Babies: 3 - 6 Months

Q from 0-3: Sleeping in Swing...

So...our DS has been sleeping in his swing since he was brought home from the hospital. My guess was that the expanse in the crib unnerved him and he's always been cozier in his swing, which is no biggie for us.

However, I do know that the day will come that he will no longer fit in his swing to sleep, so I'm a bit torn at what to do now. Should we transition him to the crib now just to get it over with, or just let him sleep in his swing as long as he's happy and comfy, and deal with the crib when he longer fits in the swing. Basically, follow the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality...

For those of you ladies whose LO's slept in their swings, when did you transition them? And if you did it a bit later, how did the transition go? Easy? Difficult??

Thanks!

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Re: Q from 0-3: Sleeping in Swing...

  • I have no experience since I'm still pregnant with my first, but I'm getting a moses basket for my LO. I've heard it's easier to transition them to the crib because you can put the whole moses basket inside for a while before putting them in "by themselves". Does the baby carrier work as well as the swing? Could you place the whole carrier in the crib to transition?  Again, I'm no expert so I'm hoping to see what the responses are from experienced mommies!
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  • I agree with the RNP idea.

    You could always try the crib, and see what happens, ya know? 

    I was shocked when I laid DD down in her crib and she didn't fuss. She had slept in her newborn napper since birth, so I expected her to have a hard time, and she didn't at all.

    You never know!

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  • imageKRISTA555:

    I agree with the RNP idea.

    You could always try the crib, and see what happens, ya know? 

    I was shocked when I laid DD down in her crib and she didn't fuss. She had slept in her newborn napper since birth, so I expected her to have a hard time, and she didn't at all.

    You never know!

    This! DS was in his newborn napper on the pack n play (kind of shaped like a swing seat) since birth, but 3 months is the max on being in it, so we had to move him. He slept just fine from night one. He has always enjoyed napping in his swing (he's doing it right now), and I'm not sure if he'll nap as long or as well when he totally outgrows it.

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  • DD slept in her swing at night occasionally and is actually napping in it right now.

    For us, we would just put her in the crib and see what happened. If she cried we would take her out and either put her in the swing or in bed with us. But, eventually she started to like sleeping in the crib for longer periods of time and now she STTN in her crib. I think it is just a matter of them getting used to it. I would say start the transition now and see what happens Big Smile

  • We, on the other hand, had a very difficult time transitioning out of the swing for naps.  And she even slept in her crib at night.

    I started trying around 3.5 months (which was probably too late) and wasn't successful until 2 weeks ago.  We ended up having to do Ferber because every other attempt was a big FAIL and the swing became unsafe as she was trying to sit up and roll out of it. 

    I've also heard good things about the RNP, but personally, I would avoid it as your end game is the crib and that might just be one more thing to transition out of.

    I'd try swaddling, if you don't already.  Especially consideirng your DC clearly likes feeling secure.  I gave up on it way too easily and wish I'd given it a proper go.  If all else fails, you could try the Magic Sleep Suit (it's literally called that).  The ladies on 6 - 9 rave about it.

    From my experience I'd try sooner rather than later so you don't have to do Ferber, because while it's successful, it's NOT a fun process.

    Best of luck to you!!

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  • DD slept in her swing for all nights and at night until she was 4 months old. She was very colicky and it was the only way we could all get some rest! I was really stressed about the transition and decided to do it at 4 months because that's when babies start to become aware of their surroundings and they may be old enough for CIO. My pedi agreed with this.

    I did the transition in 2 steps - the first one I had her fall asleep in it w/out it swinging. She cried for 45 minutes the first time I tried it, and then went to sleep w/out a peep after that! Then I moved her to the PNP. She cried for a half hour. And then, again, fell alseep w/out fussing. Now she is 5 months old and we have had some back sliding for naps - she is actually sleeping in her swing right now - but she still falls asleep in the PNP at night very easily and sleeps there all night.

    I've decided to wait until she is taking fewer naps each day to tackle that, because she resists them soooo much right now and I can't stand doing CIO 3 times a day, and I'm sure she is not a big fan of it either. So, for now I am doing whatever works, which means a walk in the stroller, a drive in the car, or the swing.

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  • imageMainer-in-Texas:

    DD slept in her swing for all nights and at night until she was 4 months old. She was very colicky and it was the only way we could all get some rest! I was really stressed about the transition and decided to do it at 4 months because that's when babies start to become aware of their surroundings and they may be old enough for CIO. My pedi agreed with this.

    I did the transition in 2 steps - the first one I had her fall asleep in it w/out it swinging. She cried for 45 minutes the first time I tried it, and then went to sleep w/out a peep after that! Then I moved her to the PNP. She cried for a half hour. And then, again, fell alseep w/out fussing. Now she is 5 months old and we have had some back sliding for naps - she is actually sleeping in her swing right now - but she still falls asleep in the PNP at night very easily and sleeps there all night.

    I've decided to wait until she is taking fewer naps each day to tackle that, because she resists them soooo much right now and I can't stand doing CIO 3 times a day, and I'm sure she is not a big fan of it either. So, for now I am doing whatever works, which means a walk in the stroller, a drive in the car, or the swing.

    Oh my gosh, I could have written this exactly.  Good luck to you!  And also, we almost named our DD Mabel.  Beautiful name.

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  • imageNewMommy423:
    imageMainer-in-Texas:

    DD slept in her swing for all nights and at night until she was 4 months old. She was very colicky and it was the only way we could all get some rest! I was really stressed about the transition and decided to do it at 4 months because that's when babies start to become aware of their surroundings and they may be old enough for CIO. My pedi agreed with this.

    I did the transition in 2 steps - the first one I had her fall asleep in it w/out it swinging. She cried for 45 minutes the first time I tried it, and then went to sleep w/out a peep after that! Then I moved her to the PNP. She cried for a half hour. And then, again, fell alseep w/out fussing. Now she is 5 months old and we have had some back sliding for naps - she is actually sleeping in her swing right now - but she still falls asleep in the PNP at night very easily and sleeps there all night.

    I've decided to wait until she is taking fewer naps each day to tackle that, because she resists them soooo much right now and I can't stand doing CIO 3 times a day, and I'm sure she is not a big fan of it either. So, for now I am doing whatever works, which means a walk in the stroller, a drive in the car, or the swing.

    Oh my gosh, I could have written this exactly.  Good luck to you!  And also, we almost named our DD Mabel.  Beautiful name.

    Thank you very much! Good luck to you too! 

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  • DD she slept in the swing until she was 9 months (for naps and 4 months for nights) and had no problems transitioning.  She even slept in the swing at MDO.

     

    DS is sleeping in his crib now, but was in the swing until about 3 months for naps and nights. He's in his crib for nights and his first nap.  The last two naps are in the swing.  He's had no trouble transitioning b/c he was ready and the crib is more comfy.  

     If you wait until they are ready, it's usually no big deal to transition.  If you do it before they're ready, it can be really tough for you and the baby...that goes for most things (paci, bottles, swaddle, etc). 

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