How to transition from swing to crib?

[Chriwhi]

My 4 1/2 month-old DD has been sleeping in her swing since birth. Anytime you try to put her in her crib to sleep she immediately starts screaming. She sleeps very well in her swing, however, and will sleep through the night in it
(7-8 hours) and take long naps (1-3 hours) during the day. I realize that I HAVE to transition her to the crib, the pediatrician says that "object permanence" will be kicking in soon and it will only be more difficult to break her from the swing the longer she sleeps in it. Has anyone else had to deal with this and if so, how did you make the transition to the crib? Everyone tells me to let her cry it out but I'm not in love with that approach. I've read the "No Cry Sleep Solution" but that seems rather involved--I feel like there has to be a happy medium between the two approaches.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[csnoop]

I am not sure if "object permanence" necessary refers to their attachment to the swing. DD only napped in the swing/bouncy when she was younger (but slept in the crib at night). Around 5 month old, she started lifting her head and slumped to one side when she napped. So I started putting her in the crib during her easiest/fuss-free nap which is the morning one, then gradually added more naps if they went fine. She actually transitioned much better than I thought.

I think you do have to let them cry/scream a bit. My limit is around 15 minutes. If she is not asleep w/in 15 mins, I will take her out of the crib and try again in 20 mins. At that age, they can start falling asleep on their own.

CC

[JillSP]

I have no suggestion other than to just let her cry it out. We have our babies sleep in a swing or car seat for the first month or so and then transition them to the crib.

I don't know exactly how we did it, we eventually just decide that they have to sleep in the crib and put them in there and let them cry if they want. I am a big fan of letting kids cry it out but it is not easy. Indeed, it is affirmatively hard. The advantage of CIO is that it is easier in the long run because they eventually learn that mom and dad are not coming back and so they might as well go to sleep.

If the baby is changed and fed and tired, I would put her down in her crib and just let her cry; nobody can stay awake forever. For bedtime, I would put her down and let her cry. Turn off the monitor, turn on a fan and television so you can't hear her. I would expect that if you committed to doing this for a week consistently and at the same bedtime, the crying would stop.

This may sound harsh, but I am on my third kid and I have learned that sometimes you just have to ignore them to get them to sleep. I am a big Weisbluth fan and I love his advice with CIO that you are not "making" your child cry, rather you are choosing to allow the child to cry if she so chooses before she goes to sleep because that is what you need to do to establish a sleep routine.

Good luck. Let us know how things go.

[miki]

My DD started off napping only in the swing but she would sleep in her crib at night. She slept in that swing until about 6 months. Then we moved cross country and the swing went on the moving truck so we had to transition. First, if the swing is still moving, gradually wean your baby from that. Then what I did was put her infant carseat in her crib. I pulled the straps all the way down so they weren't in the way and put a folded blanket on top of the buckles to it wouldn't be lumpy. I figured the infant seat was a similar shape to the swing seat. After a while in that, I took the seat away and just put her down in the crib around 7 months. She didn't complain at all. No CIO used in the whole process. Now she's 4.5 years old and still happily takes a nap most days.

Good luck.

[islandkiwi]

I've got my own little posting going right now with updates, but depending on your circumstances the swing may remain the best bet. Our little girl Anna will start cying/screaming if you leave her on her back for too long, and inevitably she spits up and takes in gas.

I have heard this kind of problem can go away at around the six-month mark, so I test it by letting her play on her back (Tummy time breaks), and until she's no longer spitting up I'll continue to use the swing and the Amby.

[Chriwhi]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I think my "plan of attack" is going to be: 1) wean DD off the motion of the swing by turning it off (thanks for the suggestion Miki!), 2) let her fall asleep in her car seat and then move her to the crib so she will hopefully associate the crib with sleep; and 3) move her into the crib. If needed, then I'll try the CIO approach as a last resort. It's good to hear that some of you have used this with three children and it hasn't permanently scarred them. :-)

I'll keep you posted on how this works - thanks so much!!