Baby Still Sleeping in Swing

My son had terrible colic and I let him sleep in the swing until he was almost 5 mos old. It was about that time his colic started to subside. I say don't push it if it's still working for you. You will know when to make the switch.

Hi-Had the same problem w/ one of my twins. I had to transistion her to sleep in her crib. I did wait till all colic signs had passed. I think it was more like 5 or 6 monts. I started by just putting her in the crib for naps and gradually went on from there. She started out by lasting 10 min or so in the crib and then waking up. I just kept at it day by day and finally got her to sleep through a whole nap in the crib and then started on nightime.
It'll take time.
Good luck!!

Hi H.!
I did the same thing with my twin boys. They were born prematurely and were in the hospital for almost 3 months before they came home. Once at home they were not sleeping at all. They would take 20 minute "cat naps" throughout the day and night and I was not only exhausted, but worried about their health since preemies need sleep almost as much as they need food. I tried everything and the swing worked wonders. So in the swing they went. before we knew it the boys were sleeping 2-3 hour stretches. I was so happy... and so were they! But around 3 months I started reading another book called Healthy Sleep habits healthy child and got all worked up because the book says that babies who sleep in swings don't sleep well and need to be in a crib before they hit that 12 week mark, or it'll be very difficult to put them in the crib. I was really worried, so that same day I put them in the crib and it was a disaster. I was really worried, but knew we all needed to sleep, so they went back to the swing. I kept trying to put them in their cribs every week or so until they finally decided they were more comfortable in the crib than in the swing but they were 6 months by then!! I have never been a fan of crying out, so I did it very gradually. but I realize now that if I had wanted them to sleep in the crib earlier, I just had to let them cry until they got used to it. In my experience you have two options, 1) put your daughter in the crib now and let her learn how to soothe herself to sleep - this means she might cry and you will have to let her cry until she falls asleep on her own 2) Gradually turn off the swing and once she is sleeping with the swing totally motionless, try to put her in the crib as you would put her in the swing. Slowly and with perseverance she'll get used to it. I don't usually post advice online, but I remember how helpless I felt when my boys were sleeping ONLY in the swing and I couldn't find any advice on how to get them out of them! It didn't help that every time I mentioned it to the pediatrician or friends, they gave me that judgmental look... like "well why did you put them there in the first place?" To me the most important thing was for them to get enough sleep, it didn't matter where. Now that they are almost 8 months and sleeping in cribs through the night I look back and realize that I felt a lot of pressure from other people to put them in cribs because that is what babies "should" do, but I learned that babies aren't little machines, so if it takes a while to get them to sleep how they "should" its OK. Try not to stress too much, eventually she'll realize that she's going to be more comfortable in a big crib than a tiny swing... it might not happen until she starts rolling over and feeling the need to explore, like with my boys... but it WILL happen. You are doing great in assessing your daughter's needs and giving her what you know she needs. You are her Mom and NOBODY can tell you how to do things with her. You know her best!! Good luck!!

Why don't you try laying her on her tummy to sleep? Mine was colicky too and has slept on his tummy since week three of his life and it has helped us all out. Also our first slept in his vibrating chair till he was 5 months old, why because he was happy and slept very well in it then we went to the nice soft pack-n-play for a couple of weeks then to the crib. it's worth a shot, and I don't think there's any harm in where she is sleeping at least for a little bit longer. Hope this helps! :))

Our son slept in his swing A LOT! We had to transition him out of it when he was 6 months old because he was 25 lbs which was the maximum (go figure he's still about 25 lbs, and 17 mo!). Plus it got kinda of squeaky the bigger he got and we wanted to make sure it would still work for #2 :P

We did use a wedge thing in the crib, he'd wiggle down out of it. Propping the bed sounds like a good idea...maybe next time for us.

We found that it wasn't a matter of setting him in the crib that woke him up, but the cold surface! So we threw a blanket in the dryer for a couple minutes and then we'd lay it in the crib and lay him on it. He'd usually have a blanket over him, so he slept with 2 blankets.

At 8.5 months we did the whole cry it out sleeping method because I wasn't getting any sleep. Now he goes to bed at 8:30 and gets 11-13 hrs. of sleep, always in his crib. And takes one 1-3 hr. nap. Life is much better...at least for a couple months until we start the process all over again.

I don't know if she would be too big for this by now, but here's a product I've heard some people say they love.

http://www.napnanny.com/the_napnanny.html

There is a possibility that your daughter's colic is actually caused by reflux, and if that is the case, the swing allows her to sleep because she is in an elevated position, which tends to relieve the reflux. We had this issue with my now 15 month old who also would not sleep anywhere but in the swing or on my shoulder for months. For reflux, it is often recommended that you place something (like books) under one end of the crib mattress to elevate it. Whether or not your daughter is having trouble with reflux or just likes the position better, it may help to try it out. You may also want to talk to your pediatrician about whether the current sleeping situation and the colic could be related.

Try rocking her to sleep and then putting her in her bed. She seems to need motion to go to sleep.

That's fine. My kids both slept in their swing until just before they turned 6 months old. We had the big Fisher Price cradle swing that plugs in. We removed the lap tray. One day the baby just started to seem uncomfortable in the swing so we tried the crib. She slept effortlessly in her crib because she was finally ready. Same for my son.

Here is another tip. When they got too big to swaddle with regular swaddle blankets I bought a 2 yard piece of microfleece. It didn't need hemming, it's had a nice stretch to it, and it was breathable.

Hang in there. It gets a little easier each day.

First of all don't use a positioner in the bed now. She is too old and she won't stay in it. I had a preemie and when he got colic he slept in the swing. He stayed in it for atleast 4 or five months. We then moved him to the pack n play. It took several nights for him to adjust, but he did. It just takes patience on your part. She will transition.

If it ain't broke....don't fix it! Our little boy slept swaddled in a vibrating chair for the 1st 3.5 months--he slept thru the night and so did we! We changed to the crib when we noticed he was ready! There was no rush for us! He now sleeps great in a crib (at 8 months). When my mom or MIL would come over and see our baby swaddled and sleeping in a chair, they had all sorts of non-helpful comments...but the point is he was our child and he slept! Sleep for you, hubby and baby are priority #1! Keep with what you're doing, don't sweat it! Also, now that my little guy is teething, he can get really fussy, so guess where he sleeps when that happens...THE SWING!
good luck and trust your instinct!

I don't have any advice but my child also had colic. She once cried or screamed rather for over 11 hours straight. What a nightmare!! All I can say is she will grow out of it before you know it. Good luck. I swaddle my baby to sleep at night. It worked for an hour or so.

H.,
My daughther was 1 month old when she had RSV (she was not a premie) and I too allowed her to sleep in her swing ending in the same situation as yourself. I did not like the positioners after reading reviews on how dangerous they were. Therefore, I bought a wedge to slide under her sheets. This helped tramendously. Now she is an active, healthy one year old that sleeps flat and through the night (for the most part).

Hope this helps. Good Luck!
S.

Prop the head of her bed up, it does the same thing as the positioner.

shes only 3 months i would let her keep sleeping in the swing. she may still have a touch of the reflux and this helps her. wait a few more months if you can and they put a pillow UNDER the head of her mattress. it will lift her up and doesnt cost as much as thoes sleep wedges that you can only use for a short time. My almost 3 year old still loves having a pillow under her mattress. not so much for the reflux but for breathing troubles. hope this helps!

My son is a great sleeper...when he's swaddled and pacified. He can sleep in a swing without a swaddle (although he sleeps more soundly in the swing when I swaddle his arms); however, he definitely requires it when sleeping on his back. The Miracle Swaddle works great for older infants who can readily get out of a normal swaddle with receiving blankets.

I would try making a reflux nest in her bed. You raise the mattress up with pillows so it is elevated. Then you take a large towel and roll it up and make a U shape with it. Put it under the sheet where you want to put her bottom. It keeps her from sliding down the bed and keeps her elevated. Let me know if you need more info. I have pictures from when my son had one if you need to see them.

They're a bit pricey, but you can buy a crib mattress that vibrates. I second the swaddling. My daughter sleeps best swaddled. I might have to get that Miracle Blanket that one mom wrote about because my daughter is starting to wiggle out of her swaddle!