My son just turned 5 months and seems to only like sleeping in his swing. He can sleep in it at night for 6-7 hours and then I bring him to bed with me. I have tried to put him in his crib several times but he never stays asleep for more than 20 minutes. Has anyone else had their baby sleep in swing so long? Is all constant rocking hurting him? I will eventually do the CIO method but not ready to do this just yet.
Dont let others discourage you. My son age slept in his swing til he was almost 7 months old hes 8 now. Yes it was a kinda challenging to break the habit. I had to get up at 5 am to go to work at. i didnt have it in me to fight my son all night. hang in there girl. It ll be ok.
I had twins and the only way I got more than an hour of sleep at at time until they were 6 months old was by letting one of them sleep in a swing. I felt awful about it at the time, but you know what - it all turned out fine.
First, I stopped turning the swing on. So he weaned off the rocking. I also had it in the full reclining position, so he was practically laying down. I, like you, waited until he was about 6 months to make the transition, because I knew then I could let him cry some. Next I put him in his crib with blankets propped so he was in the same exact position as the swing. He did surprisingly well.
I would do some form of this - just gradually change the habit. Believe me, I dreaded it, but he did fine. At about 8 months he was still waking once for a feeding so I did cry it out and that was gone within a week.
Good luck - and don't listen to the people on here telling you you are a bad Mom. I asked my Dr at the time and he said the only bad part was going to be breaking the habit. Other than that there is nothing wrong with them sleeping in a swing. Of course, I would only do it if it is the only way. For me with twins, it was the only way.
Have you tried swaddling him pretty tightly? And I know that the "experts" say you should put a baby on their tummy to sleep... but... my daughter would only sleep tightly swaddled and laid on her tummy. She turned her head completely to the side and I always made sure the sheets were tight on her crib and there was nothing else in there. If you don't want him totally on his tummy try tightly rolling a recieving blanket and laying it lengthwise under one side so that he is still laying on somthing but he is propped up a little on his side. For some reason my daughter had to have something pressing against her tummy in order to sleep.
The constant rocking is not hurting him, but I would try to get him out of the habit in another month or so. Otherwise he will depend on it!! The Amby bed someone else mentioned is nice, but a little expensive. (Sorry but I don't want to spend that much on what is essentially a baby hammock! But thats just me)
My daughter slept in her swing for 4 months, then was rocked to sleep until she was about a year old and let me tell you it was VERY difficult to get her out of the habit! We had to let her CIO for quite a while.
Babies that young really like the motion of the swing, and how it was like that in the womb. The one thing I found that helped a lot for my son (who is 4 months old...I have four other kids.... a 7 year old, 5 year old, and a 4 year old) is the Amby Bed. It is like a hammock for babies, and comes highly reccommended by Dr. Sears. I bought it for my son who has reflux and it has been such a dream. Since he is too young to self soothe, the natural rocking motions will help soothe him back to sleep much like the swing. And I wouldn't worry about all that rocking...I've known plenty of moms who let their babies sleep all night in the swing. Oh yeah....when you are ready to help him sleep through the night, have you checking into the no cry sleep solution? I found it easier for me then the cio meathod (I couldn't handle the crying). Good luck!!
My first thought after reading your request,is ....What is your baby doing in a swing for six or seven hours? What is his posture,during that time? I get the impression, that you've been to busy to rock him yourself. Yes...In my opinion it is bad. He is growing acustom to that swinging motion to get to sleep,and stay asleep. Are you going to provide that type of bed for him through his adolescence? What happens when he gets older and you attempt to put him in a stationary bed? Your going to just let him scream and cry till hes so exhausted he passes out huh? Why put him through that? better yet...why put you through that? Taking a few minutes of your time to Rock him, soothe him to sleep,is a good idea,but not leaving him in a swing for hours.I believe You'll regret it later.Best of luck to you.
