Do you know if it is alright or not to let my 12 week old sleep in her swing through the night? I used to sleep with her til she was 11 weeks old, but now she doesnt like me to hold her for long periods of time when she is sleeping... she would wake up 6-8 times a night cranky... but now i put her to sleep in her swing around 9-10 at night and she will sleep til 6-7 in the morning without waking up... but i do check up on her 2-3 times a night to make sure all is fine... is this dangerious (SP?)?

My dd is 15 weeks old and I let her sleep in her swing. It is ok. She was sleeping in her crib for about a week and then she got sick so I would let her sleep with me or in her swing. Now she is on an apnea machine so I am nervous about puting her in her crib with the cord from the machine.

My first DS didn't have a swing but was in his bouncy chair alot and would sleep there. The only negatives I have heard about letting them sleep in their swing is that they may become dependant on the motion to get them to sleep which will be a big problem when they can't fit in the swing anymore and HAVE to sleep in a crib or somesuch.

That and make sure you alternate seat during the day otherwise their head could go flat in back if they stay in one type of seat too much.

Hope that helps!

My DD is now almost 6 months old and has been sleeping in her crib in her own room since 3 months. However, in the early months, up to 2 months or so she would sometimes only sleep in her swing. we never did leave her there all night but many times we would let her fall asleep there and we would then move her to her co-sleeper in our room where she slept the first 3 months. We even had to get up a few times to crying and the swing was the only thing that saved us. :) She still takes the best naps in her swings when she takes naps, she sleeps so much at night she doesn't take many. I say whatever works right now do it but as she gets older it is going to be hard to break her from only falling asleep there and she'll have to have the motion to go to sleep which could be a problem unless you want to rock her all night every night :). good luck!

Hi Hope!. Is the swing in the sitting position? I don't know if there is a lot of evidence to support this or not, but my doctor said babies shouldn't spend too much time in the swing because it's not good for their backs. She said the same fo the carseat.

I hear a lot of people have their babies sleeping in the swing, so I would think if it was a problem it wouldn't be hard to find some info on it. I think I might let mine spend a couple of hours in the swing tonight so I can spend some time with dh!

You know I heard that too about their backs but I have told my dd pediatrician that she sleeps in her swing and she said that it was fine. My dd is very very strong, she is working on sitting up on her own right now. She is 15 weeks old.

My dd would only sleep in her swing for a nearly 6 week stretch. She had a lot of gas and I think that position helped. She is finally in her own crib in her own room and sleeping through the night. Sometimes you just have to do what works best for the baby. It is perfectly safe, don't worry.

I too put my boys in the swing a lot in this stage though not at night, only through the day for longer naps. My paed told us when ds#1 was being treated for gross motor delays that children shouldn't spend too much time on this position as it affects a number of things. First it can cause flat spots on the head, can affect their motor development as it is hard on their backs and doesn't encourage proper movement and most recently studies have shown that is hard on the chest on stomach and therefore can be hard for them to breath.
In saying this, I'll admit I still used the swing but NEVER had one of the car seats that you put in the stroller...it would be just too easy to have them in that most of the day when out and about.
I think as long as they aren't in in for hours on end without getting out it is fine but I would think 3 hours or less in the same position is as much as they likely can handle safely.

well my dd has been using her swing only at night from like 10 at night til 5-7 in the morning... but she sleeps all night long... for a long time we tried to get her to sleep in her crib... before the whole swing thing, and the second we would lay her down, she would wake up... upset none the less... anyhow i called her doctor and she said it was perfectly safe and fine, just that it might be a hard habit to break... oh well im a first time mommie so im bound to make some mistakes... but sleeping through the night for her and dh and me is somthing i could really get used to... anyhow thanks for all the replies... ill keep them in mind.