Seeking Advice - Eastpointe, MI

My son would only sleep in his swing until about 4-5 months. The crib is big and scary. Try a basinet or put him in his carseat in the crib.

Sometimes babys have acid reflux where they can't sleep laying flat, try him out in the swing. My daughter slept in her bassinet until she was 4 months, don't worry his time will come! Just be patient, maybe put a pillow in his bed or mobile over it. Good luck!

There is a book that I used as a bible called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". Once I read the book and followed the instructions, I saw results in a day! This should help with all areas of sleep- nap & bed time. Also, could your son have reflux?

FYI- Since my son was 3 months old, we put him down for naps & bed awake & he goes to sleep on his own without crying. How awesome is that! I hope you read the book now because the earlier you set a great sleeping routine & handle any medical issues, the easier life will be when he's older. Good luck!

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (Paperback)
by Marc Weissbluth

This book is the best!!!
It solved all of our problems

Best Of Mothering-
Michelle - Mother of 4

How soon are you putting him down after he eats? He may be screaming because of possible GERD (Acid reflux). My daughter wouldn't sleep either and I was exhausted. We sat up and rocked and as long as she was semi-upright she would sleep like a dream! The minute she was laid flat she would scream. I finally took her to the dr. who diagnosed her with acid reflux and put her on meds. She also recommended propping the bed up a little so it is not completely flat and to hold her upright at least 20 minutes after feeding so the formula or breastmilk would settle. Seeing as how you say he sleeps in his bouncer I assume he sleeps well in a semi upright position. That's what makes me think the acid reflux is a possibilty. Good luck to you!! And if you think something is wrong, press your dr. to help you out and find a solution or find another dr. Trust your mommy instinct!!!

routine..routine...routine....babies love routine. i nursed my son til he was 8 mo. old. at night time as part of our bedtime routine, after jammies etc... i always sat in the rocking recliner with him and nursed him, then after 8 mo. gave him his bottle. he usually falls asleep in my arms and i take him to bed. if he does not fall asleep at least he knows we had our bedtime time and knows that bed time is coming.... i have been very fortunate to have such a wonderful baby. he doesnt give me much grief at bedtime, he is now 17mo. old, but we still have the same routine.. we sit in the chair and have mommy and me time. he loves it

Hi E.,

We started putting my daughter in her crib by the time she was 2 weeks old but she never went in there awake, at least until she was about 5 months old. I would let her fall asleep on me and when I knew she was asleep, I would take her to her crib. When she turned 5 months, we put her in there awake and let her cry for about 10 min. and then go get her. We only had to do this two times and then she'd fall asleep by herself.
I think the hardest part for them is going to sleep alone after being cuddled by us for so long. It may take a little time but just stay consistent and keep trying until they get it by themselves. It'll let you get some alone time and peace if you know your son is safe in his crib.
Good luck to you,
J.

Don't worry too much about it. My dtr who is now 3 didn't sleep in her crib until she was almost 9 mos. She had silent reflux so she didn't want to lay flat. I tried EVERYTHING to get her into the crib. She slept in her infant car seat for a long time and then when that started looking uncomfortable we put her in her stroller seat. I had the big stroller system so I could elevate the head of the seat and also buckle her in for safety. My system even allowed you to take the seat off the frame of the stroller, so I even put that in her crib just to get her some elevation. I was a glorious day when she finally could sleep in her crib. I worried constantly about her but I can assure you she is a normal child now and we are all sleeping thru the night. As a matter of fact, I had a hard time getting her out of her crib into a big girl bed! I wish I had some advice for you but do what works and this too shall pass. Good Luck!
L.

Maybe it's the coziness and confinement of the bouncy seat he likes. I know my son loved to be swaddled until he was 5-6 months old. We called the process "mummification"...lol....wrap him up snug, rock him to sleep (if that is how you put him to sleep) and lay him down. I read somewhere that cribs can be big scary empty places to some babies. Hope this helps, good luck!

Hi E. - my son slept next to our bed in his bouncy chair for as long as your son has so far at 3 1/2 months. Perhaps you should transition him slowly, leaving him in his crib starting with short periods of time, then gradually building up to longer periods. I would also make sure that he is not experiencing reflux or something else causing him pain when he is on his back (I guess I assume he is a back sleeper)which would not occur when he is in the reclining position in his bouncy. My son really liked his bouncy (and his car seat for that matter) because it was very snugly around his body. Maybe your son is reacting to the loss of that. I don't really know what kind of product you could use to replicate that cozy feeling in the crib, other than swaddling him. One other thing, I have used (and still do) a sleeping bag for my son, which also gives that cozy feeling. Look on the website babyinabag.com - they have these fabric bags (winter weight and summer weight)that take the place of blankets (very high quality). You will get a lot of use out of one for about $30.

My son was the same was with his carseat untill he was about 5 or 6 months old. I just let him sleep in it so he wouldn't get so upset and before I knew it, he grew out of the habit.

Usually this is a sign of colic - which to me is the formula you have him on is not agreeing with him. Have you tried changing it? Many times it is gas bubbles.

I don't beleive you can spoil a child that much at this age, I feel it is usally something internal causing this.

Just my opinion.

I hope this helps.

Hi E.,

My daughter would not sleep in her crib either. She would fall asleep in the bouncy chair and as soon as I laid her in the crib she woke up and would scream her head off. So, after consulting with our Dr, we just left her in the bouncy chair and set the whole chair in the crib. After a couple weeks of that, she slept in the crib on her own without the chair and no screaming. I would talk to your Dr about it first, ,but it worked for me :) Make sure the mattress on the crib is lowered to the lowest spot for safety. Hope this helps.

wow! we just (like 3 weeks ago) went through this with our 4 month old! here's what helped us....
first we would try to lay her on her back for naps and let her cry for about 10-15 minutes the if she wouldn't calm down we would put her in the bouncer. we did that consistantly for every nap for a few days, until she got used to it and would calm down and doze off. then one night she was throughly exhausted from a busy day and we tried it at night. the first night she stayed there for a few hours and then it was bouncer time after her first feeding, but the next night she slept on her back the whole night even after her feedings. i have to say that bava loves to play on her back and we have a celing fan she can zone out to. it just took time and lots of patience and frustration, but i think consistancy is the key. we also gave her a binky and a soft blanket to pet which was calming to her, though not recommended by docs until 6 months, but i pinned it to the bed so it wouldn't creep up too far. i hope this helps, hang in there!!

my son slept in his bouncer for a LONG time, up unti almost 6 months...what you can try is that there is a gadget at Babies R'us, you can connect it to the crib frame and it will vibrate the crib matress exactly how the bouncy chair does...if you can not find it there, I can ask the person who told me about it and get more info for you.

I don't know if you have tried staying in the room with him till he falls asleep. I know there are a lot of articles out there that say if you are having problems to gradually work your way out of the room. Everyday you get a little further away until you are out the door.

Good Luck

I know I had my oldest daughter in her carseat for the reason she would cry all the time when I put her in the crib,but then I couldn't get her to stop crying in the car when we would travel and couldn't figure out why until I saw she would go to sleep right as I put her in the carseat,but the motion of the car and the bumps on the road woke her up...for the first month I couldn't go anywhere LOL without her crying while in motion but as soon as we stopped she fell asleep it was weird. So I wouldn't suggest an infant seat for a "bed replacement" mysslf. Have you got a pack and play or other bassinet type playpen? they have smaller beds for this young age and my second daughter loved that over the crib until she was too big for the bassinet part of the play pen then she transferred to the crib. My youngest son was the same way. Dr's will tell you not to put a pillow in the crib esp if he is 3 1/2 months and almost ready to roll over. I also played music for my other two to listen to that they went to sleep by.

My sister in law had three kids like that and her ped. told her to buckle them in their car seat to sleep instead of a bouncer, and place the seat in the crib for naps and then for bed time...then take the seat away for naps and then for bedtime...weening as necessary for your child. hope this helps! good luck

~N.

Hi E.,

I had the same problem with both my kids I don't think I used the crib until they were 4 months. They would sleep in car seats, bouncy seats, and swings anything but the crib. Yes this is a common problem I started putting them in their cribs during the day for a nap a little at a time so they would get use to it. With my son I would actully put the car seat in the crib. Eventually they would take naps in the crib and we worked up to sleeping in the crib at night. I did have to let them cry and it was hard. Remember they are creatures of habit so whatever they get use to is what they will want, trust me keeping trying the crib. Good Luck

M.

My son did not have this problem, but my nephew did. My SIL ended up actually putting the bouncy seat in the crib until he was used to that, and then when she took away the bouncy seat she used a sleep positioner so he still felt that something was "close" to him. It worked great for him. Best of luck to you and your little one!

My son did that! It just took him time. For the first 3 months of his life he slept in the Amby Baby Motion Hammock. Then for a month he slept in a bassinet. At 4 months he started sleeping in his crib at night. However, he refused to nap in his crib for a couple more months at least! He would only nap in his Soothing Motions Glider or my arms! But, he outgrew it. We just kept trying and eventually he got it. 3 1/2 months is still pretty little. Just give him some time and then start trying again. Good luck!