Swing Sleeping

If it makes you feel any better, my first daughter spent many nights sleeping in her car carrier when we first brought her home . And no, my daughter didn't have reflux either, it was the only way she would sleep.

Hi T.,
I say don't worry.My 2 year old did the same thing.He was all about the swing but he grew out of it by the time he was able to walk.And he has grown out of the Reflux also,he grew out of it by the time he was 8 months old and my daughter grew out of the Reflux by 6 months.They usually do.I just let him go to sleep in the swing and then when I knew he was good and asleep I took him out and put him in his crib.

My 4 year old had Gastro problems and was on Zyrtec, Singulair, and Zantac for 1 1/2 years. Mason's reflux problem should go away with Zantac. Our pediatrician eventually weaned him completely off of all his medicines when he was 3 and now he is fine.

Keep up the communication with your doctor who will monitor Mason's progress and dosage.

My little guy would sleep in the swing sometimes also. Just make sure there is NO way for him to get out/fall out of the swing. When the swing eventually stops see if you can put him down to sleep in his crib. Don't forget to mention this also to your doctor. He may need to adjust Mason's medicine/dosage if his sleeping in the swing is due to his reflux. The doctor needs to know everything to make sure the reflux is treated properly.

My son is fine and I'm sure Mason will be fine too. Good luck.

My daughter loved her bouncy chair. For the first 10 weeks, she slept in either it or her swing a few times. However we could get her to sleep, that's what we'd do! Your baby is still so little, I doubt it's a big deal if he sleeps in the swing. Maybe because of the reflux, having his head elevated is making him feel better. Try putting a blanket or two under his mattress in his crib so his head it elevated. (I did this with my baby and it worked, she was fussy at that age). I also got her used to the crib during nap times first. That way, if she fussed, my husband wouldn't freak out. I kept her in our room till she was 4 1/2 months, then to her own room where I worked on her sleep schedule while dad was at work. Hope this helps!

As long as you feel he's safe in the swing...why not? I don't have experience with reflux, but I have experience with 5 week old babies and I feel like at this point, however you all get to sleep is okay as long as it's safe. I had a friend who's infant liked to sleep in her car seat at night (not IN the car!). I don't think you are going to start any habits you can't break as long as it doesn't go on tooooo long.

Both of my little ones have/had reflux. My son (now 2 1/2) was on Zantac and then Prilosec. He outgrew most of the symptoms by 9 - 10 months which was a relief! Prilosec for infants has to be mixed by a compounding pharmacist and it was $120+ a month. Luckily my daughter (7 months) hasnt had to go beyond Zantac. Hopefully your peditrician explained to you the importance of keeping Mason at at least a 30 degree incline for 20 minutes after he eats. Also, both of ours slept with their upper bodies raised slightly by a firm pillow (not a super thick one. I know sleeping on pillows can concern some so YMMV but it worked for us as we co-slept with ours (again another YMMV). I believe there is an insert for babies with reflux - possibly called Joshua's Pillow (??) that will elevate one end of a crib mattress to help w/ digestion. I would Google that to find more. Also, I was told by our pharmacist (at Target - best pharmacies IMO) to make sure to give the Zantac prior to meals. Once you are on a routine with the Zantac you will see a difference, I promise. Also, if you are formula feeding you may want to check out a new Similac for sensitive tummies. We just switched our 7 month old to it from Alimentium and it is agreeing with her so far. Finally, you can ask for a flavoring additive for Zantac. It tastes absolutely vile - we always called it Emily's Schnapps because it smells and tastes like bad peppermint schnapps. We see far less 'medicine face' since having the flavoring added. Of course if you are concerned about additives, allergies etc you most likely will eschew any thing like that.

At any rate, I promise it will improve. Poor Mason....As a longitme GERD sufferer myself I know he hurts. My sympathies to Mom too as I know it's so hard to watch and frustrating to feel so unable to comfort your little one. Best of luck - it will improve!

T., My son was born 15 weeks early and had GERD and nasopharengeal reflux. He would aspirate his breastmilk and formula. He came home from the hospital on an apnea monitor and prevacid(which couldn't be flavored,, yuck!) He spent almost his entire first year sleeping either in his swing or on me on the couch. You might want to speak to his doctor about ways to thicken the milk, we used Simply Thick in the breastmilk and rice cereal in the formula. It helped, very little. Also, if your son is on formula, you might want to try a soy formula or a specialty formula for reflux. As far as him never wanting to sleep in his crib: eventually he will outgrow the painful reflux and you will be able to lay him in the crib without the guilt. Some babies outgrow reflux when they start on solids. My daughter outgrew hers at about a year old and my son was almost 18 mos. I think the bottle has a lot to do with it, as both mine have been fine once they came off the bottle. It's best to feed smaller amounts more often and keep upright for about 30 min after. So the swing is the saving grace of moms to reflux babies everywhere! I actually let my son sleep in the swing until his feet were dragging lines in the carpet!

I hope this helps! Good luck!

Hi T.,
My son had reflux also. He was on Zantac until he was a year. Thickening the cereal did not work for us.He also drank mostly breast milk but could tolerate soy formula in an emergency. For about the first 5 months he slept either on my chest with me sitting in a mostly upright position or in his crib on a slanted rise. These are some examples;
http://www.arpillow.com/

http://www.tuckersling.com/?gclid=CMaC1_-R3IwCFQTwgAodtgRSZA

http://www.babyslumber.com/articles/sleep-issues/how-does...

http://www.mypreciouskid.com/sleep-positioner-reflux.html

I hope this helps!
M.

He probably is just more comfortable with the reflux in a semi upright position. Do you have one of those foam things for the crib? It basically works so that baby sleeps on a slant upwards. As long as he's tucked in good in the swing I'd say he's fine - at 5 weeks everyone needs all the rest they can get!