Today is actually a collaboration! I am very excited to introduce you to +Erica who has two blogs, one former and one active. She is a mother of 4, as of Tuesday, July 29 2014 actually! She has given birth to five babies actually, her sweet Jake passed away at the age of one. She is excited to join us today. Our subject for today is hanging cradle.
I have always been intrigued about them. You see them in movies, and read about them in books. But, do people actually use them? Yes they do! Below in blue is Erica's comments on the hanging cradles.
" It's a very common thing to do in other cultures for many reasons, one being it's what they have always done."
Erica and I both agree on a Montessori approach when starting out with a newborn. In our society things have to be colorful, BPA free plastic, and over done. Simplicity is so much better for a baby. For instance in newborns black and white are the best to begin out with for them. It's a lot easier to contrast for them.
"My cousin actually introduced me to the hanging cradle. I was very concerned about it falling. But she told me to get a contractor or something equivalent to that and places hooks in the ceiling. Now I already have hooks in the ceiling in our bedroom for reasons of how the babies have come into our lives, if you get my drift. I know these hooks can hold my weight and Matthew's weight. There for if it can hold our weight it can hold our infant's weight."
I know that many parents would worry about the crib falling and some people have issues with the cradles causing SIDS. I do not believe that many hanging cradles would cause that. Yes some cradles the babies would grow out of, but that's the beauty of raising your children with Montessori because then you introduce them to a floor bed by the time they grow out of the hanging cradle.
"We only used hanging cradles with AJ and he is just been moved to a floor bed. We loved the hanging cradles with him. The benefit is when baby makes small movements in his sleep the cradle will also very gently sway. That movement is similar to being in the womb and it helps keep baby asleep. We added chimes at the top later one, not loud one just small brass ones and it would lull him back to sleep even more."
I have also heard that using a tiny jingle bell will work amazing too. Just keep it out of reach of the baby. I am sure there are a million other benefits to hanging cradles as well.
"One of the things that my pediatrician noticed was that AJ had a lot more muscle in his neck. Now she said that the hanging cradle could be a factor or it could be the tummy time with Montessori benefits or it could be hereditary. Either way it really helped AJ and us. AJ's first year was so peaceful. I am already introducing Kate to the hanging cradle and she hasn't woken up a time. So I highly recommend using them."
It will be a while before I have a tiny bundle to place inside a hanging cradle, but I do believe I will give it a try. I am rather excited about it.
Below is a picture of the cradle that is almost identical to one of the cradles that Erica uses.
No comments