Get My 15 Week Old to Not Nap in Swing

Hello S.,
My daughter was the same way LOVED her swing. She would only nap in there. I worried about it, tried to get her to nap in her crib and made myself crazy. Now when I think back to that time it makes me sad that I didn't just watch her sleep, take a nap myself or clean the house a little =O) I wish I didn't stress over where she slept, just that she slept. Once I gave up and let her sleep in her swing she began to be ok with her crib. I would put her in the crib every day (asleep) and if she slept there GREAT, if not, she would go to her swing. I agree with Love about the earlier bedtimes, I started that a month or so ago and my baby girl has been sleeping through the night for over a month now (she just turned one last Sunday). I would also feed on demand; at this age he will let you know when he's hungry. I read somewhere that it's best for a baby to have a routine, not necessarily a schedule. They will know it's nap time by what you do, not when you do it...same with the bed time. I'm still working on this one, but my SIL does this and my niece is so flexible. Also, some kids do take catnaps throughout the day. My daughter takes a 1-3 hour nap around 9:30 every day, my niece (4 months younger) takes about 3 or 4 20 minute naps throughout the day. I just depends on the kid!
Try not to worry too much and try to enjoy this time. Before you know it he will be turning 1 and crawling or running away from you =o)
Best of luck,
C.

I know that some people insist that you wake a baby to feed every two hours, but trust me... he will wake if he is hungry. Don't wake a sleeping baby. Forget the feeding schedule. He's only 15 weeks. Nurse on demand. I'm not a fan of the CIO method, but it works for some parents.

Your question: "Should I not worry and just relax, should let him sleep as long as he wants and forget the feeding schedule?"

Yes! That's exactly what you should do. Feed when he's hungry, let him nap for as long as he likes. Let him go in the swing.
His schedules and preferences will change a lot in the coming months. He's only 15 weeks. Way too young to cry it out, he's at the perfect age to be catered too. Enjoy it, you won't be able to do it for long. Soon you'll have to discipline him and teach him things like, "Wait" and "You can't have that"

God bless your little boy.

Hi S.,
I HIGHLY recommend reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth to understand biological sleep rhythms and how/when they mature/evolve. I definitely let him sleep as long as he want and feed him on demand at this age. Also try a MUCH earlier bedtime at around 7pm and feed him at night if he eats and goes right back to sleep. You should be noticing longer night sleep by this age. Many babies at this age need to be put back to bed within 2 hours of wakefulness during the day to keep from becoming overtired. I think you have noticed this sleep rhythm already. At 3-4 months old you may start to see the development of the morning nap around 9am. Dr. Weissbluth is very adamant about the early bedtime and also motionless sleep for the most restorative sleep. Try keeping a sleep log for a week or two to help you identify his sleep patterns/needs. At this age my daughter was sleep through the night most nights and napping at around 9am, 1pm and a quick 4pm. Come up with a short naptime routine that can be duplicated by whoever watches him once you are back to work. I didn't think that far ahead and the transition was harder for my daughter. If you want more info on Dr. Weissbluth's methods, email me.
Sincerely,
L.

Hi S.,

Let your baby tell you when he is hungry. Don't wake a sleeping baby! As far as napping goes, try the pack and play or a co-sleeper for naps. They work wonders.

Take care,

Molly

My daughter took her naps in the swing until she was 5 months old. No matter what I did, I could not get her to take a nap in her crib as an young infant. I also breastfed, but only on demand, I never got her on a set schedule. I wouldn't have dreamed of waking her up to feed her after the first month. The first month I did until I was sure my supply was well established and she was gaining weight ok. But after that, I let her take the lead. I didn't worry so much about the swing sleeping since she slept so well at night in her bed. (usually about 9-10 hours or so). Her naps were definitely shorter, but when she outgrew the swing I easily transitioned her at that time to her crib for naps and she started sleeping longer stretches for naps. I was worried about what would happen when she outgrew the swing too, but it was not as bad as I imagined it. As far as if he is getting enough sleep as long as he isn't cranky all the time he is probably fine. Several shorter naps are fine. Some kids just don't sleep for 3 hours at a time during the day. You can count up the number of total hours he is getting and compare it to the average sleep requirements per age to see if he falls in the range, but you have to remember, there is a big range of normal for amount of sleep needed. It is a very individual thing.

Hi S.,

If your baby is healthy, don't wake him to feed him. Don't stay in the room and touch him while he crys.....might as well pick him up if you are there. I think it's O.K. to let them cry a little while before you get too worried. (I do know how hard it is not to pick them up everytime they make a sound)...but in the long run its better for everyone concerned not to.

No harm in sleeping in the swing..a lot of kids do. Also let your husband take some turns and you can be supportive of his choices! Nice you can stay home for a while. You will be fine...so STOP freakin out already!

I have an 8 month old and am also a total control freak.

I still have the same schedule I did when she was 1 month old. Basically we feed her every three hours unless she sleeps past a feeding time- I just wait until she wakes up and feed her at that time then adjust the schedule to be 3 hours after the new time. As far as naps go. I always went by 1-2 hours after they eat they should go down for a nap. Some will be long and others short. My daughter took all of her naps in the swing and on her gymini mat until she was about 4.5 months old. Then I just started swaddling her like at bed time and put her in her crib with a pacifier and a white noise machine - sleep sheep. She definately started taking more sound naps when we put her in her crib.

We just recently did the Ferber Method - CIO -and it totally worked for us in two days. I have been told that you should not try a method like that until your baby is at least 6 months old.

I to was teacher. It is hard to relax when you know you are going back to work in Sept. However, that is just what you need to do so the two of you can enjoy this time you have together. Let him cry when he naps in his crib. It will not hurt him and forget the regular feeding schedule. Enjoy feeding him when he is hungry not forcing him into what you think the schedule should be for him. Believe me he will wake up when he is hungry and you can relax and enjoy that time with him. I was 30 when I had my son and I had to learn the same things. I think all of us teachers are control freaks. Just slow down and enjoy. C. M

I am also a teacher and love schedules. I put my daughter on a feeding schedule at 3 months and it was about the same as yours. I noticed she didn't start taking consistent naps until about 4 months. I would put her in the crib and do the cry it out method for short lengths of time. I put her down everyday at 9AM and 1PM. She also started turning over onto her stomache at 4 months and then she would sleep for 3 hours or so. I tried a more flexible schedule, which was based off of baby wise. I never woke her up to feed her, but would basically feed her, let her play and then nap and continue that routine until bedtime. She stil takes 2 naps at 16 months old, and has regular mealtimes when I eat. When you go back to work you may need an earlier bedtime if your son has to get up earlier. My daughter sleeps from 7:30-6:30 right now, but I know she stayed up a lot later the first few months.

My daughter did the same thing!

What worked for us was darkening her room. Since he is already used to going to bed at night the main difference with nap is that it is soooo light. They pay more attention to the fact they are being left alone. They sell blackout shades, but we just used sheets.

He's still at that age where he's figuring out what his schedule will be. Eventually (hopefully) he'll settle on a morning and afternoon time for nap, ie. 9-10:30 and 1:30-3. If he naps in the swing, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Same with your feeding schedule, definitely wouldn't wake him to eat. As nice as it is to have a schedule, that to will be changing soon when you begin solids and it becomes more of a breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner routine, with the naps in between.

Take a deep breath, relax - from one control freak to another. :o) Good luck!