Sleep plays a key role in everyday life with a baby. After all, the little ones have to develop rapidly during their first year of life and extensive rest periods help the body to process impressions. Both a baby crib and a baby hammock help parents to put their baby down safely and in an age-appropriate manner. Before buying, however, they should inform themselves in detail.

Baby Hammocks: Useful During The First Year Of Life

Hammocks for babies can be hung in various ways and offer babies the advantage that they can make around their back while lying down. Especially during the first months this is very beneficial and can relieve the spine. The flexibility of the material ensures that the hammock adapts to the baby’s body, while gentle rocking movements have an additional calming effect. Also, baby hammocks can be hung anywhere in the home. This has the advantage that your own baby can always rest near its parents. Until the first birthday, the hammock is, therefore, suitable as a place to sleep and rest.
Looks cute, but is not safe: hammocks should have straps.

1. The Right Material

Usually, the lying surface of baby hammocks is made of soft cotton. In a baby hammock, the little body is thus not only relieved but also benefits from the airiness of the material. For many parents, however, it is important that the hammock is not only made of cotton but also completely free of harmful substances. This is made possible by models that use organic cotton. Baby hammocks in the test at kita.de are always also compared according to this criterion, which facilitates the selection of healthy materials.

2. The Right Suspension

Baby hammocks are available with one-point and two-point suspensions. Since one-point hammocks must be hung from a hook on the ceiling, they bring a slightly increased assembly effort. Stands from which the hammock can be hung can provide relief. With two-point hammocks, the assembly can be done much more flexibly. Here, however, only swinging to the side is possible, while single-point hammocks can also be rotated. An advantage of baby hammocks with wooden stands is their mobility. They can be easily placed both indoors and outdoors wherever mom and dad happen to be.

3. The Weight As An Additional Mobility Factor

If you decide to buy a baby hammock with a stand, you should pay attention to the total weight. After all, many parents only notice after the purchase that the stand is difficult to move due to its heaviness. Light combinations of hammock and stand are therefore recommended. Then the hammock can also be placed in the kitchen or bathroom and parents have the opportunity to supervise their baby while cuddling with his favorite cuddly toy.

4. During The Day, Yes, At Night No

Baby hammocks are undoubtedly useful. However, they should only be used for shorter periods of rest and sleep during the day. namely, lying too long on the curved surface could promote deformation of the spine. Therefore, a solid baby crib is a right choice for the night.

5. Safety Aspects Of Baby Hammocks

One risk that babies are always exposed to in everyday life is the risk of falling. Also kinderaerzte-im-netz.de reports on this and refers thereby particularly to falls from the diaper changing table. But not only the changing table holds a certain fall and accident danger. Unsafe baby hammocks without a TÜV or GS seal should therefore not be used by parents.

In addition, it is important that the baby is protected from falling out when lying in the hammock with a safety belt or a special panty. Also important for safety is that the hammock is only used until the baby has reached the maximum allowable weight. For the time after that, it is recommended to switch to more resilient children’s hammocks.

Baby Crib: Safe Sleep At Night

Since baby hammocks are not suitable for sleeping during the night, a baby crib is also needed in the age-appropriate home. Where it is placed is up to the parents alone. Thus, the baby crib can be located both in the parents’ bedroom and in a separate children’s room. Much more important than the location is the choice of a safe crib that provides a risk-free environment for the baby during the night hours. Some tips:
The baby’s crib must provide safety. Stuffed animals should not be allowed to sit here.

1. Growing Beds Can Be Useful

Buying a baby crib is a special decision. How long your own child will sleep in this crib depends primarily on the size of the bed and its conversion options. Smaller cribs without removable bars are suitable only for the baby period. If the child is able to get up later on its own without putting itself in danger, the bars are an unpleasant obstacle. Anyone who wants a baby crib that grows with the child should therefore make sure that the height of the lying surface can be adjusted and that the bars are removable on at least one side. This means that the baby crib can still be used during the kindergarten years.

2. Safety In The Baby Crib

Height-adjustable lying surfaces are an important safety aspect of baby cribs. If the child is able to stand up in bed, the lying surface must be moved downwards, otherwise, there is a risk of dangerous falls over the edge of the crib rail. Also, the bars should not be too far apart from each other. Otherwise, the child’s legs or arms may get jammed in the gaps. The same applies to baby beds as to hammocks: models with TÜV and GS seals are always the right choice. After all, they have been tested for safety by experts and officially certified.

3. The Right Mattress

In order for the baby to lie comfortably at night, it naturally needs a mattress. However, the following applies here: it must not be too soft. Mattresses in which the baby sinks too deeply can increase the risk of shortness of breath or heat accumulation. Since these are factors associated with sudden infant death syndrome, choosing a mattress that is not too soft is especially important. It is also important that there are no pillows, blankets, or stuffed animals in the crib that could fall on the baby’s face during the night. The mattress should exactly match the dimensions of the baby’s crib so that there are no dangerous gaps.

4. Healthy Materials

When it comes to the baby crib and mattress, parents should also pay attention to the materials used. Pollutant-free variants are always the better choice because both mattresses and varnishes or other wood colors can emit harmful substances into the indoor air. Therefore, cribs and mattresses with official eco-seals are a good choice for all those for whom a sleeping environment that is as unpolluted as possible is important.