Transition from swing to bed

My girls have severe reflux and we could not lay them flat so they have been sleeping in their swings at night. Things have been getting better and I want them to start sleeping in their beds now. I have started trying to put them down for short naps in their beds but sometimes that just scream and scream. Any suggestions on the transition???

 

Have you tried elevating one end of the crib? My nephew has reflux and the doctor suggested this. You can put a pillow under one end of the mattress to elevate it.

 

We began sleep training at 4 months and it was jsut for naps. When I had help, we would each stand by a crib and hum/ pat them to sleep. After a few minutes, we would stop the humming and continue to pat and when they were almost asleep, we would leave the room. This went on for a couple of weeks. When I was by myslef, it was obviously more difficult and took longer. This did not work every time so we often gave up and put them back in their car seat to sleep and still at nights we did the car seat. I think they just need to get used to it. By 5 months they slept in their crib all the time. ALso, they learned to put themselves to sleep. S would often hum himslef to sleep. Good luck. This was one of our biggest challenges.

 

Your girls may be screaming because it hurts to lie flat on their backs. You can elevate the mattress (if you have two cribs, elevate one end of each. If you have one crib, elevate the back side of the entire mattress so both of their heads are higher than their tummies). Try for a 30% angle as that usually works best.

Good luck!

 

My boys had reflux and were on meds so that is one reason they slept in car seats. We tried the elevated crib with no luck. They slid and I did not have it elevated much. I know others have had good luck with that though. How old are your babies?

 

For my more sensitive baby (Evan) I did swing BESIDE the bed for a few days to get him used to the room (lighting, noises, etc.). It seemed to help.

 

For me daughter, we had transition from swing to crib around the same time. We elevated the mattress (about 30%) and actually did her naps in the swin (since it was not as hard of a sleep) and the crib at night. I know it sounds like the opposite of what most people do but she slept differently during her naps and could cry a lot longer. At night, she was tired and hit a hard sleep. So perhaps you could give it a try? I also felt like she'd waste and entire nap crying instead of sleeping while she never cried to much at night. Ran out of steam after five or ten minutes. She actually adjusted in a day or two to the crib. We were prepared for a long struggle and never had it. Hope that helps...

Lanie

 

We found it easier to start using the cribs at night first, while still napping in the swing or the stroller. (Mine didn't have reflux, they just slept better sitting up.) Like Lanie said, if we had tried to get them to nap in the crib, we would have wasted whole naptimes just trying to get them to sleep. With nighttime sleep, we could spend more time getting them down, knowing that they'd be out all night. Once they were used to going to bed in their cribs at night, it was easier to get them to nap there too.

 

We also started nighttime in the cribs and kept naps in the swings. They had been sleeping in the swings since the third day home when we realized the pack n play was definitly not going to work. They are in separate cribs in a nursery upstairs. Prior to moving them upstairs that had spent most of their short lives downstairs. We were very worried but it went really really well. We use sleep positioners to keep them elevated and miracle blankets to keep them snug. I think these too "tools" help them feel as safe and cozy in the cribs as they did the swings. My DH and I are better off for having them in the cribs as well as we now have our own space back and don't worry so much about someone swinging out etc... They are 3 months now and moved into the cribs about a month ago.

Go for it!!! I think you will be pleasently surprised.

Amy

 

I put my kids' swings into their bedroom and napped them there for a few weeks before moving them into their cribs for naps. We also used a wedge positioner that #1 helped elevate #2 gave them sides by their heads. Another idea is to put rolled up blankets in their cribs to give them the feeling they are not in a large expanse of space. YOu can make a roll of blanket into a U shape and put the baby in it -- it helps them feel like they are all cozy

Good luck

Teri D