STTN in a swing?

AlexisLA · August 2013

Hi everyone. A friend of mine just told me she has her baby sleeping through the night in the swing, up to 12 hours. My question is, is this something that is really OK to do? If it is, I'd be tempted to do it too. We've been bed sharing since birth because DD will not lay down anywhere alone.. not the co-sleeper, crib, or basinet. She doesn't even like regular baby chairs, only the swing. We reserve the swing for naps during the day, to calm her down because she is quite colicky, or when I just need to do put her down to do something else. But since about 1 month she has been waking up more and more in the bed, now getting to every 2 hours. I wish she would sleep in the co-sleeper but don't know how to make that happen. But what about this swing option? I've also heard of the Rock N Play Sleeper but don't think she'd go for that unless it was constantly moving on it's own. Help! I am lost as to where she could sleep.

AmFm922 · August 2013

I would also like to know about this too. My DD has reflux so she isn't comfortable sleeping flat unless its in her bouncer. We recently got a swing two days ago and I tried her in it last night after her MOTN meltdown and it worked wonders! I just don't want to make it a habit. Maybe transition between the swing in the beginning of the night and move them to the bassinet or crib after MOTN feeding or vice-versa? What kind of swing were you thinking of? We got her the Graco Duetconnect. It's a little roomy for her but a warning the motor clicks when it starts the swinging motion. Hope you find something that works for your LO.

AlexisLA · August 2013

Correction: I think the baby must have woken up for my friend once or twice to eat during the 12 hours. I wouldn't expect my DD not to wake up a few times to eat..

On a somewhat related topic, I was reading in a Sears article that babies cycle through their REM and deeper sleep approx every 2 hours, so they may or may not wake during those times depending on if they are hungry or uncomfortable.. DD has a problem where she can't fall asleep without a tight swaddle (or the swing!) but I think when she goes back into REM every 2 hours she wakes because she wants to stretch but can't and she gets very upset (Can't sleep with the swaddle, can't sleep without it!) and this keeps us up for a while. The swing seems to eliminate this issue.

I haven't been getting good sleep the way things are now. The other issue is that DH doesn't sleep with us very much now because DD takes up a good amount of space and he doesn't want to roll over onto her. I don't think this is good for our relationship.

I think what I might do is start is put her in the swing for a couple of hours at night so DH and I can have some alone time.. then bring her to bed and then when/if she wakes up early in the morning (like 5:00) feed her and put her back in the swing for a couple more hours so I can get some decent sleep before I start my day.

My goal is really to get her into the co-sleeper and eventually the crib.

AlexisLA · August 2013

We have a Fisher Price Discover 'n Grow Cradle 'n Swing

AlexisLA · August 2013

Thanks everyone.

Nicb13 said:

I think your plan is a good one. It's really all trial and error. In the first month, DS slept best swaddled and on a Boppy Newborn Lounger at the foot of our bed. Then when he got too loud, we put him on the pillow, swaddled and in his crib. Not ideal but it worked!

I might check out that lounger. DD hates lying flat!

JCWhitey · August 2013

DS hates lying flat, too. I can't even get him to co-sleep! Also he rolls/scoots around a lot in his bassinet and always ends up with his fash smooshed against the side. It made me so nervous that after that first night home from the hospital I put him in the swing to sleep. He stays still and sleeps very well! When we travel he sleeps in his car seat. We've tried the bed a couple of times since then but he's just not comfortable and he still moves around too much for my comfort. Some doctors might discourage this but the nurse in our hospital actually mentioned it being a good idea since DS is a late spitter upper (30-45 minutes after eating) and being at a slight angle, I guess, is good for that.

kmvw · August 2013

We used a swing for our LO to sleep in for the first six weeks, she did not like laying flat. We have only just transitioned her into a bassinet that she seems to sleep pretty well in.

AlexisLA · August 2013

Well, this plan backfired! Last night was the worst yet. I didn't swaddle her since she seems to hate it when she wakes with it in the night but without it I couldn't get her back to sleep so I just put her in the swing at 2:00am and she was wide awake! So then I swaddled her and brought her back to bed and still wide awake! Finally got her to sleep in the swing from 4-5 but I couldn't sleep with the clicking of the swing. She still woke up every hour or so wanting something.. can't even remember.. then I finally nursed her to sleep and we napped from 8-9:30. Back to square one..

JCWhitey · August 2013

Nicb13 said:

JCWhitey said:

DS hates lying flat, too. I can't even get him to co-sleep! Also he rolls/scoots around a lot in his bassinet and always ends up with his fash smooshed against the side. It made me so nervous that after that first night home from the hospital I put him in the swing to sleep. He stays still and sleeps very well! When we travel he sleeps in his car seat. We've tried the bed a couple of times since then but he's just not comfortable and he still moves around too much for my comfort. Some doctors might discourage this but the nurse in our hospital actually mentioned it being a good idea since DS is a late spitter upper (30-45 minutes after eating) and being at a slight angle, I guess, is good for that.

Car seats are actually dangerous to sleep in for long periods of time. It compresses their chest and they get less oxygen. Swings don't scrunch their bodies as much but it's still sort of the same thing. You can find lots of information on how sleeping in a car seat isn't safe. Just an FYI that I never knew.

DS's chest doesn't compress in his carseat when it's angled back. It's the exact same shape as his swng seat

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