Rock and Play Sleeper. Was excited, but now I'm scared!

nicholemhughes

My son sleeps for three hours at a time, it's very sporadic, so of course, I was very excited to hear all the hype about the rock n play sleeper. He's only two weeks old, but since the day he descended from my body, the most consecutive sleep I've gotten is 4 hours. I'm not complaining, but it would be nice to have a longer stretch every now and again! 

 

After doing a LOT of research, I can't seem to make up my mind. I hear A LOT of great things about the product, but I've also heard that there are issues with flat spots. Even though those may be few and far between, they're still a bit frightening.

I came here for your personal experiences, preferably from people who have had the product for a good amount of time.  

 

Thank you! 

diana.filipi

I've never had a RnP but after doing the boards through two babies so far the number of posts I've seen about flat spots has been a kinda high. You don't need a RnP to have a good sleeper.  There are some basic things you can do to help the baby along.  Both of mine have STTN starting early on and they are both very different.

1. Get used to NOT responding to every cry out while baby is sleeping.  My babies are beside my bed for the first 4 months so for me this means just turning over for a few min to see if they go on back to sleep on their own.  They often do.  You also learn how different cries sound.

2. Swaddle

I've not gone more than 8-10 weeks with either one so far and not started getting up to 6 hours for the first stretch.  My DD was up to 7-10 hour stretches by 10 weeks.  DS took a bit longer but was giving me about the same by 3 months.

jobiann

Talkativ15:

For 2 weeks old 3 hour stretches are awesome... 4 hours shouldn't be the norm as LO needs to get up to eat! However the RnP is awesome... It's what DD naps in during the day and occasionally at night when she has a fussy episode. Ill take her downstairs so DH can sleep for work and ill lay on the couch and rock her and we can both pass out when ready. She's a month old today and no flat spots

All of this exactly. We also lay him flat on a blanket on the living room floor for
Naps during the day sometimes. It's just important to not leave them always in one thing...swing, bouncer, RNP, PNP, etc for way too long.

6fsn

I have read the same anecdotal stories about the rnp.  If you choose to use it, use it in conjunction with other things.  They have less mobility in there, which is why they  like it.  The lack of movement is what can also lead to a flat spot.

I agree with pps though that 3 hrs is pretty good.  Especially if baby is on the smaller side.  Don't respond to every noise.  Sometimes people just make noises while they sleep.  We also love the swaddle.

ASmallWonder

Don't let the flat spot talk freak you.  Anything baby can rest his or her head on can cause a flat spot if the head doesn't move much.  If they lay flat in their crib and don't move - flat spot.  If they're in their car seat or swing and don't move - flat spot.  Just be aware if your baby favors one side so that you can move their head for them and make sure to get plenty of time outside of "head resting" items by holding them and doing tummy time.

janecanadian

Talkativ15:

For 2 weeks old 3 hour stretches are awesome... 4 hours shouldn't be the norm as LO needs to get up to eat! However the RnP is awesome... It's what DD naps in during the day and occasionally at night when she has a fussy episode. Ill take her downstairs so DH can sleep for work and ill lay on the couch and rock her and we can both pass out when ready. She's a month old today and no flat spots

 4 hours can be completely nromal!  In fact, when DD1 was in the in NICU for just over 2 weeks she was on 4 hour schedule.  She would wake every 4 hours, on the nose, to eat.  You could set your clock by her.  When we brought her home she immediately started sleeping through the night, 6-7 hours at a time.  Don't scare people into thinking they need to go wake up their baby who has been sleeping for over 3 hours.  Unless the doctor has told you that you need to feed baby on a schedule to encourage weight gain, a healthy baby might sleep more than 3 hours at a time:)

 OP - As long as you don't keep LO in the RnP all day you should be ok.  Be sure she is alnernating into different positions throughout the day, including doing some tummy time, and you shouldn't notice any flat spots developing.

ArmyWife114

nicholemhughes:

My son sleeps for three hours at a time, it's very sporadic, so of course, I was very excited to hear all the hype about the rock n play sleeper. He's only two weeks old, but since the day he descended from my body, the most consecutive sleep I've gotten is 4 hours. I'm not complaining, but it would be nice to have a longer stretch every now and again! 

When DS was two weeks old, I was lucky if I got 4 hours of sleep TOTAL at night. And our ped recommended we not let him sleep longer than 4 hours because he needed to eat at the bare minimum every four hours.

The flat spots you can avoid by letting him do tummy time and a play mat (on his back) from what our ped told us, we've had not problems with flat spots from Rock n play, bouncer, crib, etc. 

Best advice we got: let him cry for a full minute before you go and get him.  It's not CIO, it's determining if he's actually needing something, or just crying out in his sleep (which a TON of babies do, and I didn't know that until DS was probably 4 or 5 weeks old). 

FWIW, DS started sleeping 5-6 hour stretches between 4 and 6 weeks old.  So, there may be hope of more sleep in your future! 

ungraceful13

DD loves her RNP but 3 hours between feedings is what we did until she surpassed her birth weight.

itsmevkb

The rock 'n play doesn't cause flat heads, babies always laying to one side (most often because of a medical condition called torticollis) causes flat heads.  If your baby always turns his/her head say to the right then no matter if they are sleeping in a rock 'n play, a bassinet, a crib, on the floor, in your arms, etc. they will develop a flat spot on the back, right side of their head.

It's fine to let your baby sleep in the rock 'n play, just be sure they also get a lot of tummy time.

mellie86041

LO is still sleeping in her RnP every night, but I rotate where I have her nap everyday. I saw all those same things about flat heads caused by the RnP, and even though I know its all a matter of not letting LO sleep all day everyday on her back in it, we got a little Boppy head support pillow for under baby's head simply as a piece of mind for nighttime since she sleeps for longer stretches of time then. 

st.augbride

I can see how the RNP increases the liklihood of flat spots due to the positioning of the head in it, however, there are usually other things going on when this happens. Other than parents leaving their kids in there too long (or anywhere for too long, which can also cause flattening), many kids who develop flat spots that don't resolve on their own have other issues. I believe flat spots peak at around 4 months old and are so incredibly common, but right around then, most kids also start rolling and within a  month or 2 sitting, meaning they are getting off of theri backs. This allows the head shape to bounce back, so for many it's a nonissue. Ds developed flat spots from the RNP. He also has lower muscle tone, had torticollis, and gross motor delays. THOSE are the reasons we needed the helmet. I don't blame the RNP. Dd is also using the RNP now, but she is great at lifting her head during tummy time (ds couldn't until closer to 3 months) and has normal muscle tone, so I'm just not worried. I never left ds in there for that long anyway, just his night sleep but never in the day.

Tennis Chick

Kemare20:

 Uhm... why don't you just start in the crib or Pack n Play and not have to worry about a transition? And again, it is the safest place for your baby to sleep.

uhhh for a variety of reasons?? For us personally our LO has reflux to putting him flat on his back after he eats is not an option for us. You see posts about transitioning to a crib (from a rnp, bassinet, swing, etc.) easily just as often as weaning from a pacifier or weaning from swaddling. It's just how it is, we do what works to get by. I'm glad putting your LO in a crib from the get go worked fine for you, but not everyone is in that same boat. Ignorance is bliss I suppose. 

OP: I ditto what a few of the other posters have said about underlying medical conditions. This early on you see your pedi pretty regularly and he/she will notice if a flat spot starts forming. I wouldn't worry about it, just make sure sometimes LO maybe takes a nap on your chest and does plenty of tummy time. You'll be fine   On a side note it made me laugh about the 4hrs at 2 weeks....at 10 weeks our LO is sleeping in 4-5hr blocks :

Tennis Chick

It's unfortunate your friend lost her child. Was it directly linked to sleeping in something other then a crib/pnp or was it classified as SIDS?
 I think all parents should do what is recommended by their pedi's. If your's suggest's only laying flat that's fine, and I'm glad it works for you. Mine only suggests only placing LO on his back and it does not matter if it is a rnp or a crib. It works for us. 

ilba2011

and dont forget about the recall. still love mine though

ddub09

I just transitioned dd to her crib, but before I did that I used the boppy noggin nest in her rock and play for overnight sleeping.

IrishItalianNJ

My son was in a $3000 helmet for 4 months because of the Rock and Play- his flar spots were there by 2 months and did not go away with tummy time and transitioning him to crib.  I would never recommend this

RissKay

If you leave your baby in anything where they might get a flat spot for too long without moving their head around, then yes, you'll end up with flat spots. Just sayin. 

4 hours at once? Dang. That is actually really lucky for 2 weeks old. Sorry, mama, but you're in for a long haul if you think that 4 hours isn't a long stretch yet.

Swaddle if you don't already; swaddling has significantly helped DS sleep for longer periods. He WAS only sleeping 1 1/2-2 hours at a time, and now he's on his way to STTN swaddled in his bassinet.  

MonicaClaire13

elmoali:

Don't let the flat spot talk freak you.  Anything baby can rest his or her head on can cause a flat spot if the head doesn't move much.  If they lay flat in their crib and don't move - flat spot.  If they're in their car seat or swing and don't move - flat spot.  Just be aware if your baby favors one side so that you can move their head for them and make sure to get plenty of time outside of "head resting" items by holding them and doing tummy time.

This. Anything can cause flat spots, it's crazy to blame the RnP exclusively. And ours seems less likely to cause a flat spot than a pack n play or a crib mattress because the surface isn't as hard and she turns her head more often when I have her in there.

Flat spots really depend more on the baby. DD moves her head often enough and tends to engage in small periods of stretching and wiggling about in the middle of her sleeping time, so I'm not too worried about her.