3 month old always wants to sleep in her swing

Kristin - posted on 12/07/2009

No problems at all. My son is 4 and he sleeps in his own bed in his own room every night! My daughter is 18 months and had no problems sleeping in her crib all night. She is now sleeping in her toddler bed half the night and waking up and sleeping with me the other half :). I found that the incline of the swing helped them pass gas and never created a bald spot on the back of their heads as I've seen other babies have. No flat spot either for that matter.

Rebecca - posted on 12/04/2009

I agree with a lot of what has already been said. It is something that she will grow out of, but there are several reasons why you should not allow it to become a habit. A couple of them are:

-She could get a flat spot on the back of her head- just as she would if you left her in her carseat consistently- though, as long as you give her plenty of 'tummy time' throughout the day, you can prevent that,

-If she doesn't grow out of the habit after a short while, it will be all that harder to break her from it - just like weening her from the bottle, or from a pacifier - she will not be able to get accustomed to the crib and when she is too big for the swing she will be very resistant to being placed in the crib.

Honestly, the best thing you can do is just do it! Like a couple of the ladies said, take her out as her eyes are starting to close and gentle rock her in your arms, pat her gently on the bottom, hum or sing to her, then place her in her crib before she is completely asleep (you don't want her to fall asleep in your arms because then you'll have the same problem as you do with the swing). She will get upset at first, but you need to do it anyway.

Now, I'm not saying, by any means, that you should let her scream herself to sleep in the crib once you put her there! You should expect her to cry for a little while, maybe 5 minutes or so, then she should start to quieten, until she is fully quiet and asleep. If this does not happen at first, go in after the 5 minutes, pick her up, gently rock her, pat her bottom, etc., then place her down in the crib again. If she cries again, wait another 5 minutes to see if she will quieten on her own, then if she doesn't, repeat the process. As you do this every couple of times or so, lengthen the time you wait before you go back in to comfort her. You most likely will find that after a couple of times of comforting her, she will quieten on her own; probably sooner than you think.

This whole process will take time, and will be harder on you than her, but you need to be consistent or it won't work. (This is also the way you get a child to sleep in their bed, and through the night, but you won't need to worry about that until at least six months to a year).

In case you're wondering, I have four children, and have had problems with each of them wanting to sleep somewhere other than their crib. I'm not saying everything is perfect, but I have only learned through trial and error what needs to be done; what is better for the child in the long run, and what is only me hindering his/her progress and not going to harm him/her if I don't pick my child up and hold him/her continuously.

You won't be neglecting her, or causing her to feel you don't love her if you let her cry a little bit if she's 3 months old. Obviously, you need to go with your instincts and trust in yourself if you feel she's crying for a reason, but if she's crying because she wants to sleep in the swing and not the crib, she's not going to seriously suffer if you train her to sleep in her crib.

Hopefully this helps. If you have questions about anything I've said, please feel free to ask them. I also have some background in the medical field. I was a Soldier/Medic in the US Army, I was an EMT, I have an Associates Degree as a Medical Assistant, and I am currently a Nursing student.

Debbie - posted on 12/04/2009

My daughter slept in a swing for a long......time! We felt so guilty about it but she was my first and we couldn't stand to hear her cry and plus she needed to either be nursing or swinging to fall asleep and I needed a break from the nursing! LOL I don't even remember how or when exactly it stopped. We did transfer her over to the crib after a few hours and she would stay asleep. She is 7 now! Her spine is fine BUT she still gives me trouble when it comes to bed time. That girl just never wants to sleep!

Valerie - posted on 12/04/2009

she will outgrow the swing...mine used to like the swing and the carseat...it's not a problem...and soon she will outgrow it anyway...you can try taking her out when she starts to close her eyes and then pat her butt until she falls asleep...

Rachel - posted on 12/04/2009

Really Kirstin. My little girl has been wanting to be in it for the last 2 weeks, shes 2 3/4 month old now. I don't want her sleeping in it to much because im afraid she will get a curved spine. I try to take her out of it, but she just keeps freaking out when she wakes up and shes not in it. Did your kids develop any problems from being in it?

Rachel - posted on 12/04/2009

Quoting Jennifer:

It is really not gonna hurt her to sleep in the swing. It can actually help prevent sids by having them sleep elevated.

Really, i did not know that. Im worried that where shes not flat, her airway might close off or it makes it harder to breath for her.

Kristin - posted on 12/04/2009

I let both of my babies sleep in their swing for the first 6 months! I know it wasn't exactly recommended, but it worked for us. They both slept through the night by 2 months. I was so thankful that my second child's swing plugged in instead of batteries, lol

Jennifer - posted on 12/04/2009

It is really not gonna hurt her to sleep in the swing. It can actually help prevent sids by having them sleep elevated.

Shannon - posted on 12/04/2009

I had the same problem with one of my kids! She became obsessed with the swing and would not sleep unless she was in it. I ended up having a few horrible days of taking her out of it when she started to fall asleep and putting her in the bed. After the first day she would sleep for a few hours in the bed before waking up. Soon she got tired enough to just go to sleep in the bed. I had to keep her from sleeping in the swing after that, but it got rid of the problem.