baby hammock

**SmokeyBugle** · 12-05-2018, 15:03

I have been wrestling with the idea of an infant hammock ever since my son was born. I love my hammock I got my wife into hammocking and now that my son (6 months) can last a little longer than a minute alone I've been trying to figure out a way that he can hammock. I landed on getting a hammock seat from dutch. I wasn't very confident of my capabilities as a hammock maker yet and it seemed like a good place to start. I wanted to spread the hammock apart so that it didn't flop on his face as he laid in it and I was hoping it would almost create a wall of sorts to hopefully keep him in, (babies love to flip and roll once they learn how), I first got some tent poles hoping that would be enough but I was sorely mistaken. I now have a spreader bar holding it open and keeping it somewhat stable. This turned the hammock seat into a pseudo bridge hammock diamond design. the problem with the bridge hammock design is it is what some would call "flippy" I went ahead and tied some temporary tie outs to keep it from tipping but I might try to take the tie outs and tie them to the tree on the head end this will allow the hammock to swing a little bit without rolling.

IMG_4674.jpg IMG_4658.jpg

let me know what y'all think.
I wanted some feed back on anything that I could do to improve the stability of the hammock while keeping it able to rock back and forth.

**Karla "with a k"** · 12-05-2018, 15:21

Looks like he has already mastered the diagonal lay!

**chapinb** · 12-05-2018, 16:59

If you want to make a diy when he gets a little older, do a traditional no sew whipping and pull the corners a bit. Creates a bit of a bathtub so he cant roll out by accident.

**jeff-oh** · 12-05-2018, 17:14

From the National Institute on Health:

Are baby hammocks safe for sleeping babies? A randomised controlled trial.
Chiu K1, Tonkin SL, Gunn AJ, McIntosh CC.

AIM:
Two reports of infants found dead after sleeping in baby hammocks have raised international concern about the safety of infant hammocks. We therefore tested whether hammock sleep affected oxygenation in infants, when they were at an age of high risk of sudden, unexpected infant death.

METHODS:
Healthy, full-term 4- to 8-week-old infants were randomised to sleep either in a commercially available hammock (n = 14) or a standard bassinet (n = 9), and sleep state, oxygen desaturation (a fall in peripheral haemoglobin oxygen saturation (SpO2 ) ≥ 4%, for ≥ 4 sec from baseline to nadir), apnoea and hypopnoea, and mean SpO2 were analysed.

RESULTS:
There was no significant difference in mean SpO2 (both 98.5%) or rate of oxygen desaturation events between the hammock and the bassinet cot (mean ± SD, 24 ± 20 vs. 28 ± 23 events per hour), but infants slept less in the hammock (59 ± 31 vs. 81 ± 34 min, p < 0.02).

CONCLUSION:
When correctly used, the hammock sleep position did not compromise the upper airway of sleeping infants. The significance of shorter duration of sleep in the hammocks is unclear. These findings should not be applied to all baby hammocks, nor to older babies, particularly once the infant can roll. Given that it is not possible to predict when an infant will be able to roll, we strongly recommend that hammocks should not be used for unsupervised sleep.

But these are commercially available 6115L8TZ7GL._SX522_.jpg

**IRONFISH45** · 12-05-2018, 19:05

At one time putting babies in hammock next to the marital bed was common practice. Baby was easy to reach, mom could take baby out nurse the child and return baby to its spot without getting out of bed

Now there are so many safety warnings about children's equipment. I really do not know how so many humans survived babyhood and grew up into be parents. Personally I would not let my baby or young child unsupervised for a second in a hammock. I guess maybe I am just too cautious...

**ecologito** · 12-05-2018, 22:09

Great, the only think to consider is the cold butt that could turn into cold baby. The little ones can't regulate their temperature as easily as adults and you may want to add under insulation unless it is pretty warm.

MY 6 years old loves her hammock and my 18 month old likes hanging with me

**SmokeyBugle** · 12-06-2018, 09:25

I feel there needs to be a clarification. I don't plan on using this hammock for his sleeping neither indoors nor outdoors. While he is in the hammock he will not be left alone, we/I would of course be there. I made this hammock for recreational purposes when we go on a hike and set up our hammocks to lounge he has his own little hammock to lounge and play with his toys off the ground. this hammock was more for fun than practical camping use.

Originally Posted by chapinb

If you want to make a diy when he gets a little older, do a traditional no sew whipping and pull the corners a bit. Creates a bit of a bathtub so he cant roll out by accident.

Yea, I thought about that also,and still might do something similar to that. while I was testing Ideas I used the knotty-mod to simulate what that would look like, now of course pulling the corners would actually be secure as opposed to the elasticity of the knotty mod, but he didn't like not being able to see out, most of the time he layed in it like a banana and the sides just went up without opening up to let him see out and I felt that pulling the corners would do a similar thing. maybe when he is older, like you said, he would have a little more control and wont need the spreader bar and pulling the sides would be sufficient. good thought.

Originally Posted by ecologito

Great, the only think to consider is the cold butt that could turn into cold baby. The little ones can't regulate their temperature as easily as adults and you may want to add under insulation unless it is pretty warm.

MY 6 years old loves her hammock and my 18 month old likes hanging with me

so you're saying i have to make him a baby underquilt to remedy this??? hmmmmmmm I've been wanting to try to make one of those... ha, in all seriousness you are correct in worrying about the under draft. he didn't get too cold when we tested it since I live in Texas and it rarely goes below 75* and he won't be sleeping in it for at least two years I am not worrying to much about cold butt.

Thanks for all the suggestions and the worries about the safety of my kid. I do appreciate it and promise my kid will be safe. When I made the comment can't spend minutes alone I meant minutes where I'm not holding him. I would never leave him alone.