Sleep in the Car Seat

[ChefGirl]

I posted this in the Sleep forum, but hasn't seen any replies. I hope it's okay to post here.

DC is 2.5 weeks old. The only place I can get him to sleep in is his car seat. He's been spending all of his sleeping time in there so far. Our ped says it's okay for now but eventually should move him to sleep on his back.

I tried the pack-n-play, the wedge and swaddling. Nothing has worked so far. He could be in a deep sleep and as soon as I put him on his back, he would wake up.

Any advice? I haven't experienced this with my other two DC's. I would appreciate any advice or tricks. By the way, we have the "happiest baby on the block" and aware of the 5 S's techniques. They still don't seem to be working with him.

Thanks,
Chefgirl,
Sleep deprived Mama to three kiddos

[SnuggleBuggles]

I think so long as the buckles are strapped and the seat is on the floor then it is ok. Have you had any luck with co-sleeping? We did that till ds was 5 weeks old and then have had luck getting him in his crib, at least for the first 2/3 of the night.

ETA- I tried swaddling again around that time and it worked. He wasn't into it before that. Now he loves it! People swear by the Miracle Blanket but the warnings on it to only use it for max 8 hours at a time scared me from buying it. Might be worth a shot though.

Beth

[pb&j]

You need a swing!!

((hugs))

[ChefGirl]

why do you have to strap in the buckel? Just curious.

[JBaxter]

Have you tried him sleeping on his tummy in his crib/bassinette? All of my boys were tummy sleepers its the ONLY way they would sleep. They tell you to put them on their back but if you ask around you will find MANY of us had/have tummy sleeping babes

[trales]

DD slept unbuckled and swaddled in the carseat which we set at the foot of our bed between us for 3 months. She now happily sleeps on her back with the transition only taking 1 night. The carseat was a lifesaver, she just really needed to be elevated.

The swing worked for quick daytime naps, but nothing was as good as the car seat.

[daniele_ut]

why do you have to strap in the buckel? Just curious.

Because your baby could squirm around enough to get tangled up in the straps and that could be very dangerous.

When DS was that age he also wouldn't tolerate being flat on his back because he had reflux. We had him sleep in his bouncer and he did so for 4 or 5 months until he was able to handle being flat on his back.

[bubbaray]

My dr told me that both her kids slept in the infant bucket seat for months. Strapped in, of course, for safety. She wasn't concerned that both my girls liked the swing.

[niccig]

DS did for about 6 months because of reflux. We would strap him in - not as tight as the car, but not too loose either. We were concerned about a flat spot on the back of his head, so we would position his head different ways, our Dr. kept a check on it (weekly appts because of no weight gain) and I didn't use the car seat in the stroller.

We put the car seat in the crib for a few weeks before we started the transition - again he was strapped in with the sides of the crib up. It took us a couple of days, but he was fine.

[o_mom]

why do you have to strap in the buckel? Just curious.

It is a stragulation hazaard if they are in it unbuckled. Every infant seat I have seen has a warning about this in the manual.

Do you have a swing? Mine spent many night snoozing in our cradle swing.

[kss611]

Both of my kiddos sleep in their car seats for the first few weeks. I tried everything, crib, bassinet, etc. DS only slept in his car seat for a few weeks. DD slept in her car seat for 6 weeks. We used to put the car seat in her crib to try to get her used to sleeping in there. She had really bad reflux and at 6 weeks, we took her to a pediatric pulmonologist and he said sleep her on her belly. She took to it immediately and started sleeping like a champ in her crib.

[strollerqueen]

why do you have to strap in the buckel? Just curious.

Because there have been cases in which unbuckled babies slid down in them, and suffocated. Their heads tipped forward and they were unable to right themselves, thereby cutting off the air from their windpipes.