Our adventures with the DockATot Deluxe in less than 2 weeks has been rather varied. It has seen the 4 walls of our home in various uses, as well as been packed into a suitcase, and traveled on our first family camping trip.

We received the DockATot Deluxe at the perfect time. To my dismay my 3 1/2 month old Noah had finally outgrown his pack-n-play bassinet, and we were transitioning to sleeping in the elevated portion of the pack-n-play. This was turning into a nightmare as he has been diagnosed with Torticollis, and has a slight plagiocephaly. For 3 nights in the pack-n-play we attempted to reposition his head towards the unfavored side, and each nighttime feeding I awoke to his head rolled back to his favored one. Within these 3 days prior to receiving the DockATot he seemed uncomfortable, irritable and wasn’t sleeping as well as he had done in his cozy and secure bassinet, and this Mama was becoming sleep deprived waking several times a night with cries.

On the first night DockATot arrived to our door very nicely packaged we put the DockATot in the pack-n-play, and he slept the full 4 hours till his next nighttime feeding. I pretty much awoke with bleary eyes double checking the clock, and calculating time in my head baffled and shocked that he hadn’t woken crying as had those few nights prior. Within these past two weeks he has napped and slept just as peacefully as he had done in his bassinet, and I will swear up and down it’s because he feels secure, safe, cuddly, and cozy in the DockATot.

I hadn’t been aware that one of the benefits the DockATot is known for is that it helps to reduce rick of flat-head syndrome. While our son’s plagiocephaly is minimal and caused by Torticollis, I’m sure the bassinet hadn’t helped for the first 3 months, nor lying him on his play mat for playtime. We have found that the bumpers on the side are a huge help in positioning him to lie / put pressure on his less favored side. While doctor’s advise infants with flathead spend less time on their back, and parents too make sure they’re receiving plenty of tummy time, they are a bit out of touch with the world once the infant starts rolling from tummy to back. This pretty much makes cooking a meal very difficult as they’re constantly rolling back to where you don’t want them, and you’re walking back over every minute to place them back on their belly. This was my nightmare. At least with the DockATot I can put Noah down on his back long enough to cook a meal knowing their isn’t as much pressure on his favored side. His head is better supported than the play mat placed on an area rug on our hardwood floors, and I don’t have to hover.

My husband and I had been planning camping trips this time last year, and then we found out we were expecting. Needless to say our priorities changed rather quickly however, we were determined to go once it was safe enough on our son’s ears to fly. Months ago I was thinking of packing lists and safety, although the one thing I couldn’t quite wrap my head around was… where is Noah going to sleep? With Mom and Dad’s loose sleeping bags rolling around in the tent he definitely needed to be confined somewhere in the name of safety. I had just about resigned myself to picking up a rubbermaid box and putting that in our tent along with a blanket when the DockATot arrived.

Of course, I then had to figure out packing. I should note that it was just me traveling with our son meeting my husband up North; I was left to face dreaded TSA as a new frazzled Mom alone. After quite a bit of thinking as we were flying with Noah as a lap infant I was allowed 1 checked, 1 carry on, and a diaper bag of sorts which is my quasi-purse. I decided to use our Mac Daddy suitcase as our checked piece of luggage, and this giant contained our DockATot as well as camping gear and diapers (what an interesting mix if security checked it behind the scenes). Noah’s and my own clothes were all in our carry on, and baby essentials in the diaper bag.

While our 2-person tent was a bit snug with the DockATot in alongside two adults, we really did have the peace of mind knowing he was safe, as well as comfortable. I think with all the chaos, and being in new surroundings, bedtime went off without a hitch as he was sleeping in something familiar. It added so much to our trip being able to move the DockATot in and out of the tent giving him somewhere to nap, play, and have his tummy time. For now our two person tent will do, but we will have to look for a bigger one sometime in the future.

I must say we have fallen in love with the DockATot Deluxe. It’s truly a product I wish we knew about sooner. I would have had Noah sleeping in the DockATot the day we brought him home from the hospital instead of the bassinet. While it does take time to stop and think about how you’re going to travel with it outside of just driving… when there’s a will there’s a way, even if it means you can’t pack all the shoes you once did. It does come with a price tag however, I find that it’s completely worth it for the piece of mind, and that he sleeps so well in it. With that said my only true quarrel is that there are two sizes, and now that I’ve fallen in love one has too swallow two price tags. I wish that the company would find a way to make one DockATot that fit both sizes so families didn’t have to buy both to grow with their children. If they could do that, their product would reign supreme!

You can find the DockATot Deluxe for $185 on Amazon.

Jennifer Moss

Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.

Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.