I confess, I was worried: could there be anything to replace my mother's hand? Fortunately, the child did not protest and fell asleep sweetly as soon as I rocked the crib. Now I can safely recommend a baby cot with a swing to every mom - it will save you an incredible amount of time and energy! In the meantime, you have a bad time over time, I share my own experience in order to facilitate the choice.
Fortunately, choosing a rocking chair is much easier than choosing a smartphone. There are only two types of such beds:
- Rocking bed: swings by means of an ordinary arc on legs.
- Pendulum bed: its legs are motionless, only the bed swings, thanks to a special displacement mechanism.
The "behavior" of the rocking bed is very dependent on the degree of curvature of the runners.
- Bed with strongly rounded runners. I tried to shake it with light movements. Leads easily. True, without my participation, it shakes for a short time. Such a crib sways slightly from the movements of a child playing with arms and legs. The kid can lull himself - this is a big "plus". But at 6-8 months, the little one will start to get up and, holding on to the crib fence, jump and swing to mom's horror. Therefore, you will have to put the bed on wheels, blocking the swing. It will upset naughty kids.
- Bed with slightly rounded runners stands more firmly on the floor. It took an effort to set it in motion. The range of movement from side to side is much less than that of a crib with highly rounded runners. It stops immediately as soon as I stop swinging. The baby cannot swing in it on its own. But for easily pumping up a child who is restless in a dream - that's it! Especially if she herself is tired and wants to take a nap a little longer. I didn't want to accustom my baby to motion sickness, so I chose just such a bed, which I later regretted. There were more disadvantages than advantages.
Disadvantages of a rocking bed
- When lulling a toddler, rocking beds are often displaced to the side. You have to constantly install the crib in the same place.
- If the bed is on a “bare” floor, it can be damaged during movement. So the rocking chair needs a carpet, which, in turn, impairs rocking.
For this reason, I decided to take a closer look at the beds with the pendulum mechanism.
Advantages of the pendulum bed
- Lulls longer on a rocking bed
The pendulum instantly moves from a light touch. The bed sways quietly and smoothly even without your participation. This is very important for mothers who are not yet strong! It is convenient to rock a newborn in a pendulum bed if you do not want to accustom him to hands.
- Large swing amplitude
While swinging the pendulum, I noticed that its swing ranges from 6 to 15 cm. This will quickly calm the newborn baby.
- Two directions of swing
Pendulum beds are made with one of two swing mechanisms: transverse and longitudinal. The transverse mechanism gently shakes the bed left and right. Repeats the movements of the bassinet or cradle. The longitudinal mechanism sways back and forth, like a mother in her arms, or in a stroller for a walk. The baby is accustomed to these rocking, he calms down faster.
- The bed is fixed with one hand movement
The sleeping bed is easy to immobilize. You can move away from the crib at any time, without fear that the baby is "pumped" until you drop.
Which bed is better - a pendulum or a rocking chair?
Briefly, the results of my comparisons look like this:
- the pendulum mechanism moves by inertia twice as long as the rocking chair;
- the movements are uneven near the bed on the runners, smooth near the pendulum;
- the rocking chair moves and leaves marks on the floor;
- a bed with runners is more difficult to mount in order to mount the wheels;
- the sleeping place of the pendulum bed is fixed in one motion;
- cribs with a moving mechanism break more often than rocking chairs;
- the cost of pendulum models is much higher than that of cribs with runners.
The pendulum and I are much more to our liking than the rocking chair. Weigh the pros and cons carefully so as not to repeat our unsuccessful purchase experience. In any case, regardless of your choice, be sure: a rocking bed will make your life easier. And all the rest are details that you can get used to. Give it a try and share your experience in the comments!
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Take a look at how the little pendulum crib loves
