my son naps in my arms! and sleeps in his swing!

[soochi]

hi -

my 9.5 week old naps in my arms and sleeps in his swing!

is he too young to break the habit?

i try and put him down for a nap but he cries almost immediately and won't sleep for most of day and is really cranky as a result!

should we bring his crib in our room and star getting him to sllep in there?

thank you!

[Jayne]

We have the crib in our room for now. Have you tried a little white noise. Maybe he sleeps in the swing because of the noise it makes. Also and this is up to you but I let my daughter nap on her belly. I am right there (she naps in her pack N Play downstairs during the day) to check on her and watch over her. She sleeps so well that way. I won't do it at night yet because I just don't feel that I can check on her enough but All of my children have been tummy sleepers.

[tuesdayswife]

Hi and welcome! :wavey:

I'm not really sure what your parenting techniques are - and we all differ and that is fine - but I usually go with what Mia's dr told me one time.... There has never been a child that died from crying. Granted, I'm not really one for the CIO (cry it out) method but let him cry a little bit. They usually wear themselves out enough after just a few minutes that they will fall back to sleep.

Also, and I know others will probably say "tisk tisk" to me for this but have you tried laying him on his tummy to sleep? My DD would NOT sleep on her back and if, by chance, she did fall asleep on her back, it wasn't for long and it wasn't a good sleep during that short time either. She LOVED sleeping on her tummy. However, she did get a little picky with that and had to sleep on a fleece blanket and not just on the sheet so I was always tightly tucking in a fleece blanket over the sheet so she would nap.

Maybe even try putting him down on his side. They make those wedges but I think before purchasing one you could try using some rolled up receiving blankets or towels (just keep a close eye on him so they don't get loose and over his head if he's a restless sleeper). Even just a small pillow or folded bath towel behind his back to prop him up just a bit but not much, know what I mean?

Good luck! It takes awhile to figure out all their little quirks but you'll get it!

[soochi]

we need to get a white noise machine i think!

jacob would probably prefer tummy naps.....it scares me a bit though. i might give it a test try!

thank you!

[tuesdayswife]

Don't worry about the tummy naps!!! As long as your checking up on him and don't have any hazards in the crib with him, he'll be fine. I was NEVER a back sleeper and still am not!!! Drives me CRAZY when I can't lay on my tummy. My DD is the same way.

[soochi]

thanks so much.....i'll give it a try.....i hate to have him cry, and he can for a long time -- we learned through a car trip!

he's been napping on my chest now for almost 2.5 hours!

[magoo]

I think that 9.5 weeks is definitely too early to try. I never tried putting my kids on my tummy simply because if anything did ever happen to them, I don't think I would have been able to forgive myself.

My daughter was about 4 months old before she would nap in her crib, and even then it was only for about 20 min. at a time. I just decided to enjoy the snuggles. :) If you have a front carrier or a sling, you could see if he likes napping in there. That way you can go for walks or get some stuff done around the house.

[soochi]

thank you!

i know, i worry at this young age, he'll feel abandoned. but my husband and some friends think he should nap independently and give me a little break!

so hard to know what is right!

[tuesdayswife]

See... that's the thing... there isn't a right or wrong... you just have to do what you feel is right for YOU! :)

[Jayne]

I think that 9.5 weeks is definitely too early to try. I never tried putting my kids on my tummy simply because if anything did ever happen to them, I don't think I would have been able to forgive myself.

My daughter was about 4 months old before she would nap in her crib, and even then it was only for about 20 min. at a time. I just decided to enjoy the snuggles. :) If you have a front carrier or a sling, you could see if he likes napping in there. That way you can go for walks or get some stuff done around the house.

My Pedi had her lay on her tummy in his office. (Actually all three) from birth they could hold their head up and turn it. He told me that naps were ok for them to sleep on their tummy just to check on them and have nothing in the crib withthem. Also to make sure they were on a nice flat surface with only the sheet under them. They will not sufficate on their tummies unless they have something to sufficate on.

[Sandy]

I am another mom who had kids that wouldn't nap anywhere but on me. It is frustrating, but they do get better about it! With my first, I was more concerned about putting her in the swing to sleep, but I got over it. With my second, she slept A LOT in her swing - both naps and during the night.

I have also heard warming up the crib/bassinett sheet w/ a hot water bottle/heating pad first, then removing it when you lay the baby down, can help. Rather than laying them on a cold blanket. Also, after you wash the sheets, tuck them in beside you for a night or two, before putting them in the crib. Sometimes the scent of mommy will help.

I, too, am a huge fan of white noise. I would recommend that.

I never would attempt laying my little ones on their tummies to sleep, but both were fairly good back sleepers. But really, I ended up just putting them in their swings all the time, so it kind of negated that as an issue for me. Now the extreme bald spot they developed was another matter. :lol:

Good luck and hang in there. It does get easier, I promise!!!

[soochi]

thanks so much! i just worry that he won't grow out of it. my sister's son had to be held until he was 2! i have to go back to work in couple months so hopefully will resolve itself.

[magoo]

My Pedi had her lay on her tummy in his office. (Actually all three) from birth they could hold their head up and turn it. He told me that naps were ok for them to sleep on their tummy just to check on them and have nothing in the crib withthem. Also to make sure they were on a nice flat surface with only the sheet under them. They will not sufficate on their tummies unless they have something to sufficate on.
That's fine for you, but I would still personally never risk it. That's all I'm going to say about that. :)

[Lyoshka]

Welcome to OUAL, Grace :wavey:!!!

I agree with Jayne and Jo about tummy sleeping. Can Jacob pick up and turn his head if you lay him on his stomach? If he can, then you are ok to do it... *I* think.
When my son was 2 weeks old, he was picking up his head fine. I think we started putting him on his belly to sleep around the 2 month mark? I can't recall exactly. I was petrified at first, because of all the things you hear.. so at first i only did it during day time naps when i could keep an eye on him the whole time. When he did great with those, I would do it for longer naps. Then, after a few days, I put him down that way at night, I think i woke up every 5 minutes for nights on end to make sure he was ok :lol: Of course, he was totally fine. He slept a TON better on his belly and has been a belly sleeper since! (he just turned 2)

The wedge suggestion is good, too.. Is Jacob gassy? He may not be sleeping well on his back because of that... wedge should work good for that, if you are not comfortable with the tummy sleeping. Rolled up blankets work just as well (that's what I did).

hth.....

[MrsPeacefrog]

My 2nd son was like this, he constantly needed to be moving to stay asleep, hence I left him sleeping in the swing till he was a year old, there is no right or wrong, I would take your friends and husband's advice with a grain of salt, you need to do what works best for you and if that means your baby sleeps in a swing, then what is the harm? I was able to convert my 2nd son into a crib when he was older no worries, just took a few days of transition. At the mere age of 9 weeks I feel there is no need to traumatise him by doing anything too drastic.

As for the tummy sleeping, the research says not to do it, and I would rather be safe than sorry, just because a baby can lift its head up does not mean that the baby will lift its head up when necessary and hence why I refuse to do it.

Good luck, being a new mother is never easy, everybody's an expert.

[KristenW]

I was too scared to try tummy sleeping before my son could roll over by himself. That being said, I had a SIDs phobia that was on the verge of being neurotic! Our son napped in his swing until he was too big for it. He slept really well in the swing and it was downstairs with us, so we preferred it. When he outgrew the swing, he transitioned to his crib for naps without incident! Good luck!

[soochi]

Thanks everyone! I don't think Jacob is ready for tummy sleeping yet. He can lift his head, but when he's sleepy, he has a hard time lifting it up. He's napping in my arms right now. I tried laying him in the crib, and he woke right up. A work in progress!!

Last night, he barely slept after 2:45 a.m.!!

[magoo]

Wow. What a rough night. It's so hard to function on such little sleep! I swear that Anna would be out cold, but the second her little tush hit the mattress, she would start to cry. Hang in there. :hug99:

[Alyson]

Have you tried giving him a pacifier? That might help calm him when you put him in the crib.

[Brandi]

I would never have thought that this would be something I would say, but have you tried putting him in his car seat to sleep? My daughter slept in her car seat at night for the first 8 months! I was always so worried about this, but we just buckled her in and put her in either the crib or the co-sleeper. She was safe and I think she liked the feeling of being cradled in snuggly! Our doctor said it was fine because it wasn't like she was going to be moving around a lot while she was sleeping. As long as we didn't keep her in the car seat all day, it should be fine. And it was.

Another idea might be to roll up some blankets or towels, or get a positioner for him. You can put the rolled up towels right next to him, one on either side, so that he feels tucked in. Good luck! I was always one who wouldn't let their kids cry. It wasn't right for me. I held my son to sleep for the first 4 months. And at naps, he slept in the swing. Needless to say, I never slept. UGH! Then we brought him into bed with us.

[MrsPeacefrog]

Good idea Brandi, I do that with Lucas now if he is having a rough night.

If you do want him to learn to go into the crib, have you tried staying with him when you put him down an patting him so he knows he is not alone. Are you wrapping him tightly, some babies really feel the need to be secure. If it's a big open space then they don't feel secure, by swaddling them tightly they feel more secure. I also used to put a cloth with some breastmilk on it under Riley if I desperately needed to get things done and coudn't be holding him all the time. He could smell me which did help. It's all trial and error. I know it's tough, I remember being a walking zombie that whole year with Riley. Don't blame yourself, I have had already had a child that slept no worries before Riley came along and I did all the same things with him and he just didn't sleep unaided, each baby is different.

[kalm]

Do you swaddle him? I swear that saved my life with my three during the first few months of life. I had a little cradle seat thingy that was sort of shaped like a car seat but much more cushy. I didn't use it with my twins, but with my third, it was a miracle. I've handed it down to my sister who calls it "baby crack" because of how well hers slept in it. Though it's hard now, your son will eventually grow out of the habit. Good luck!

[soochi]

thank you all for the support and advice!!

jacob slept a bit better last night, thank goodness!

i'll try some of these suggestions...hopefully one will work. for at least this moment, he's napping in my arms!

[Jillian]

Well first, I don't think it's bad for a 9 week old to sleep in a swing/your arms! It's such a short period of his life, trust me, he will not go to college doing these things!

I do think 9.5 weeks is to young to let him cry.

As for tummy sleeping, Kincaid did it, he could roll from back to tummy before he was 2 weeks old, so we ended up with no choice. But the real risk with tummy sleeping isn't suffocation (in fact, I don't think suffocation deaths are counted into SIDS numbers, cause if a cause of death can be seen it's not SIDS) it's that they get into a deeper sleep and then have trouble remembering to breath cause they are sleeping so well...so the fact that babies sleep better on their tummies is actually the issue...

Anyway, Travis has to be swaddled to sleep, Kincaid needed that too. Neither would sleep (besides in the moving car) unswaddled for more than just a couple minutes at a time.

[soochi]

thanks so much jillian! i know i'll miss holding him when i have to go back to work....