Swing Sleeping - Boise,ID

I would transition by letting her sleep in it without it moving for a while. She will still feel the snugness but not moving. I would think that would make the transition easier. I would try to do this sooner than later. I think the longer you let a habit develop and the older they get the harder it is. That being said, if it means that everyone sleeps and is happy, do it if you have to!! :) Good luck!

Great attitude...whatever works for her and your family is best. Each kiddo is different.

Both of my kids slept in their carseats (exclusively) for the first 5-6 months of life. This totally helped their reflux issues and they really liked the cozy, snug feeling. My daughter prefers the carseat with a fuzzy blanket near her head that she can pull down on her cheek to "burrow" even further into the carseat.

That being said, we recently found out that the incline sleeping position of swing/carseat reduces oxygen flow for babies because their chins are curled forward on their chests more so than if they were laying flat.

Babies naturally get a little less oxygen when they sleep because their breathing slows down, and the extra slight reduction in oxygen while sleeping in a swing/carseat isn't a big deal unless they are sick or have breathing problems. My daughter recently had a very bad cold and was really snotty and coughing a lot. At the doctor's office we found that when she was sleeping in the carseat, her oxygen levels fell to the low 80% range (occasionaly in the high 70% range). Ideally your oxygen levels should be in the high 90% range. She got put on an oxygen tank until she was over the cold. Just a thought in the cold and flu season...

My daughter lived in her swing the the 6 or 7 months of her life. She loved the motion and I think she liked sleeping at an incline on her back. I wouldn't worry about it. I think you are correct going with the whatever works attitude, shes happy your happy. Once my daughter was able to move on her own she wasn't as interested in the swing and moved to her crib. Good luck.

Just a thought...maybe she's a tummy sleeper? We didn't have a swing and for the first 10 days of DS's life he's sleep 45 mins tops. Until on day 11 I put him tummy down in the sun, he was jaundiced, and he slept for almost 2 hours. Was I a little paranoid about having a tummy sleeper? You bet...but it's the only way he *would* sleep, even in a carseat he'd try and roll over onto his side so he could snuggle more.

Long story short, she may prefer her tummy. It's something you may try if you decide to transition. GL!

J.,

My son slept in his swing for 2 months. We started it because he had a cold, so I liked that he was propped up (he was only 3 months old). From there he was just sleeping better and through the night so we just let him sleep there as he slept better. He was in the room with us. Then I noticed he was waking up when we came to bed and thats when we moved him to his crib, where he has slept all night ever since. He is now 18 months old. I went with what worked well at time as well, and I do not regret it. He sleeps just fine now lieing flat with no movement!

My daughter was that way when she was a baby. Needing the swing. We would put her down in the crib first and when she woke up we would put her in the swing. If we remembered (she's a twin and we were exhausted) we would get out of bed and move her to her crib while she was still sleeping. Doing that she went to sleep in the crib and woke up in the crib, but she also had the swing. We didn't have to transition her, she eventually stayed asleep in her crib longer. Her twin used the womb sounds bear in his crib and slept through the night. The womb sounds didn't soothe her enough.

Both of my girls (now 3-1/2 and 1-1/2) only napped well in the swing. They always slept in their cribs at night. Eventually, when they grew out of the swing, they were able to nap in their cribs. I think the fact that they were sleeping in their cribs part of the time (in my case, at night) helped them make the transition. Good luck.

The Chicco pack n play that I have has a thing on it that is supposed to provide vibration. I never used it, so can't attest to the effectiveness, but it could help in a transition?

at five motnhs she shuld be sleeping through the night at least fro the most part. My daughter had acid reflux bad when she ws born and wold not sleep anywhere where whe was lying flat op her back. She ttok nap in a bouncy and slept on my chest for the first four weeks....not ok, but I did what I could for all of us to get some sleep in between feedlings. At weeks I got her to sleep in the bouncy chair at night next to the bed. At thre months I started the transition form the chair to the crib with a wedge under the mattress to keep her elevated. IN took about a month to get her to sleep there for the entire night. The first week or so she was sleeping in ther from 30 min to one hour. That went from til the first feeding then back to the chair and finally after the first feeding back into the crib. I would put her odwn when she was awake yet very heavy eyes. If you are against the crying out method then you canthings like sitting in there with til she falls asleep. I am sure some babies find ways to learn to sleep on their own without the crying out method but I would think for most if you stay with them til they fall alseep or rock them everynight to sleep you will be doing it when they are older and the habit will be harder to break. The cryoing out method is ideal but you have to do it when it is rioght for both of you. I felt ok with it at 4 months, what got me ok with it was my daughter was asleep and I ws in the shower. She started to cry and I said I will go check on her when I am finished my shower..granted that was only a few minutes. By the time I got out to check onher she was back to sleep. Hard yes, but this takes you getting use to it just as much as the baby. no body is asking you to leave her in there crying for a long time. Only you can really figure it out since everybaby is different. It is your job to teach her to fall asleep on her own. My sister in law hasa three old that has to be sung to sleep every night. She thoughgt is was so great when I just put my daughter down and goes to sleep. SHe is two now and sometimes wil chat with herself in her crob but eventually she goes to sleep within 10 mi to 40 min without me being her sleep aid. Good luck and hope all works out for you.

my son slept in his swing til he was about 7 or 8 months old he loved sleeping there and i didn't find it a big deal. eventually we just started moving him after he fell asleep and then started putting him to sleep in his bed it wasnt too big of a deal transitioning

Both my kiddos have always slept better in their swings. My second (now 8mos.) has a sinus issue where she is ALWAYS congested! So sleeping at an incline has helped her to breathe better. But I always alternate from crib to swing just so there isn't such a dependency on the motion of the swing. One thing I've found to be very helpful with the crib sleeping is to have some kind of toy or something that plays music. Both my girls have found lullaby music to be very soothing. So when they aren't in the swing I will always turn on the music to help then fall into a deep rest in their cribs.
But for now I really wouldn't worry. Your daughter will transition when the time is right.

My first son was a preemie, and basically lived in his swing for the first three months. Then, not even 6 size "D" batteries could move his chunky butt! Your babe will transition out simply because they don't fit in the swing anymore.

Now he's five and sleeps in a bed. All night. Don't stress too much - kids a)don't remember much about babyhood and b)adapt to what you give 'em. Don't run yourself too ragged!

J.,
I don't have a good transition but I know what you mean. My daughter liked the closeness feeling so she slept in her carseat a lot... I liked it cause I could initially rock her but then as she slept I would stop rocking her and the "nest" feeling kept her sleeping longer. As they get older and bigger they do grow out of the need for this feeling cause they want to stretch and roll. My only suggestion would be to put her in the swing and then maybe put it on a timer so that it turns off after a while so she doesn't become dependant on it. Best of luck.

Hi J.,

My now-2 year old slept in a swing for her first 12 months! She had severe reflux and needed to be inclined. We bought the best swing money can buy: the Graco Sweet Peace Soothing Center. It vibrates, swings, plays music or white noise sounds... just a really great bed! That was the only way she could sleep peacefully and for long stretches and so her reflux didn't bother her. All the doctors said it was just fine and guess what? Her reflux resolved around 12-14 mos, when we transitioned her to a crib with no problem and she's slept there wonderfully since then. It can be done, switching from swing to crib eventually, you may need a tough transition period but it goes by quickly and you forget it a year later. :)