[teamsalem]

Hello all,<br>
Have any of you ladies used a sheepskin for your previous babes? I'm considering trading in the bouncer for a sheepskin but I wanted a little bit of feedback about how y'all liked yours if you'd used one before. Anyone?<br>
I keep reading about how much better it is to put your babe on the floor instead of in a swing / bouncer / carseat, etc. and I feel a bit guilty about having used the bouncer quite a bit wiht my daughter. I thought maybe it would help with her not being trampled by her brother.

 

[laurac5]

Coming over here from Jan 2011... I never used sheepskin with dd, but we put her on the floor a lot. DD hated the floor so much we borrowed a swing, which she didn't care for, but at least preferred during our meal times since she was a little closer to us. I was assuming we'd get something similar this time, but if the floor is better, maybe not? Why do people say floor is better than bouncy/swing/etc?

 

[craftymcgluestick]

I had a lambskin (lambie) when I was a baby and I LOVED it. My sister has had one for her two boys and her girl and also LOVED it. We have always purchased Bowron lambskins from New Zealand in my family, but I did find an authentic, very soft lambskin at Ikea for $25, a significant discount over the Bowron. I got that for my on-the-way little one.<br><br>
I have never heard of using these in lieu of bouncy seats or swings though. As a baby, I had a swing and my sister's kids have a swing also. As we have a large dog, I don't plan to be putting baby on the floor much, but I have never heard anything about it being a superior place to put a baby.<br><br>
Here is a little more about lambskin care and use from the Bowron web site:<br><a href="http://www.kiwi-sheepskins.com/sheepskin-baby-rugs.asp" target="_blank">http://www.kiwi-sheepskins.com/sheepskin-baby-rugs.asp</a>

 

[RedOakMomma]

Four kids in, our sheepskin hasn't gotten much baby use. I have it out, and I try it with the babies, but they just don't LOVE it as much as everyone said they would. Usually they prefer bouncies, or just soft blankets on the floor.<br><br>
Our older toddlers have enjoyed it, though (right around a year+). For snuggling, for petting, for combing, for pretending they're sheep...it was out and actively used in our living room for a good year or more with each older child.<br><br>
What I most enjoyed using it for was as a mattress pad in the bottom of our pack-n-play. Three of our four kids loved taking naps in pack-n-plays as they were older babies or younger toddlers, so I'd do this:<br><br>
Pack-n-play folding "mattress" topped with the sheepskin, topped with a waterproof rectangle of material, then wrapped tightly in fleece and pinned underneath the pack-n-play mattress (so the pins, the wrapping, and the weight of the baby/mattress kept it all very secure and tight). It made me feel better about our kids sleeping so close to the floor in winter...the sheepskin made it pretty cushy and cozy.<br><br>
Honestly, I wouldn't give up the bouncy seat. If a child likes a bouncy seat, those things are *magic* in the early months. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/thumb.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="thumbs up">

 

[boatbaby]

Never had any gadgets with DS (living on a boat, no space for pack'n'plays, bouncers, swings, etc) He was always on the floor with blankets or in a moses backet in the earliest days. We got a sheepskin for this upcoming one. DS wants one too and he is almost 6 <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"><br>
If you have a Tuesday Morning near you, they have them there right now. Normally they are like $85, they have them for $30 I think.

 

[teamsalem]

Thanks for the tip, Boatbaby, I will check the store near me to see if we have it there.<br><br>
Laura and Crafty, I think the argument against using swings, bouncers, etc is that they interfere with gross motor development. The baby isn't free to move around and explore, so if they are overused, it can actually delay rolling/crawling/walking, etc. My son hated being on the floor, however, he put up quite a stink about it so I pretty much depended on the swing to maintain my sanity. Couldn't really use the swing with my daughter because my son liked to "push" her on it and I was really afraid of it tipping over, so we went to the bouncy seat instead.

 

[aloneinid]

I just love the idea of a sheepskin, but I can't get over the fact that it is likely that chemicals are used to "tan" the hide, right? Maybe some companies have "naturally" tanned skins? Does anyone have info on this?

 

[xekomaya]

Sheepskins ARE really chemical-ly and I don't know that any are better than others. I wouldn't put my baby's face (or mine for that matter) near anything tanned. We got a SnuggleWool and loved it. I used it as waterproofing (with a prefold on top or on ds) since we EC so it was used and washed about a million times. I'm definitely getting another and if we can swing it at all, I'm getting the full length one so I can sleep on it too since they are so awesome <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[RedOakMomma]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>teamsalem</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/15434278"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">think the argument against using swings, bouncers, etc is that they interfere with gross motor development. The baby isn't free to move around and explore, so if they are overused, it can actually delay rolling/crawling/walking, etc.</div>
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I'm not saying this is the be-all, end-all counter-argument, but in working with several PTs over the years (ds1 & ds2 needed a lot of PT/OT as babies, toddlers, and young children), they've told me you have to REALLY, REALLY abuse these devices in order to see any change in gross motor development. I mean, to the point of neglect. Normal use, especially in AP parenting, isn't going to change a baby's development at all.

 

[wryknowlicious]

I picked up a gently use lambskin for like $8 on consignment 2 years ago, and my last DD LOVED it.<br>
we didn't use it in place of anything but a floor blanket I guess.<br>
she used it to sleep on up untill a few months ago (she's 22m now), she used it in her bouncer, under her baby gym thingy, I used it in the stroller during the winter. (she liked to sleep s p r e a d out, so the lambskin kept her warm but not to warm in the stroller)

 

[teamsalem]

hmm, I never had heard anything about the chemicals used in them. I'll have to look into that a bit. Thanks for the tip.

 

[hotharmony]

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<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>RedOakMomma</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/15442270"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I'm not saying this is the be-all, end-all counter-argument, but in working with several PTs over the years (ds1 & ds2 needed a lot of PT/OT as babies, toddlers, and young children), they've told me you have to REALLY, REALLY abuse these devices in order to see any change in gross motor development. I mean, to the point of neglect. Normal use, especially in AP parenting, isn't going to change a baby's development at all.</div>
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I have to agree with this, my DS was an early roller/crawler/walker/runner/jumper and he spent time in a bouncy and he loved his swing. I would say within moderate use it isn't really a problem.