Baby can only sleep in upright position
Nov 2004
Has anyone else been in this situaiton before.... and resolved it?? My daughter is 14
weeks old, but was born 4.5 weeks early. So technically she is only 9.5 weeks old.
She needs LOTS of movement to stay calm. She has been a very colicky baby,
confirmed by my doctor, my doula, as well as my own sanity (or lack of it). The
only way to get her to sleep at all for naps and all through the night is her swing.
As soon as she is deep asleep and we stop it from swinging, she wakes up
screaming. I am aware that she isn't getting the restful sleep she needs because of
the motion, but I don't know what else to do. She is constantly exhausted and
overtired, even though it seems like she is sleeping a ton, she isn't getting the
QUALITY sleep she needs to wake up rested. Any suggestions?
We were fanatics about the book HAPPIEST BABY ON THE BLOCK. We
are the only ones in our circle who followed it to the letter
the only one without a fussy baby. I recommend you buy it and
follow the instructions exactly. We have no way of knowing if
our baby is a ''good'' baby or not, but we do know if we followed
the ''5 Ss'' the longest he ever cried was 30 minutes and he was
sleeping through the night by 3 months. We eventually were able
to not swaddle anymore but on occasion through his sixth month,
we would still swaddle if he seemed to work himself up into a
tizzy.
People are very freaky about the method. My mom felt we were
stifling his freedom. Friends would say ''we tried'' it didn't
work, but when we asked further, they were not following the
method. It stems from ancient parental wisdom. It completely
makes sense.
In a nutshell, if baby sleeps while swinging, baby is getting
good sleep. You need to keep her moving. I think eventually
she'll be ok, but keep her moving or get a vibrating seat.
Also, first and foremost, swaddle, swaddle swaddle. We even had
blankets especially made because the ones on the market were
too small.
I think this method is especially effective with premies. You
can't do enough to swaddle, ssssh, swing, ah, hell, i forgot
the other two. Just do it.
Also, buy the cd called ''FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.'' Our baby really
loved, as we called it, ''the dishwasher song'' and
the ''hairdryer song.'' We also would swaddle and jiggle under
the hood of our stove and he'd go to sleep. At one point, we
just kept it on all the time.
And, start a routine asap. Even if it isn't successful at
first, we pretty much do the same routine every night and our 8
month old goes right to sleep.
Good luck. Sleep is important.
A Sympathetic Mom
We haven't had your problem with our baby, but Dr. Sears
promotes swinging/motion as a good way to help colicky babies
sleep. Perhaps a bed designed specifically for this purpose
would help? Dr. Sears recommends the Amby Baby Motion Bed.
Check it out at:
https://www.askdrsears.com/amby.asp
If you can shell out the dough (or get one on ebay....) try the
Amby Baby Motion Bed. Your situation is exactly what it's for.
It really works.
well-rested mom
My daughter was also about a month early and had bad colic as
well -- I think it goes with having an underdeveloped digestive
system -- for the first couple of months she could only nap on
me, though luckily she slept in the bassinet at night. At about
9 weeks she had one of the screaming colic attacks at the
doctors and was prescribed colic medicine. (Previously I kept
saying that the baby was crying a lot and seemed to be in pain,
but until the doctor actually saw her in the middle of the
attack, I don't think she trusted my judgement.) In any case --
your baby because of the prematurity is more like 10 weeks (or
maybe even 7-8 weeks). The good side is that it does get
better. THe colic medicine allowed her to sleep better. By the
time my daughter was 6 or 7 months she caught up
developmentally (i.e. eating, sleeping, etc. -- she caught up
cognitively around 3 or 4 months, but digestion took a long
time.) By the time she was a year she had caught up in size and
was indistinguishable from kids who were full term.
So good luck & have a lot of patience for yourself and the
baby -- the solutions for full term infants don't always work
for premies.
Carol
No worries. Our child slept exclusively in a swing for several months. It was the
only way we could get her to sleep for more than 1-2 hours. We just invested in
rechargeable batteries and a recharger and changed the batteries every other day.
Eventually she grew out of it and started sleeping in the crib. Honestly though, the
swing was worth its weight in gold for us.
fisher price aquarium wonder fans
Both of my sons slept in their baby swings from the age of 6mo
until they were around a year old. (Our swing was bigger and
rated for a higher weight limit than a lot of the currenct ones
on the market.) They slept really well in the swing... much
better than in their beds at that point. I think it was the
combination of the rocking motion and the ticking of the swing.
They were/are good car sleepers and I think the swing was a lot
like that. With my first I felt guilty the nights we let him
sleep in the swing. It seemed like cheating to put the baby to
sleep that way since it was so easy, but it was the only way we
both could get a good long stretch of sleep in at night. By the
second time I decided that if we both were sleeping well, then
the location/position didn't matter... giving up the guilt and
getting more sleep made me a better parent. Sure, they
eventually had to learn to sleep in beds. Sure that was a little
hard, but those changes would have happened anyway because crib
or swing, eventually they had to move out... at least we were
all able to sleep longer during the teething months.
I love the swing
oh- I was in your shoes once... my daughter slept in a swing
for naps until about 4 or 5 months, then we started putting her
in her crib to sleep, with very little drama.
your baby is so young- really my advice is to do what works for
you & your baby. you are not engraining habots that will never
be broken. we were told by many many people that letting our
baby sleep in the swing for naps would set us up for a childhood
of rocking her to sleep, lots of waking up, etc. but found that
to be totally untrue.
also, it sounds like you read happy sleep habits, healthy child
with your comment re: ''movement = not restful sleep'' please
remember to take what weissbluth says with a grain of salt-
these are his IDEAS, not the gospel. if your child seems
overtired, maybe try putting her to sleep earlier, more often,
etc. or it could just be a byproduct of the colic.
once the colic clears you will have a new lease on life, which
might be a better time to try some new techniques.
hang in there mama!
virginia
Two messages in one week about babies only sleeping in a swing!
Music to my ears, actually. My second daughter, now eight months
old, was eleven weeks premature. When we brought her home from
the hospital, she was colicky and still had some trouble
breathing and only slept comfortably and for longer periods in a
swing. That went on for some time and I was assured by the
doctor and nurse practitioner that it was okay to continue to
use the swing. Then at some point I discovered that she slept
even longer and more peacefully in her car seat!! So there she
sleeps to this day ,much to my guilt and embarassment. Every
time I have attempted to get her to sleep on her back in her
cosleeper, she fusses and frets until about three a.m. when I
finally give in to exhaustion and put her back into her carseat
where she happily falls soundly asleep. I think I would have
probably bitten the bullet by now and endured a week's worth of
sleeplessness to cure the problem except I also have a three
year old who wakes twice a night and keeps me pretty ragged even
with a full night's sleep! All four health care professionals
I've confessed my guilty secret to have shrugged their shoulders
and seemed pretty unconcerned about the long term effects on my
daughter. One said to be sure she got plenty of time on her back
and stomach during the day, which I try to do. Another
said, ''Eventually she'll outgrow the car seat and then you'll
have to deal with it.' I empathize with your concern and your
dilemma. I guess I'm either waiting for her to outgrow the car
seat to face the music or I'm waiting for that mythical low
maintenance week when I can afford to go without sleep until she
finally learns how to sleep all night on her back. Best of luck.
I am eager to read other responses.
anon
Nov 2004
My now 4-month old baby had problems since birth with gas and
spitting up when laying on his back. He would spit up and
choke and writhe and get milk up his nose, no matter how long I
held him upright after breastfeeding nor how successful I was
at burping him. At 6 weeks, it got so bad that he could only
sleep 20 to 40 minutes at a time AND he couldn't even play
comfortably on his back for more than about 5 minutes (e.g.,
while enjoying his mobile, etc). At that point, desperate for
sleep, I put him to sleep in a bouncy seat, and kept his play
time on tummy and back limited to 5 to 10 minutes at a time
(although he was clearly uncomfortable with this play time,
really). Elevated, he could sleep for 1.5 to 2 hour intervals
in the bouncy seat at night. Two weeks later, we discovered
that he would sleep 6 to 8 hours straight in a swing (which
held him in an even more comfortable position semi-reclining
position, and the swinging was probably soothing, too). So,
for 8 weeks now (half his life!), he has slept beautifully in a
swing. For the last 3 weeks, it doesn't even swing any more
(he cries if he is trying to sleep and it is swinging!), so it
is not the swinging that is keeping him asleep and enabling him
to get back to sleep through his sleep cycles for 6 to 8
hours. At 4 months old now, he is all of a sudden clearly much
more comfortable laying down when awake, so that difficult part
of reflux/choking seems to have passed finally, and it seems it
would be wise to transition him to sleeping laying down. Also,
I think he is probably getting too big to sleep long hours in
the swing safely [The swing is about 1 foot from my head and my
bed so I have felt it is safe enough, as I hear every peep from
him through the night and I know when he is starting to wake up
and stir; but he is getting bigger and stronger and I worry
about him getting strong enough to catapult himself out of the
swing, even though he is of course belted in with the 3-point
harness.] So, now we have the problem of getting him used to
sleeping laying down. Any one with any experience making such
a transition? Any suggestions to help? Just this week we have
been able to get him to take a 1/2 hour to 1.5 hour nap in the
crib during the day, and he has slept up to an hour at night
for two nights this week. However, after that, he is quite
inconsolable, and I find myself just putting him back in his
comfy swing. Some nights this week I have not been able to get
him down at all in the crib. For several nights, I have also
tried getting him used to sleeping laying down in our bed (so I
could pat him back to sleep, etc.), but all he wants to do is
nurse and he doesn't settle down into a deep sleep (I have
experience co-sleeping with our first son, who didn't have
these reflux problems, but I really don't like nursing all
night long -- I can't sleep well that way at night even though
it makes for a great daytime nap). So, am I up for a big
struggle? Am I putting my baby in danger still having him in a
swing? Will this transition go more smoothly than I am worried
about? Words of encouragement one way or another would help, in
addition to any specific advice, as it's difficult to
anticipate starting to lose a lot of sleep again as I ponder
this transition!
a worried mom
I don't know if this will help, but our baby couldn't sleep on
her back either. She had a floppy larynx and when she lay on her
back it flopped over her airway and made breathing difficult. So
the doctors said, you know what? Forget the back sleeping. Put
her on her side or her tummy. I was so freaked out about putting
her on her tummy I couldn't do it, so we put her on her side,
helping her stay in place with rolled towels or one of those
store bought holder gizmos. She slept fine.
A four month old may get up every hour or two anyway, though.
And whenver they transition to a crib or new sleeping
arrangement they have to adjust, so it may not have anything to
do with the former issues (even once she was sleeping okay it
took awhile to get her into a crib at 4 months). Just do the
transition slowly. Start with naps or with the part of the night
where the baby sleeps the most deeply and gradually work your
way towards full-time cribbing. If you can find a cradle that
rocks it might help too (or jiggling the crib).
Good luck. It will happen.
a mom
try buying one of the foam sleeping blocks and having him sleep
on his left side on an elevated (head end) mattress. this helps
reflux problems quite a bit as there's pressure on the
sphincter. also, lying down may be exacerbating the reflux so
you may need to try medication--we did, and then my son slept
fine.
Our daughter started sleeping in a swinging swing all night. Then we weaned her to
a still swing. And I was convinced she would be in that swing well past the
recommended weight limit of 25 lbs. She was six months and 20 lbs. and still
couldn't sleep in a crib for more than an hour.
What we did and learned: she transitioned when she was ready. About once or
twice a week we put her down to sleep in the crib (already asleep in our arms) rather
than the swing. And usually she was up crying inconsolably after an hour or two.
Finally, one night she slept for four hours. Then we just started putting her in the
crib more and more often until she was a regular crib sleeper who woke up only 2x
night. Now she sleeps in teh crib (she's 17 months) and wakes up 1x night.
You can't force it, but need to just keep trying to provide the opportunity to learn to
sleep in the crib.
no longer a swing state
I know no pediatrician would ever tell you officially that you
could do this...but what about putting your son to sleep on his
tummy? We started to do this around 10 weeks with our son...we
just made sure he had a warm enough sleeper and put *nothing*
else in the crib with him. He *immediately* started to sleep
for much longer and also he slept more soundly.
Jennifer
[Editor] see also:
Baby sleeping on stomach
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