Baby Swing Guilt

Hello L. -

LET HIM SLEEP!!

When my son (6mo now) was still calm enough to sit in his swing, he was in it all the time. I put him in just to stretch my arms for a minute, and he fell asleep. So I left him there. He needs sleep and food right now. I say as long as he sleeps in his crib at night, let him sleep in the swing all day. I did. You'll know when he is ready to sleep in his crib in the afternoons. He will not fall asleep in his swing, because he will most likely need more room to move around.

M.

My son was the same way. He LOVED his swing and would nap in it all the time. He did not start sleeping in his crib until he was 3 months old. I usually put him in his swing when I needed to get things done (cooking, cleaning). Other than that I would hold him and play with him. He eventually outgrew this when he started interacting with me more and wanted to play and see what was going on around him. After that when he went in his swing he usually stayed awake. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Certainly still try naps in the crib, so don't give up on this.

My son loved that swing too! He spent hours and hours in it sleeping and swinging. I felt guilty too but sometimes it was the only place he would sleep during the day. He's 6 months old now and although he has been napping in his crib for several months, he still likes to swing sometimes :) I wouldn't worry about it, he'll eventually outgrow it. Just be thankful the geniuses at Fisher Price invented that swing!

with our second, she loved the swing at a friends house, so when we couldn't get her to sleep without being held for 4 nights, we went to wal mart at 2 am and bought her a swing, which worked like magic. My point, do what you need so you can do things and or sleep yourself =) as long as he still gets your attention at other times, it doesn't really matter where he sleeps so long as he's safe (my sister's child slept only in a stroller for the first 3 mos, and another friend's child slept in his carseat for almost as long, both are happy, healthy bed sleepers =) )

I definitely agree with the others that you should do whatever gets you and your son the most sleep. What I would recommend, however, is trying to just turn off the swing after he's asleep. We really subscribe to "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Weissbluth. He did some research that sleeping in the swing (while it's moving), car, etc. isn't "quality" sleep because it's more of an "artificial" sleep. So, after we read that, we just turned off the swing and left our son to keep sleeping, which he usually did. Good luck!

L.,
I agree with the others, if it's working don't worry about it. He won't be able to be in the swing forever & he seems content in it, it's not hurting him. He needs his sleep and if he isn't getting it in his crib so much than the swing is OK.

:-)

Our baby always took naps in the swing and slept in the crib at night.

I started by exchanging 1 nap in the swing for 1 nap in the crib.. and when she started going to sleep well for that nap in the crib.. then I would try to switch 2 of them to the crib.. then I just put her swing away altogether because she was outgrowing it.

Another thing that helps, is when she falls asleep, shut the swing off, but leave her in it, so she doesn't get use to the rocking motion.

I think she actually liked her crib better because it was quieter and darker in her room. She always sleeps longer in her crib. Which is nice for mommy to get things done! ;)

My oldest daughter also loved napping in the swing. She outgrew it too soon in my opinion! A friend's little boy napped in the swing until he was a least 6 months old, maybe older. Both are happy, well adjusted 3 year olds now (who nap in their beds!). I wouldn't worry about it. As long as he's safe and sleeping, let him sleep.

The motion of the swing mimics the motion of the movement he experienced in utero so it is comforting to him. At his age whatever works for you and your family is what you should do. It is more important that you rest and are able to be a relaxed and present mommy than where he sleeps.

Hi there. Our son also LOVED that same swing. My DH is a SAHD and I would get so mad when he would let him just sleep in the swing for most of the day. But, eventually he slept less and less in it and napped in his crib instead of the crib and now he's a happy & healthy 17 month old who is an awesome sleeper (12 hours through the night w/o waking and 3 hr naps every day). So, if its working to get him to sleep, he'll be fine, I promise!

Let him sleep whereever he feels comfortable. Eventually you can ween him off of it but as long as you're okay with the amount of sleep he's getting in at night I wouldn't worry about it. There's enough other stuff to worry about as a new mom, right? :)

I totally understand. When my son was an infant he would not take naps in anything but his swing or one of those vibrating chairs. He just would not fall asleep in a crib for naps. He even was not affected by walks or car rides. When he started daycare that was only way he would nap.

He now is 6 years old and doing fine. He to this day prefers to play on the swings at the park. So for him the swing is his source of comfort and helps him calm down. I would not worry some kids respond better to certain stimuli. Although I had the same guilt back then. Do what works for your child. What matters is that your child gets the sleep he needs and is healthy and happy.
Best wishes!

My now 21 month old daughter had GERD when she was an infant. Until she was 6 months old and could sit well the problem persisted. She would only sleep in a sitting position until 6 months old. She slept in carseats, strollers and her swing.

The reason that it's not recommended for children to sleep in swings unattended is because there have been defects in swings that caused the seats to tip and the infants fell to the ground. If you have a low swing and your child is properly placed so he doesn't slump, swing sleeping should be safe.

When we wanted to transition to the crib, we let her sleep in the swing without motion for about a month first, then we just started putting her in the crib after doing her customary routine and she had no trouble with the switch.

As long as he sleeps and his happy don't worry about it. My cousins baby did the same thing in the exact same swing...

Life was chaotic and complicated when I had my daughter. We were always on the go with appts. So I always say my daughter lived in her infant carseat.

We ALL do it, some babies just have thier "favorite" spot. My first daughter hated car rides but loved to sleep in her carseat. She grew out of it and moved onto a new "favorite" Congratulations. Aren't new babies wonderful:)