How to transition from swing sleep?

#1 (**permalink**) 01-13-2006, 12:52 PM

I have a 4 month old that was born 5 weeks early and is very sensitive to stimulation. He was extremely fussy/gassy for the first 2 months. We often had to rock him in our arms for hours before he would fall asleep at night. Then one day I realized that he was taking all of his naps in his swing with no fussing before he fell asleep so we started trying this at night. It worked like a charm. For the first night ever our baby fell asleep within 10 minutes. After he woke for his first feeding we put him down in his crib and he slept there until morning. If we put him straight in his crib for bedtime or naps he screams and screams. When should we make him start sleeping in his crib? Someone said that our baby will decide when he is ready onhis own. How? He can't exactly walk over to his crib and jump in. Any thoughts on how to make the transition? I am NOT AT ALL a fan of letting him cry until he falls asleep. Will he be in his swing until he is married?

Blessed_w/twins · #2 (**permalink**) 01-14-2006, 05:32 AM

Does he have reflux? My DD does and when she was that age sleeping in the swing was the most comfortable for her.

We are currently in the same mess with transitioning from the swing. If we left DD sleep at night in the swing (it is turned off) she sleeps all night. But if we either start her to sleep in her crib or move her from the swing to her crib she wakes up multiple times a night. We are pretty sure its not the reflux, just that she prefers the swing now. We are at the point where she will just have to cry because she is getting close to the weight limit for the swing. I'm hoping to find a way to transition her, but I haven't found a way yet.

You could just try laying son down in the crib for naps and pat him on the back and try to soothe him in the crib. You might have to stand there and do that for awhile, but he might learn to fall asleep in the crib that way. We had to do that with DS at first (he was also rocked to sleep until around 3 or 4 months). DD is too old for that trick now, she just stands up and cries if I try it.