A better nights sleep with Poddle Pod Review

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If I was to say Toddle Pod to you, what would you think of? Have you any idea what I am talking about? OK, for those of you who may be confused, I will show you. Read on for my Toddle Pod/Poddle Pod review.

This is a Toddle Pod – a larger version of the Poddle Pod

Poddle Pod Review

So what is a Toddle and a Poddle Pod?

Toddle Pod is made by a company called Poddlepod.com who make baby sleeping nests in 2 sizes – A Poddle Pod is suitable from birth to 6 months and a Toddle Pod is suitable from 6 months upwards.

The Pods have padded sides made from Hollowfibre and have a non-padded centre so when your baby is laid into the centre the sides hug them as if they are being hugged by their Mums, Dads or careers.  These padded sides hug the baby so they are positioned comfortably into a secure position and prevent rolling over.

I wanted to try this item as Harry has Reflux, (he has silent reflux – meaning he is in pain but isn’t sick with it) it is most severe at night time and more often than not he has to sleep either on me, in my arms or propped up on my arm in my bed.  This isn’t obviously ideal as I can’t get anything done nor do I find it all that comfortable however if it helped him I was happy.  If Harry slept in his bed it had to be on his tummy, now I don’t mind this at all as he has motion monitor in his cot however I was keen to try to see if this may help us.

Harry is a big baby, at 6 months old he is wearing aged 9-month clothes and weighs around 18lbs (I’ve not had him weighed for a while).  When I put him in for the first time I laid his head on the padding and body into the gap – he giggled and found it highly amusing to push his feet into the bottom and throw himself out of the top, then cry.  I then thought it probably better to hang his feet over the edge so his head was in the gap; this worked better as he couldn’t throw himself out.

Harry has never as yet gone down without being fed or rocked to sleep and I can’t see that changing for a while however once he is asleep I am now able to put him into his cot in his Toddle pod and have my bed back again.  He feels secure as if I am still holding him and will actually sleep without me.

Toddle and Poddle Pods are designed as somewhere to be able to put babies down, whether it be for a nap, playtime, tummy time or getting dressed.  These are not actually made to be slept in at night time and the website recommends the infant always be attended in the Pod whether awake or asleep – I choose to use at night time and have no worries as I use with a sensor pad in his cot.

He is almost rolling over and is the wriggliest baby on his play mat or changing mat however when in this he really can not roll over – he has tried but is hugged securely in place.

The first 2 nights I used this he slept for 6 hours solidly on his back for one of the first times without me!  This is unheard of and I was very impressed.  Since then he is back to waking every 2/3 hours however he does sleep in his own bed which is a vast improvement.

I am able to now put Harry asleep into his cot in his Poddle Pod after a feed and know he will sleep albeit for a short time (I don’t think he will ever sleep through the night), I have regained my evenings and have my arms free again.

I place Harry’s pod at the foot of his cot and pull the covers over him knowing he can not wriggle down under them which is often a worry of mine.

I think these are fantastic, I honestly think had I known of this sooner I would have gotten a smaller one and used from early days with Harry.  He is comfy in there and looks so snugly – just see for yourselves.

Toddle Pods cost £39.99 which quite frankly is cheap considering I have my bed back again.  You can also buy covers for them which will help prolong the life of it – I know Harry is sick a lot due to his Reflux so I would only use with a cover.  As you can see from the pictures above I have put a fitted cot sheet over ours which although is on the big side it works just as well.  Should you want to buy they properly fitted covers they are available from the website www.poddlepod.com for £9.99 and come in many funky colour/pattern combinations.

The smaller version, the Poddle Pod would make a fantastic gift for a newborn, a gift I’m sure no -one else would have thought of before! The Poddle Pod is available for £39.99

Just to show you the sizing of these Toddle Pods – have a look at my daft 3-year-old, who has decided she would like to be a baby again.

With her head on the top of the padding and her legs draped over the edge, she was comfy enough to fall asleep and slept in there all night long!

When Harry was finally sleeping better it meant that I could too, and what a world of difference it then made – a happier boy and a happier Mummy, less snapping and far more time for playtime, and after the previous lack of sleep so many more smiles from us both.

Disclaimer: We were given our Toddle Pod for review purposes, all opinions are my own unbiased thoughts.