Arm's Reach Beautiful Dreamer Cocoon

Rebecca from Huntington Beach, Ca              August 22nd, 2009
To make this product as organic as possible I chose "Hemp" when choosing color options. The mattress cover is made up of 45% organic cotton/55% hemp, not sure about the rest of the material (the cocoon portion), however it looks and feels like the same material as the mattress cover, excluding the mesh portion on the sides. The material is soft and not harsh like you would thik hemp might be. I am very pleased with the way it looks and feels (have not officially tested it out yet since our baby is due in a couple of weeks!). I think the whole idea of the cocoon sleeper sounds great and can't wait to try it out as a bassinet next to our bed, or just for napping...its very light and easy to slide around on carpet or just pick up if you want to move it around your home.
As far as the mattress issue goes, I removed the original one it came with from its organic cotton & hemp cover and then searched high & low for someone to custom make an all organic natural latex/organic wool mattress that could replace it...and I finally found organicgrace.com! They were absolutely wonderful! I custom ordered it on Tuesday afternoon and received it on Friday! The dimensions I gave them were 12.5"x34.5" and they made it 1.5" thick. It came exactly the same size and thickness as the original cocoon mattress. The only difference I see in the structure of it is that it's more flexible (since it is latex)than the standard polyester foam junk they use for the original. It's wonderful~ fits great, smells great...totally clean! I thought the mattress was pretty reasonably priced as
well...its worth the peace of mind!

M.S. from Los Angeles              August 3rd, 2009
We decided to purchase this because our little girl is a restless sleeper and we haven't had much success at getting her to sleep on her own. She had just started to be able to sleep most of the night in a bassinet for a couple of nights by the time we received this, but we thought we'd see if she could do better in the hammock. She still can't remain in the hammock all night, it didn't lengthen her sleeping stints between nursings, and she won't stay asleep in it during the day for longer than 10 min., but....I love that I can put her in it, get it swinging and then leave & she will blissfully remain asleep in the early light sleep phase & we can go upstairs and enjoy our evening. While using the bassinet we had to remain there and rock it back & forth for so long. And while I loved sleeping with my daughter, I am thrilled to gain a little freedom of movement. Also - another reviewer recommended getting the Naturepedic organic changing pad & using it as the mattress. We took her advice, but did not feel that it was a safe idea. We did a quick test to see if it would work as soon as it arrived. It's too wide & a bit puffy, so there was a lot much material right up by her face. Turning her face to the side would result in her nose & mouth being put right up into the material. We returned it.

Deanna from Houston, TX              July 23rd, 2009
We bought the cocoon when our son was one week old. I had researched the product while I was pregnant, and almost bought it before, but I thought we would wait and see if he would sleep in a regular bassinet or crib first without any issues.
Sure enough, the little fella is fussy and "colicky" for a few hours in the evening (not colic by definition but stressful enough to deal with) and cries if you set him down ANYWHERE. He is only content when he is HELD or nursing.
From the first night we used the cocoon, our son slept for 2 to 3 consecutive hours at a time (this is pretty darn good for a breastfed baby). I think that the soft cradle and motion makes the difference. I even push it gently, sort of like a swing, if he stirs and starts to act like he is going to fuss and he falls back asleep.
The hemp fabric is soft and there is no manufacturing type of odor.
I only wish that the cocoon was around when we had our first son! This thing really works!

peyton from wayne, pa              June 30th, 2009
I bought the cocoon in hemp for my baby. It was a breeze to assemble, is gorgeous, and is wonderful for baby.

S & A & Baby Makes 3... or 4 from Rockville, MD              May 14th, 2009
I did a great deal of research on the Amby Baby Sleeper Hammock (which has great features, but is too ginormous for us) and found this version now made by Arm's Reach, Beautiful Dreamer Cocoon, to be ideal. The conditions of a hammock naturally recreate the womb that newborns miss -- gentle movement, close swaddle-effect without risking SIDS, etc. Restless sleepers and infants with acid reflux sleep longer and better in hammocks. It's actually safer and healthier all around. Not only is it great bedside, but it's a wonderful non-mechanized replacement for a traditional baby swing downstairs during the day. In keeping with our as-natural-as-possible ideals, we chose the hemp Dreamer hammock and replaced the included vinyl mattress pad (to avoid off gassing) with a Naturepedic Organic Changing Table Pad (Flat), Naturepedic Organic Fitted Bassinet Sheets, and Natura's travel size Baby Puddle Pad (all from Baby Earth.) The look and fit are seamless and safe. And the hemp doesn't look dingy or smell musty as you might think something so "earthy" might. It's a pleasant uniform cream color (Naturepedic's sheets happen to match.) We opted to take down the two stuffed dangling mobile-ish characters that came with it, and used the pair of loops for our own colorful wooden Haba toys. The whole contraption is easy bedside, not too big, in the way, or weird looking, as I'd worried beforehand. Baby can easily be retrieved and replaced to and from bed, which is perfect for nighttime feedings and changes.