Baby Questions

They can stay in their swing and bouncy as long as they are happy and comfortable. As for the choking, look for nipples that are especially for newborns or that say "slow". They make nipples for different stages in a baby's life and some are made for much older babies that can eat a lot faster. They are available almost everywhere that baby supplies are sold. I used to get mine at Walmart.

Yes the eating so fast thing is very common at least all three of my children and both of my sisters children (between the two of them there are five)have done that while eating when they were that small. (They even did it if they were breastfed) Get a "slow" nipple. That should help. As they get bigger they learn how to eat without doing that, it just takes some time.

L.,
I hope I'm not too late to get this piece of info to you. My son spent lots of time in his swing. To protect his head, we bought a product made by Boppy called the Noggin Nest. It has a little cut out where the back of the baby's head goes which prevents flattening. Good luck and congratulations on the new addition!

My swing saved my life! Babies at that age can't really do anything as far a playing so don't worry. Just make sure the head is supported. One peice of advise though, I wouldnt let the baby sleep in the swing all of the time. You might end up with an issue of her not wanting to fall asleep on her own. Right now, its fine since she is so young. In a couple of months though, I would let her swing but when she gets sleepy try putting her in a bassinet or crib so she can teach her self how to fall asleep on her own. You will be glad you did once you are working on getting her to sleep thru the night.Also, Dr. Browns has a nipple that is pretty small and my child had no problems with it, I have a nine month old and that is what we still use. Good Luck and congrats!

My youngest slept in his swing and bouncy most of the time throughout the day. He LOVED it.

AS far for the nipples make sure the nipple and nipple hole is not to big.
I used platex to start with w/both my boys because they felt like they were gagging.

Good Luck and I hope this helps.
M.

My 1st son LOVED the bouncy seat and swing. He hardly slept in anything else for the first 4 months or so. Don't worry, it's normal, the bouncy seat cradles her more and makes her feel secure, same with the swing. Enjoy it now. It's also a great place to take pictures and see how she has grown!!

As far as the bottle goes, it sounds like the hole in the nipple is too big. Find a "newborn" nipple, and work you way up as she gets older.

Welcome to Mommyhood! Our son SLEPT in his vibrating papasan chair-thing and it meant I SLEPT :) I would put it by our bed, turn on the music and vibration and sleep we did ;) As for the bottle, sometimes the holes in the nipple are too big so try a different brand.

Good luck, hang in there!

It is so funny, my husband and I wondered the same thing about the bouncy seat and swing. "Are we neglecting her by letting her swing so much, etc." We thought we should play with her or something. Let me tell you know, let the baby sleep, and relax. You are not neglecting her! Take it from a mom of a baby that is now on the move (13 months) take advantage of the still times!

Choking- you may want to make sure you are using a phase 1 nipple. Sometimes the packs of bottle come with multiple size nipples, you may have one that is to big on the bottle. It is normally written on the outside rim of the nipple. Phase 1 should be perfect.

Hope this helps, and congrads!! It's a blast

When my son left the hospital after birth, he would ONLY take the Soothie pacifier that the hospital gave him. Thinking I was doing the right thing, I went out and bought two dozen Soothie/The First Years bottles in preparation for when he went to day care. (I breastfed so we didn't use bottles at home.) Come to find out, the nipples were too hard & he wouldn't eat. His teacher recommended the Nurser system from Playtex & we haven't had a problem since.

Canaan also slept in his swing & bouncer most of the time. When he graduated to 1st Foods we used the bouncer for feedings since it kept him in a reclined position. We stopped putting him in the swing when his legs got to where they dangled off the seat and he was too heavy for the mechanism to get him swinging. The bouncey seat retired after Canaan started sitting up on his own. We did replace the bouncer with another rocker-type chair. It's like the bouncer but can be used up through toddler-hood as a rocking chair. I got mine at Sears and I believe it's from FisherPrice or PlaySchool. It has farm animals & plays "Old McDonald".

Good Luck!

Is she crying? Is she happy? If all is good- I would not worry about it.

My 5 month old also loves her swing and chair. At times she will fall asleep in them- I'll leave her in them for up to 3 hours (just make sure to buckle)

I just wanted to let you know that you want to be sure to change her head position while she is in the swing etc. Children are getting flat spots on their head, because they are always on their backs now. So, just pay attention to that as she spends lots of time there, and when she is old enough, be sure there is lots of tummy time, and she will contimue to be perfect!! Congratulations and best of luck in this new adventure! ~A.~

L., I ran a daycare for 16yrs. I would not leave her in the swing or seat for more than about 10-20 minutes. Babies need social and touch stimulation. If you want to do like a circuit style (training ha ha) but just keep her moving around during the day. It sounds like she is most happy moving.Inside and outside. Break it up with walks, singing, and floor playtime.
I would search for another nipple with the bottles, or like what you are doing just prop her higher in your arms while feeding and sooth her with your voice. My son ate so fast he
would throw up and the doctor said he is getting plenty and he was !!!
L. T

For the bottles, what kind are you using? We used the Playtex Dropins bottles. They have different flows for the nipples - slow and fast. We used the slow until they were about 6 months old. Sounds like the flow is just too fast.

I think the swing and bouncy seat are fine. Try to get her to sleep in her crib too though.

Sounds funny, but my daughter had the same problems, and she had colic. She stayed in the swing for the first year. It soothed her a lot. She also like the vibrating seat. I have read that you should not leave them in those seats for longer than 20 minutes at a time. The reason for this is because it cause pressure on their tiny spines. With all three of mine I tried to do this. My daughter stayed in the swing for quiet a long time, because it soothed her, and nothing else would. I regreted it and would have to put her in it at night at like 3am and I would be exhuasted, but all these days pass. She is now 3 1/2 and she is fine.

She had trouble with a lot of nipples. Dr. Brown's worked best. She did not like the Avent at first, but later did. I have heard that Adiri? makes a really good nipple. My were mostly breast fed, but I worked more with my daughter and she would have bottles when I was away. My mother in law used the browns.

If your baby likes to be in the swing, take advantage of that and by all means use it. Being in a swing actually helps them develop their balance.

I remember reading something saying that a baby shouldn't stay in a swing for more than an hour at a time, but I have a 6 month old son and sometimes that is the only way he will take a nap and so he is in there for a couple of hours or more. I don't think it will hurt her to stay in there a couple of hours.

I just had my second baby on 3/13. I think it is OK to leave the baby in the bouncy seat and swing for a few hours as long as she is resting because this gives you a chance to rest also. On the bottles, I am not sure which ones you use but make sure that the nipple is a slow flowing nipple because sometimes the baby will get too much too fast if it is not. I am using the playtex vent aire with stage 1 nipples right now.

When my daughter was an infant she had colic and the only comfort she found was in her bouncy seat because of the vibration. Needless to say, we put her in the baouncy seat alot,as that was the only thing that soothed her. She is now 18mos old and turned out just fine!!! As for the bottle, we had the same problem and found out that we were not using the newborn "slower flow" nipples. Once we switched, she was able to eat while we cradled her without choking. Good luck!!!

I wouldnt worry to much about the swing. Believe me right now this may give you a chance to do something that you need to do for yourself, take advantage sleep, clean, eat whatever. As far as the choking my daughters did the same thing at first, go ahead and check the nipples. I was told one time that it is better for the baby to be in a sitting position anyways because it helps with them spitting up. Dont get me wrong you dont want her sitting up too straight but reclined and she still may spit up but just not as much. Hope that this helps you congrats on your new arrival!!! Cant wait for mine!!

I don't think there is any time limit. Just make sure to move her head from side to side and get her out to sleep everynow and then. I had a friend who had to take her son to physical therapy becuase one side of his neck muscles developed faster than the other side and it started to hurt him to turn his head. Her son also had a flat spot on his head. Good luck and congratulations!!

L. the swing thing is great but dont depend on it to baby sit your baby they need interaction with us on a reg basis its good to swing them when you cant be in two places at once but dont let it be so often and the spitting up or choking well the hole in the nipple maybe to big and you may need to move to another nipple that has a smaller hole in it, good luck

Congratulations!!! As for the swing and bouncy seat use them, use them, use them!! I think that as long as they are happy do what works. My 9 month old even went through a spell where we let him sleep in his bouncy because it was the only place he was happy. I know it is scary at first but trust me before long you will be open to almost anything if they sleep and are happy. Best of luck.