Review: Red Castle COCOONaBABY Nest

Sprogzilla seemed to hate lying on his back, a serious concern as this is the recommended way of putting your baby down to sleep to lower the risk of SIDS. We tried an Amby swing, but he only liked it when bounced and it was put away after barely a week. The only way he would go down without getting upset was by lying on mine or daddy’s tummy. It was exhausting for everyone involved.

I came across the COCOONaBABY while looking specifically for sleep solutions for colicky/reflux babies. I was immediately struck by how comfortable and snug it looked while still allowing a baby to be placed in the safest sleep position. One major problem we had with keeping Sprogzilla asleep was the Moro Reflex – he would fling his arms out as if falling which would always wake him. The ergonomic shape of the CaB meant that he wouldn’t be able to do this reflex and startle himself into waking up.

The product blurb also states it prevents babies from sleeping in the candlestick position, which apparently negatively affects physical development – not sure how much I believe this to be honest as I’ve never heard this claim before or since. I was reassured to hear that it is being successfully used in several NICUs in France, so it’s not a fly-by-night gimmicky product.

The CaB doesn’t feel as firm as a regular mattress, this is because the nest consists of a soft upper foam level on top of a supportive base. Thus baby feels more comfortable than on a conventional mattress while retaining all the usual safety benefits. Although the material used is not memory-foam, it appears to have similar properties so would be unsuitable for use with an under-mattress monitoring device such as the Angelcare.

The CaB comes with a tummy band which is a wide band of fabric that gently secures your baby into the nest. It’s not absolutely necessary to use this, but it has been added as an extra layer of security in case baby does manage to roll out. It only comes with one fitted sheet and spare ones are a whopping £20 each! Of course, you really need at least two so one can be in the wash and they are very much a non-standard shape, so I had little choice but to fork out for a spare.

There is a tubular wedge insert which should be positioned under the baby’s knees and can be shifted down the nest as baby grows until it is no longer needed. I must say, it did seem to put Sprogzilla’s legs in a more natural-looking, slightly elevated position. If you think about it, after all those months curled up in the womb, it seems wrong to expect a tiny baby to lay flat on a cold, spacious mattress.

The nest is surprisingly light and so can be easily transported around the house. It is not, however, compact which may be a problem if it is to be used whilst travelling.

We used the CaB from when Sprogzilla was four weeks old until four months. It is not recommended for use with babies who are able to roll and Sprogzilla was just starting at that point, so we decided to migrate him back into a regular crib. We didn’t use it for naps, Sprogzilla preferred the vigorous movement of his swing for this purpose. The nest was kept inside his co-sleeper crib near our bed.

I was particularly pleased that Sprogzilla did not suffer from any flattening of his head (plagiocephaly) thanks to the soft, but supportive material. From five weeks of age, he slept 5+ hours at night and sometimes as much as seven and a half! I 100% believe the CaB was responsible for this as when he moved into the crib and hit the infamous four-month sleep regression, his sleep deteriorated and stayed poor until he was 13 months old! I really wish he could have stayed in this until he was much older, I’m sure we would all have enjoyed considerably better nights.

To sum it up briefly in one sentence, this product saved my sanity. Out of all the things I’ve bought for my little guy, this was easily the most important and worth every penny, even if I do think the spare sheet is over-priced. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to parents whose little one is having general difficulty sleeping or suffers from colic and/or reflux.

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