I’ve made no secret of the fact I’m a big fan of the Sleepyhead. I have three sons and with the middle and youngest we used and loved our Sleepyhead. In fact, we’d given it away after our middle son grew out of it and had to buy another for our third. But it was a worthwhile investment! Regardless of brand loyalty and love for a specific baby sleep pod, it’s sensible consumer behaviour to look at alternatives when making a relatively big purchase and check it’s definitely worth it!
So in the course of my research into Sleepyhead alternatives for my youngest back in 2020, I made a load of notes and shared here for anyone considering their own options.
Now, as we enter March 2024, I think this post needs a bit of an update because the market has even more options now. And since I last wrote about this, the Sleepyhead has become the “DockaTot,” (though is the same product, I gather). Lots has changed, so here’s the latest!
Before we get into this, do check out Lullaby Trust’s safer sleep advice relating to products. Lullaby Trust doesn’t recommend overnight sleeping in pods. With our Sleepyhead, we only ever used it during the day. Our son slept in a Moses Basket and then a cot overnight. Equally, I know plenty of Mums who use pods overnight too. Read up, check out the science but of course, you’ll ultimately make your own decision.
Sleepyhead/DockaTot Alternatives in Summary
The quick version of this is the table below, with pricing (February 2024) and key ratings. More information about each product follows.
These are the 5 Sleepyhead alternatives we checked out when looking for a baby sleep pod. They’re all cheaper than the Dockatot and they all rate relatively well and below are the key features, pros and cons we determined of each.
YGJY Baby Nest Pod
I am not even joking when I say that (while it’s on offer right now at least) you could buy 4 of these for the price of a Sleepyhead. 4!
Digging through real user reviews:
People Seem to Love:
- Comfort
- The gorgeous designs!
- How easy it is to wash
People do not Like:
- The fact that this sleep pod is quite hard to zip back up again. I actually found this the same with the Sleepyhead – it was. a bit fidgety!
GIMTVTION Baby Lounger
This is a list of cheaper alternatives to the DockaTot, so by its very nature they’ll all be cheaper. But again this is another example where you could buy four of these for one of the Sleepyheads.
People Seem to Love
- The fact this is one of the best value baby pods
- The design (even though it’s only got one to choose from)
People Do Not Like:
- The size – some feel it’s smaller than competitor products on the market
- Some complaints that it looks “cheap”
Babymoov Cosydream Sleep Aid
The Babymoov Cosydream sleep aid is pitched by the manufacturer very much as an aid to help babies sleep better particularly when their sleep is disturbed by colic and reflux.
By far and away, this is the Sleepyhead alternative with the most reviews on Amazon and it rates incredibly well. It’s significantly lower cost than the Sleepyhead and is available in a range of colours.
Its key features in summary:
- Outer fabric is a cotton and polyester mix
- The internal material is polyurethane
- It can be washed on a 30 degree C wash
- 58 x 38 x 8cm in terms of size
- Very portable given its relatively compact size
People seem to love:
- Reviews suggest people love the fact their babies are more comfortable
- Slight raising of legs keeps babies with colic more comfortable
- Lightweight
People do not like:
- Most of the negative reviews centre around the fact that people have. discovered after purchasing that the Babymoov Cosydream is not safe sleep approved by Lullaby Trust. However, bear in mind that this is true of all sleep pods, even the Sleepyhead.
Clevermama Baby Pod
This is the most expensive baby sleep pod on our list at £87.94 (still cheaper than the Sleepyhead as all the nest we’ve included here are). I think is is probably the baby nest most similar to the Sleepyhead, with the notable exception being the lack of a clip at the bottom for extension.
Key features:
- Cover can be removed for machine washing
- Breathable fabrics
- Suitable from birth
People Love:
- Lots of comments that people find it as good as the Sleepyhead
- Ease of washing
- Portability
People don’t like:
- The fact the outer is not 100% cotton
- Some comments suggesting baby grew out of it inside 3 months
Hoo Di Da Koo Di Day Sleep Pod
Ok, so let’s be honest, this has the hardest name to remember. Maybe they could make that shorter. But of all the Sleepyhead alternative sleep nests on this list, this is my favourite from a design perspective.
There are 4 different designs here and they are all absolutely adorable.
Unlike others on this list this doesn’t have a whole ton of reviews. But we can see from the features list that it’s lightweight (1.68kg), machine washable and an air permeable fabric.
Best Sleeping Pod for Baby?
It’s always going to depend on what you want really.
For me, I just wanted my babies comfortable. Frankly, the oldest and youngest were dire sleepers and during the day (for supervised sleep) I just needed to know I could pop them down somewhere safe and they would be comfortable.
Our middle one loved it and slept so well in there. Our youngest too loved his Sleepyhead (though he too was a terrible sleeper).
I wouldn’t expect a baby sleep pod to change your world in terms of the how well the little ones sleep would be my first thing.
But in terms of the things I would look for were I buying another one again right now?
- Price. Looking back and looking at what’s available on the market right now, I do feel I could have save an absolute fortune in not spending on the Sleepyhead original brand pod and actually had my children just as safe and comfortable
- Washable covers – babies are messy
- Lightweight
- In a carry case
And I know design maybe isn’t a. massively important thing from a practical perspective, but with some of the ludicrously cute options on the market now, I think I would probably be swayed by ones that have lots of cover designs.
It’s worth saying when I had a Sleepyhead, it was just white covers, but even the DockaTots now have tonnes of different colours.
So whichever newborn sleep nest you go for, I hope it works out well. And I wish you sleep and happiness for the newborn phase. But the former might be wishful thinking 😂
- Most of the negative reviews centre around the fact that people have. discovered after purchasing that the Babymoov Cosydream is not safe sleep approved by Lullaby Trust. However, bear in mind that this is true of all sleep pods, even the Sleepyhead.
Clevermama Baby Pod
This is the most expensive baby sleep pod on our list at £87.94 (still cheaper than the Sleepyhead as all the nest we’ve included here are). I think is is probably the baby nest most similar to the Sleepyhead, with the notable exception being the lack of a clip at the bottom for extension.
Key features:
- Cover can be removed for machine washing
- Breathable fabrics
- Suitable from birth
People Love:
- Lots of comments that people find it as good as the Sleepyhead
- Ease of washing
- Portability
People don’t like:
- The fact the outer is not 100% cotton
- Some comments suggesting baby grew out of it inside 3 months
Hoo Di Da Koo Di Day Sleep Pod
Ok, so let’s be honest, this has the hardest name to remember. Maybe they could make that shorter. But of all the Sleepyhead alternative sleep nests on this list, this is my favourite from a design perspective.
There are 4 different designs here and they are all absolutely adorable.
Unlike others on this list this doesn’t have a whole ton of reviews. But we can see from the features list that it’s lightweight (1.68kg), machine washable and an air permeable fabric.
Best Sleeping Pod for Baby?
It’s always going to depend on what you want really.
For me, I just wanted my babies comfortable. Frankly, the oldest and youngest were dire sleepers and during the day (for supervised sleep) I just needed to know I could pop them down somewhere safe and they would be comfortable.
Our middle one loved it and slept so well in there. Our youngest too loved his Sleepyhead (though he too was a terrible sleeper).
I wouldn’t expect a baby sleep pod to change your world in terms of the how well the little ones sleep would be my first thing.
But in terms of the things I would look for were I buying another one again right now?
- Price. Looking back and looking at what’s available on the market right now, I do feel I could have save an absolute fortune in not spending on the Sleepyhead original brand pod and actually had my children just as safe and comfortable
- Washable covers – babies are messy
- Lightweight
- In a carry case
And I know design maybe isn’t a. massively important thing from a practical perspective, but with some of the ludicrously cute options on the market now, I think I would probably be swayed by ones that have lots of cover designs.
It’s worth saying when I had a Sleepyhead, it was just white covers, but even the DockaTots now have tonnes of different colours.
So whichever newborn sleep nest you go for, I hope it works out well. And I wish you sleep and happiness for the newborn phase. But the former might be wishful thinking 😂