2-month old will only sleep in swing

Aubree Del - posted on 11/01/2012

I wouldn't worry too much about it at this age. In another month or so I would him sleep in his crib for brief periods, letting him CIO, for no longer than 10 minutes. For now, it's nothing to worry about. He is still quite young and probably needs the constant rocking, My son was the same way. He is now 8 months and does not sleep in his swing, and hasn't since about 6 months old.

Brianna - posted on 11/01/2012

Yeah, honestly. I have a 3 month old who everytime I put her in her crib, she wakes up and screams. But she falls asleep in her bouncer and swing all the time. I'm trying to get her to actually sleep in her crib, but it's failing for me.

Kendyl - posted on 02/06/2009

my daughter slept in her swing all the time, and i started trying to get her out of the habbit so it wasnt so hard when she just didnt fit in it anymore, i started with bed times ( i also started to swaddle her with a swaddle me blanket from toys r us ) the first night took over half an hour, let her cry for 10 minutes go in ( dont say much, ) but pick her up maybe burp her, juss calm her down, then back in, ( its really hard to do if your not used to it, if you distract yoru self from looking at the clock every minute and try to go somewhere so you dont have to constantly hear her, maybe housework, or talk on the phone ) and give her another 10 minutes, eventually she will fall asleep, juss stick with it , if you dont then they will quickly learn that if they cry long enough then they can get what they want!, after 3 or so nights it was much easier, she only fusses for about 3 or 4 minutes then she lays quietly till she falls asleep. once that was established, one day we tried a nap in the crib, and now ( 2 weeks later ) she doesnt even want to be in her swing anymore !

good luck!

Jessica - posted on 02/05/2009

my first son was like this. I say, if the kid likes it, let him sleep in the swing. It's not worth the anxiety you will put yourself through when he only naps 10 min at a time! You never hear abotu kids sleeping in swings, so he WILL grow out of it! Mine did, and he's perfectly fine :)

Amanda - posted on 02/04/2009

Both my boys slept in their swing till 4 and 6 months.  Don't worry, they'll be fine.  They won't be sleeping in the swing when they're 2, so no worries.

Stephanie - posted on 02/04/2009

My baby would wake up any time we laid her flat, although she had no trouble at night. But she rarely took naps during the day. It's funny because at her daycare, there's a bouncy seat in her crib...they noticed the same thing and put her seat in the crib for sleeping. Since she sleeps flat at night, I try not to worry too much about it.

Sara - posted on 02/03/2009

My kid would only sleep in her carseat for the first 2 months. We talked to our doctor about it and he said she was old enough to begin to learn to self soothe and to put her in her crib awake when it was time to go to bed (have you started a bedtime routine? Bath, bottle, bed or something like that?) and she would eventually learn to soothe herself to sleep. We had not been able to keep her asleep when lying flat on her back before this, so we were nervous! The first night she cried for over an hour, we just had to go in and reassure her that we were still there about every 10-20 minutes, then leave again. She finally fell asleep. The next night it was a little better, the night after that it was a little better and so on. After about a week she would fuss for about 15 minutes, but then go to sleep. Now she is 16 weeks old and she is going to bed without any problems most nights and sleeping 8 to 9 hours at a time, if not more. I know it hard to try something new when you are actually getting sleep, but this method does work, you just have to be consistent and I won't lie, listening to your baby scream really sucks. However, you have to do what is right for you and I firmly believe you can't really spoil a child under 3 months. Just remember that eventually, you will have to do something or it will become a bad habit. I read "Happy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and found it very helpful. Good luck!

Dee - posted on 02/03/2009

My 4 month old did the same thing. He just eventually grew out of it. Have you tried a bouncer. I seems like the tight quarters seem to help. Don't worry too much, your baby will let you know when he is ready

Amy - posted on 02/03/2009

I had this problem with my little girl only instead of a swing it was a papasan. She would sleep for hours in it and then the minute I would put her down in her crib she would wake up. My mothers friend who is a mother of two told me to break that habit because its not good for their backs. Babies like their swings because of the vibrating sensation and it keeps them secure and close where as a crib they have all this open space. Try putting him there when he's awake and let him get used to being in an open area and put him there when he's napping. He'll get used to it and then he'll start sleeping there. Good luck

Amy - posted on 02/03/2009

I had this problem with my little girl only instead of a swing it was a papasan. She would sleep for hours in it and then the minute I would put her down in her crib she would wake up. My mothers friend who is a mother of two told me to break that habit because its not good for their backs. Babies like their swings because of the vibrating sensation and it keeps them secure and close where as a crib they have all this open space. Try putting him there when he's awake and let him get used to being in an open area and put him there when he's napping. He'll get used to it and then he'll start sleeping there. Good luck

Tonya - posted on 02/02/2009

I understand your concern with not wanting him to become dependent on his swing. I went through the same thing. Is his crib in the same room with you? If not maybe you could have a pack-n-play or a cradle in your room. Sometimes they just want to be able to hear your breathing, etc.

It's also possible that he just really likes the motion of the swing because it reminds him of being in the womb.

In any case, I think he will be fine. I think I went about two or three months of my son doing this and then one day he started sleeping through the night in his bed.

I think the most important thing to do is create a bedtime routine for him. It's really whatever works the best for you and your family. I usually gave my babies a nice warm bath, and then rocked them as they nursed and once they were drowsy, I went and laid them down and either rubbed their back or patted them on the bottom.

It's really hard, because every baby is different. But a book that helped me the most was called "Sleeping Through the Night by Jodi A. Mindell Ph.D.".

I hope this helps. Hang in there girl. It always seems like this stage lasts forever, but it will be over before you know it, and then you'll actually miss it.

Daniela - posted on 02/02/2009

Thank you so much ladies! I feel much better now :-)

I put him in his crib for a nap yesterday and was quite surprised that he slept in there for almost two hours. Then last night I put him in there again at midnight and he slept there (though he fussed every couple of hours) until 7:30 AM. What a relief!!

Kim - posted on 01/30/2009

My first daughter spent much of her first year in her swing!! She was my "swing-addicted" baby. She began sleeping through the night when she went into her crib at 5 months old. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just keep putting your little one in the crib, even if awayke. Your baby will get used to it and will sleep in it eventually.

My 2nd baby is almost 4 months old. She doesn't like the swing as much as her sister did. She hasn't spent much time in her crib yet, I've just started putting her in it this week. She won't sleep in it but she looks around  and as long as she isn't crying, I leave her there to aclimate herself.

Kim

Liz - posted on 01/30/2009

I think that babies like the swing because it's a smaller secure place for them to sleep and they enjoy the rocking motion where as a crib is a large open space.  My babies all liked to sleep in their vibrating chairs but just like the swing, they can't sleep in there forever.  There will come a time when your baby doesn't want to go in the swing at all (usually around the time they start to crawl).  I find that my babies didn't mind the crib as much as soon as they started to roll over and creep, this way they could sleep in whatever position was most comfortable for them.  It could be that your baby is scared when you put him in his crib because he isn't use to it.  If you don't use his nursery very much, I would suggest taking him in there more often, maybe start off by using the crib just for naptime until he gets more familiar with it.  I think a lot of people are in the same boat as you, I haven't met anyone whose baby liked sleeping in their cribs until at least four months.  It's a comfort thing.