite attractive with its natural cotton tones, but the stand is rather tall and takes up quite a bit of floor space; not a problem though if you have a separate nursery. 

The hammock is supposed to mimic the cosy curled up position of a baby in the womb, so it was quite exciting leaving the Moses basket to one side and putting our 13 week old son Milo in his new bed. He'd still been waking once or twice a night, so we were wondering if the cosy, cosseted sleeping position might encourage him to go through the night. He went off to sleep with no problems and looked very comfy in his nest, but he still woke up twice, at exactly the same times as the previous evening, ready for his feeds. We've found there's less need to comfort him back off to sleep though, the gentle rocking motion of the hammock nudges him back into slumber as he shuffles himself around. This is also the case if he gets disturbed by something during the night and starts to wake up.

Of course the general advice from midwives is to put your baby in their cot sleeping "feet to foot" and well tucked in so that he can't shuffle underneath his covers or turn over, thus reducing the risk of SIDS; in the hammock it looks as though it would be virtually impossible for a baby to turn over because of the curved position they are held in. That's certainly something to bear in mind if you are worried about your baby turning onto his face.

I did find getting Milo in and out of the hammock for his feeds, without disturbing him too much, to be a bit tricky. You have to half enter the hammock yourself to scoop the baby up, and sometimes I found I was dragging it with me as I tried to get out again, especially in the fog of a 3am feed.

But all in all, it's a lovely piece of baby equipment, and as it packs down into an attractive bag, it's very portable and could be taken away for holidays or overnight stays away from home. And as your baby can go into the hammock from birth until the age of two, you wouldn't need to move him from a Moses basket to a cot before he moves into a bed, so it could be an economical choice too, something all new parents can appreciate.

Sarah's Results! 

Durability: 5/5
Design: 3/5
Value: 5/5
Website: www.amby.co.uk

Conclusion: It looks attractive it helps rock the baby off to sleep and stops the baby rolling over onto his face. However, it takes up quite a bit of space - more than a Moses basket, but not as much as a cot. It's not so easy to get the baby in and out undisturbed either.