First off, I need to say this:

This post is not meant to shame or judge families that have used, or may continue to use, the DockATot. That is not my intention and if you follow me, you already know that. I made several unsafe sleep decisions with my own newborns, some knowingly and some unknowingly, so you aren't going to hear judgement from me. BUT I do feel it is very important and very much part of my job to inform you of safe sleep and what it looks like, especially when it comes to DockATot use (which is not safe for sleeping), because I feel the company as a whole has mislead and confused consumers.

My next complaint with DockATot is their very poor advertising choices

Should I put my DockATot in a crib, pack 'n play or bassinet?

The simple answer is NO. And DockATot even states that directly on their Safety Guidelines. However, when I polled my followers about their DockATot use, almost 100% of families who purchased a DockATot, used it in this incorrect way. Now, you may ask, why would they do that if the instructions simply state NOT to? I'm sure that sleep deprivation and the survival mode that we all reach at some point with our newborns comes into play.

But you know what else does? Advertising. And, although DockATot has recently cleaned up their advertising, for a long time they were sharing tons of pictures of their product being used in unsafe ways, even ways that were directly the opposite of what their instructions indicate. I'm talking DockATots in cribs, DockATots in bassinets, even DockATots in hammocks!

Well now, that's a bit confusing. Especially for us sleep deprived parents that are in the thick of our sleepless fog. To read even more in depth about this hilarious saga of DockATot ignoring their own safety precautions, read this article and review. Like I said, DockATot has since cleaned up their marketing and removed unsafe testimonials and photos, but the damage has already been done.

Ok, now are you ready for things to get even more ridiculous? DockATot explains in it's Safety Guidelines that:

"DockATot should not be used in a crib, bassinet or play yard. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has cautioned that babies should be placed in a bare crib without any additional bedding, blankets or pillows. Furthermore, there is a concern that a young infant who can scoot or crawl out of the dock might get entrapped between the side of the crib, bassinet or play yard and the dock."

Ok. Great. Totally agree. Thank you for clarifying and thank you for no longer posting pictures of your product being used in unsafe ways. Then it reads further:

"There have been incidents involving other products where babies have suffocated after becoming entrapped between a soft product and the side of a crib, bassinet or play yard….This is why we warn against using a DockATot in a contained area like a crib, bassinet or play yard, and we also warn that blankets and pillows should not be placed in the DockATot. When it comes to an infant's resting environment, bare is best."

Yes, I agree 100%. Why would we even consider putting our precious babies in a situation where other babies have suffocated and died?

Now, the crazy and scary part about the above statements is that they don't quite seem to apply to SleepyHead which is DockATot's sister company in the UK. Now, this might be confusing but hang with me for a second. SleepyHead is the exact same product and company as DockATot. It's made with the same materials and in the same factories. DockATot is marketed to the U.S., Australia, and Canada (oh wait, nix Canada as they put out a warning against DockATot and are no longer sold there) while the SleepyHead is distributed to the rest of the world.

And yet, SleepyHead markets itself as a crib insert. The very description that shows up on it's Amazon listing says it is a 'crib insert.' So... are we concerned about the babies suffocating in the U.S. and Australia but not in the rest of the world? Does any of this make a bit of sense?! Read more about this ridiculous double standard here.

Once again, the answer you are looking for is NO. None of this makes ANY sense.

Okay, my last beef with DockATot is their misleading transparency.

But if the sides of the DockATot are 'breathable' then surely my baby can't suffocate, right?

Wrong. The soft, bumper sides of the DockATot are so nice and cushiony, almost like a pillow. That sounds lovely except for the fact that we are discouraged from giving babies pillows in their sleep space until at least 12 months of age.

Let’s think about why that is. It’s because the pillows pose a suffocation risk and the risk of carbon dioxide rebreathing is present as well. For those that don’t know, carbon dioxide rebreathing is something that researchers believe plays a large role in the occurrence of SIDS. Read here for more of a breakdown of carbon dioxide rebreathing and the risks associated with the DockATot and other “nests.”

Apart from this information, the standard that DockATot meets for it’s ‘breath-ability’ and ‘air permeability’ is a standard that dates back to the 1970s in the UK. Do you think much has changed in the world of safe sleep for infants since 1970? Ummm YES!

If you visit DockATot's website you will find a very long list of Certifications and Safety Standards that they boast about meeting. Click here to see the brief overview of each of these standards.

If you don’t have the time or desire to look through these “Certifications and Standards” let me give you a quick recap. These certifications have NOTHING to do with safe sleep and mostly to do with flame retardance and toy use standards.

I believe that DockATot likes throwing all these standards out that most sleep-deprived parents are not going to take the time to look into. It's a way of padding their resume, so to speak, but it means very little in the world of safe sleep. Don’t be fooled by this lengthy listing and misleading transparency.

Now I know I’ve thrown a ton of information at you and maybe you have one of these responses below (which I hear frequently from parents):

I used the DockATot but I also used an Owlet monitor so it was fine.

This is a dangerous game to play. Knowingly using a product that is unsafe and unregulated because you are relying on another unregulated product to warn you if your baby stops breathing. You wouldn't light a candle in close proximity to your kitchen curtains but say, “Oh, that’s what smoke detectors are for! If anything bad happens, I’ll hear the smoke detector and stop it before it’s too late!” Seems a bit silly, right?

Also, raise your hand if technology has ever failed you before. Yeah. Technology is amazing, until it's not. And sure, it's only annoying when your laptop goes crazy on you but it's life-threatening if your Owlet goes out on you while using unsafe products.

I put all of my kids in the DockATot for sleep and they turned out just fine. Do what works for you!

To me, this is the worst response and I see it all over Mom Facebook groups, usually when a mother is recommending something unsafe. Now I know that these suggestions and comments come from a place of trying to be helpful, but they really ARE NOT. This is called Survivor Bias. Meaning you are only paying attention to the babies who were just fine in an unsafe sleep environment and overlooking other babies who were not.

It would be like me saying, "Yeah, my parents rode around in a car all the time without being in a car seat, and they are just fine today! So don't worry about safely strapping your baby into a car seat and just do what works for you Mama!" No. Of course ALL of our parents survived not using car seats and lived to tell about it but now we know how extremely unsafe that was.

Know better, do better.

But my baby literally would not sleep in anything else!

I know. I feel you! I’ve been there! And you may read this and still decide to use something that is unsafe. That is your choice. What I do is help families by teaching them safe and healthy sleep habits so that you don’t get to a point of feeling like your only option is the unsafe one.

If you’ve got a newborn, I have a free Newborn Cheat Sheet that anyone can download to apply my tips. If you need more help, I also have an online Newborn Sleep Course that I offer for only $49 (compared to the $300+ you will spend on a DockATot and cover) and it teaches you step by step how to get your newborn sleeping safely and to the best of their ability. Not only will my course teach you how to lay a healthy sleep foundation from the very beginning, it will also mean you can avoid having to take the DockATot away from a baby in the future who is super dependent on it to sleep.