Babies just wanna rock
June 8, 2011 11:16 AM Subscribe
Help my 6-month-old sleep like a baby
Baby Rabbit is six months old today, and at 100th percentile for height, which means he is going to be outgrowing his Chicco Keyfit 30 infant carseat soon. The only surefire way to get him to nap is to rock him in this carseat. What the hell are we going to do when he doesn't fit in it anymore?
He sleeps just fine at night, we cosleep and he will nurse to sleep or at least to drowsiness, and drift off with no problem. But during the day when I work, he's at home with Mr. Rabbit and the only good way to get him to nap when I'm not around is to rock him in the carseat. Our Graco swing does not work, he does not even get remotely drowsy in the swing. I think the swing has a little bit of a gravitational pull at the bottom of the arc, so it's not quite the same experience as the simple rocking of the carseat.
Is there an option out there which feels like an infant carseat but fits a larger baby? He is currently 28.5 in long, 20.5 lbs and growing like the proverbial weed.
Bonus points for something that rocks without constant parental effort. EXTRA bonus points for something that is not insanely expensive.
Baby Rabbit is six months old today, and at 100th percentile for height, which means he is going to be outgrowing his Chicco Keyfit 30 infant carseat soon. The only surefire way to get him to nap is to rock him in this carseat. What the hell are we going to do when he doesn't fit in it anymore?
He sleeps just fine at night, we cosleep and he will nurse to sleep or at least to drowsiness, and drift off with no problem. But during the day when I work, he's at home with Mr. Rabbit and the only good way to get him to nap when I'm not around is to rock him in the carseat. Our Graco swing does not work, he does not even get remotely drowsy in the swing. I think the swing has a little bit of a gravitational pull at the bottom of the arc, so it's not quite the same experience as the simple rocking of the carseat.
Is there an option out there which feels like an infant carseat but fits a larger baby? He is currently 28.5 in long, 20.5 lbs and growing like the proverbial weed.
Bonus points for something that rocks without constant parental effort. EXTRA bonus points for something that is not insanely expensive.
Oh, and since the swing I linked to would last you only another 5 pounds or so, you might check Craigslist, or just buy new and then sell it when he outgrows it. I bought ours new for $120 something and sold it for $90 6 months later!
posted by peep at 11:29 AM on June 8, 2011
posted by peep at 11:29 AM on June 8, 2011
We had some luck, though briefly, with one of the Fisher Price "Bouncer" chairs - a little battery powered vibro-hammock dingus.
posted by mhoye at 11:55 AM on June 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by mhoye at 11:55 AM on June 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Can you remove the liner of the carseat (e.g. to wash it) and place it in the swing with him? Smell and touch are important recognition factors.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:09 PM on June 8, 2011
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:09 PM on June 8, 2011
Best answer: We got this Fisher Price Infant to Toddler Rocker for our almost 5-month-old because he outgrew the bouncer seat version quickly. He's about 24 pounds, 27 inches long, and is very comfortable. It's easy to rock, even with your foot, and does vibrate. And not terribly expensive. AND it goes to 40 pounds - key for us giving how fast Giant Baby is growing. He has been rocked to sleep in it several times, which is great, because he usually wants to nurse to sleep.
What is the height limit on your infant seat? Our Britax Chaperone goes to 32 inches, with the same 30-pound weight limit as the Chicco. You might be surprised how much longer the seat will last.
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 12:31 PM on June 8, 2011
What is the height limit on your infant seat? Our Britax Chaperone goes to 32 inches, with the same 30-pound weight limit as the Chicco. You might be surprised how much longer the seat will last.
posted by Lulu's Pink Converse at 12:31 PM on June 8, 2011
I am not a baby expert or a baby militant type, but I think you are starting from a false premise that you need to find a new way to rock him to sleep. For your own benefit and DH's, I would try to teach him to sleep without it. I think if you can get him to learn to soothe himself and go to sleep in a crib during the day, he will be good to go as he gets older and older. It was at least 13 years ago when we had to do this, but if I recall correctly, we would let the little popGunn cry for a few minutes then come soothe without picking up. Leave let cry for a little while longer than first time, soothe, wash, rinse, repeat.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:33 PM on June 8, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:33 PM on June 8, 2011 [5 favorites]
Owner of a ridiculously enormous baby high-five! (25 pound 7 month old, over here)
This still involves parental work, but have you tried him in a carrier? We're able to bounce our kiddo into oblivion pretty easily in our Ergo, and we don't make our fingers fall off in the process. A rocking chair/carrier combo might work as well.
We've just been dealing with a similar thing this past week but with nursing to sleep at night and we've been having good luck with the techniques in the No-Cry Sleep Solution (Well, good-ish luck. Ask me in another week.) The idea being that you really really gently wean them away from their preferred fall-asleep method by getting them mostly asleep then removing the sleepy stimulus (maybe replacing it with another, easier routine like the young rope-rider suggests), and progressively removing that stimulus when they're less and less fully asleep. If they cry, you start up the stimulus again. It's a bit frustrating to do this 5 or 6 times but if you *know* you're going to do it a bunch of times, it's not so bad.
posted by tchemgrrl at 12:52 PM on June 8, 2011
This still involves parental work, but have you tried him in a carrier? We're able to bounce our kiddo into oblivion pretty easily in our Ergo, and we don't make our fingers fall off in the process. A rocking chair/carrier combo might work as well.
We've just been dealing with a similar thing this past week but with nursing to sleep at night and we've been having good luck with the techniques in the No-Cry Sleep Solution (Well, good-ish luck. Ask me in another week.) The idea being that you really really gently wean them away from their preferred fall-asleep method by getting them mostly asleep then removing the sleepy stimulus (maybe replacing it with another, easier routine like the young rope-rider suggests), and progressively removing that stimulus when they're less and less fully asleep. If they cry, you start up the stimulus again. It's a bit frustrating to do this 5 or 6 times but if you *know* you're going to do it a bunch of times, it's not so bad.
posted by tchemgrrl at 12:52 PM on June 8, 2011
I agree with JohnnyGunn. The issue is not really that your kid can't fit into the carseat, but that he can't fall asleep without its aid. The carseat is a crutch, not a necessity. 6 months old is a great time to start sleep training him so he can develop self-soothing skills instead of relying on swings and car trips. Think of how much easier it'll be to just put him down in his crib, awake, and have him fall asleep. Check out Marc Weissbluth's Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child for more advice.
posted by zoomorphic at 12:55 PM on June 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by zoomorphic at 12:55 PM on June 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Our Chicco goes to 30 inches, though it may go a little longer for non-car-related activities.
To those suggesting sleep training: yes, we're planning on it, and I've got Pantley, Weissbluth, Sears, and Ferber on loan from the library at the moment, but we just moved houses on Saturday and will be transitioning from daycare to stay-at-home-dad-care next week, so we feel that there is enough change going on in Baby Rabbit's life right now that we don't want to wreck any comfortable routines without good reason until he is fully settled into his new house and daytime routines. It's possible that the carseat will last until we do start sleep training, but if it doesn't, I want to be ready with a good analog.
I will suggest to Mr. Rabbit that he start playing a CD that they both like and find soothing to make that part of the sleep routine, and I'll check out that FP infant-to-toddler rocker too, those are great suggestions. If anyone else has suggestions, keep 'em coming! Thank you.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:28 PM on June 8, 2011
To those suggesting sleep training: yes, we're planning on it, and I've got Pantley, Weissbluth, Sears, and Ferber on loan from the library at the moment, but we just moved houses on Saturday and will be transitioning from daycare to stay-at-home-dad-care next week, so we feel that there is enough change going on in Baby Rabbit's life right now that we don't want to wreck any comfortable routines without good reason until he is fully settled into his new house and daytime routines. It's possible that the carseat will last until we do start sleep training, but if it doesn't, I want to be ready with a good analog.
I will suggest to Mr. Rabbit that he start playing a CD that they both like and find soothing to make that part of the sleep routine, and I'll check out that FP infant-to-toddler rocker too, those are great suggestions. If anyone else has suggestions, keep 'em coming! Thank you.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:28 PM on June 8, 2011
Weissbluth's book is just a neglect how-to; research-free dross, lies about his detractors, total nonsense. Parents/properly putting small tots to bed =! "crutch," and you do not need to engage in hijinx with leaving him to cry. Perhaps it is appropriate to recommend those sorts of shenanigans when somebody shows up actually seeking less involvement with their baby, but this is a question about how to rock a baby, not about how to leave a baby to cry so it doesn't require ditto.
+1 Ergo, and if you look through previous baby/toddler questions you will see it is the preferred carrier of Ask MeFi. Ours was in constant use until around 2. At six+ months the nap deal was simple; I went to fetch the mail, and the kid fell asleep on me in the sling, and occasionally I would slide the sling and baby off, but sometimes I just sat there and read, and given how quickly sleeping on a parent will no longer be plausible or desirable -- take advantage while you can.
[on preview] Four books...cripes. Just rock him to sleep and enjoy it; he's not going to be wee for long. It really is that easy. You don't need the books, he doesn't need "training," don't overthink this, just make with the cuddles and milk and stories.
posted by kmennie at 1:34 PM on June 8, 2011 [4 favorites]
+1 Ergo, and if you look through previous baby/toddler questions you will see it is the preferred carrier of Ask MeFi. Ours was in constant use until around 2. At six+ months the nap deal was simple; I went to fetch the mail, and the kid fell asleep on me in the sling, and occasionally I would slide the sling and baby off, but sometimes I just sat there and read, and given how quickly sleeping on a parent will no longer be plausible or desirable -- take advantage while you can.
[on preview] Four books...cripes. Just rock him to sleep and enjoy it; he's not going to be wee for long. It really is that easy. You don't need the books, he doesn't need "training," don't overthink this, just make with the cuddles and milk and stories.
posted by kmennie at 1:34 PM on June 8, 2011 [4 favorites]
Just to chime in a bit on the sleep books: Weissbluth doesn't really advocate any particular "cry it out" method, and the book is actually based on very sound research about the biology of sleep and why it's important to developing kids. I don't think he or the OP are endorsing "having less involvement with their baby" as kmennie said.
That being said, I don't think there is one "right" sleep approach. Each has plusses and each has minuses and bottom line you just have to do what works best for your particular baby and your particular family. You sound like you are very in tune with your little guy and with all the changes coming up it sounds totally reasonable to "rock the boat" as little as possible. Sleeping in the carseat (not using it for driving sounds reasonable). We also had good luck with a carseat sleeper of our own with the vibrating seats like the Fisher Price one mentioned above. Gradually fading that out of the picture is also perfectly reasonable.
Good luck and good rest to you all!
posted by goggie at 1:50 PM on June 8, 2011 [3 favorites]
That being said, I don't think there is one "right" sleep approach. Each has plusses and each has minuses and bottom line you just have to do what works best for your particular baby and your particular family. You sound like you are very in tune with your little guy and with all the changes coming up it sounds totally reasonable to "rock the boat" as little as possible. Sleeping in the carseat (not using it for driving sounds reasonable). We also had good luck with a carseat sleeper of our own with the vibrating seats like the Fisher Price one mentioned above. Gradually fading that out of the picture is also perfectly reasonable.
Good luck and good rest to you all!
posted by goggie at 1:50 PM on June 8, 2011 [3 favorites]
My son loved his Fisher Price swing, but when he finally got too big for that he transitioned to cuddling up against my front while I rocked in the rocking chair in his bedroom. Once he was fully asleep I would put him down in his crib. Worked for us.
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:56 PM on June 8, 2011
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:56 PM on June 8, 2011
Oh, dear, yeah, if you're moving and throwing life into disorder, I firmly throw myself in with the "keep doing what you're doing for as long as it's not actively unsafe" camp--the whole reason we needed Pantley in the first place was because we moved last month and his sleep fell to pieces right along with the daily routine.
posted by tchemgrrl at 1:57 PM on June 8, 2011
posted by tchemgrrl at 1:57 PM on June 8, 2011
Weissbluth's book is just a neglect how-to; research-free dross, lies about his detractors, total nonsense.
kmennie, I know you have strong opinions about basically any sort of childrearing tactic that suggests patents gently teach their children to sleep better and thus make everyone's lives a bit easier, but it's not helpful to pop into every thread that asks for sleep advice and poo poo Ferber as a charlatan hack and Weissbluth's book as dross. People who've used their advice are not bad parents for implementing their suggestions for the benefit of the family's well-being. The parents in this thread don't sound keen on "neglecting" their baby and don't need to be shamed.
OP, it sounds like a good call to hold off on sleep training until the transitions are in place. I like young rope-rider's suggestion about using a CD, too. Maybe you can even start that route now, before he outgrows the carrier, and ease him into a no-cry routine before he's too big for the seat.
posted by zoomorphic at 2:19 PM on June 8, 2011 [13 favorites]
kmennie, I know you have strong opinions about basically any sort of childrearing tactic that suggests patents gently teach their children to sleep better and thus make everyone's lives a bit easier, but it's not helpful to pop into every thread that asks for sleep advice and poo poo Ferber as a charlatan hack and Weissbluth's book as dross. People who've used their advice are not bad parents for implementing their suggestions for the benefit of the family's well-being. The parents in this thread don't sound keen on "neglecting" their baby and don't need to be shamed.
OP, it sounds like a good call to hold off on sleep training until the transitions are in place. I like young rope-rider's suggestion about using a CD, too. Maybe you can even start that route now, before he outgrows the carrier, and ease him into a no-cry routine before he's too big for the seat.
posted by zoomorphic at 2:19 PM on June 8, 2011 [13 favorites]
Also, would using a stroller help? You can take him for a quick jaunt around the block while he doses off and either transition him to his crib at home or just let him snooze in there. He might enjoy the similar style of motion.
posted by zoomorphic at 2:23 PM on June 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by zoomorphic at 2:23 PM on June 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
Weissbluth's book is just a neglect how-to; research-free dross, lies about his detractors, total nonsense. Parents/properly putting small tots to bed =! "crutch," and you do not need to engage in hijinx with leaving him to cry. Perhaps it is appropriate to recommend those sorts of shenanigans when somebody shows up actually seeking less involvement with their baby, but this is a question about how to rock a baby, not about how to leave a baby to cry so it doesn't require ditto.
...
[on preview] Four books...cripes. Just rock him to sleep and enjoy it; he's not going to be wee for long. It really is that easy. You don't need the books, he doesn't need "training," don't overthink this, just make with the cuddles and milk and stories.
So you lay into people for ignoring the question, then ignore the question?
Have you tried white noise/vacuum cleaners etc? This is a nice downloadable soundtrack.
I'm in the 'Let baby Rabbit learn to go to sleep by himself' school myself. My personal datum is that Sebmojita was sleeping through the night at seven weeks after three nights of intermittent grizzling. But ultimately it's what works for you.
posted by Sebmojo at 6:19 PM on June 8, 2011
...
[on preview] Four books...cripes. Just rock him to sleep and enjoy it; he's not going to be wee for long. It really is that easy. You don't need the books, he doesn't need "training," don't overthink this, just make with the cuddles and milk and stories.
So you lay into people for ignoring the question, then ignore the question?
Have you tried white noise/vacuum cleaners etc? This is a nice downloadable soundtrack.
I'm in the 'Let baby Rabbit learn to go to sleep by himself' school myself. My personal datum is that Sebmojita was sleeping through the night at seven weeks after three nights of intermittent grizzling. But ultimately it's what works for you.
posted by Sebmojo at 6:19 PM on June 8, 2011
Fwiw, Marc Weissbluth was our pediatrician when we lived in Chicago. We chose him before we knew about sleep issues. I am not going to defend the science behind what he teaches because I have neither the time nor desire to expend the effort to do the research when I know what he taught us, only after we asked for advice not knowing his background on sleep, worked very well for us and my three children. At one point we had 3 kids under the age of 3. None twins. I now have 3 very well adjusted teenagers who actually respect the need to sleep, not just on the weekends to noon.
I can also say that Dr. Weissbluth is a very gentle, caring man albeit a little strange to talk with. It may not sound weird when I write it, but when we went to our first kid's first checkup after a week or two at home, when we asked if she was doing ok, he replied while wearing a Mr. Rogers type button up sweater, "She is not doing well; she is THRIVING!" The way he said thriving weirded us out.
But, he never stopped caring, would take our calls whenever, had great suggestions, was very reassuring and soothing to new parents with no local family or help and would spend as much time as you needed in the exam room.
For our third one, because there was potentially an issue with the child, he even made himself available in the hospital when ex went into labour.
To claim what he teaches is neglect or to insinuate that he may be negligent in teaching what he does seems a bit excessive knowing what I do. As I wrote in my first post, I am not an expert, nor militant type about what way best suits your child, I just know for us and our three kids, his methods had us all THRIVING!
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:35 PM on June 8, 2011 [3 favorites]
I can also say that Dr. Weissbluth is a very gentle, caring man albeit a little strange to talk with. It may not sound weird when I write it, but when we went to our first kid's first checkup after a week or two at home, when we asked if she was doing ok, he replied while wearing a Mr. Rogers type button up sweater, "She is not doing well; she is THRIVING!" The way he said thriving weirded us out.
But, he never stopped caring, would take our calls whenever, had great suggestions, was very reassuring and soothing to new parents with no local family or help and would spend as much time as you needed in the exam room.
For our third one, because there was potentially an issue with the child, he even made himself available in the hospital when ex went into labour.
To claim what he teaches is neglect or to insinuate that he may be negligent in teaching what he does seems a bit excessive knowing what I do. As I wrote in my first post, I am not an expert, nor militant type about what way best suits your child, I just know for us and our three kids, his methods had us all THRIVING!
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:35 PM on June 8, 2011 [3 favorites]
We had great success with putting my child into an Ergo baby carrier and then vacuuming. The noise plus the motion put him right to sleep. Bonus: the house gets clean.
posted by bluedaisy at 12:41 AM on June 9, 2011
posted by bluedaisy at 12:41 AM on June 9, 2011
When we transitioned to stay at home dad, the other anachronism would just lay in the bed with her until she fell asleep. Usually he would have a nap too. Nowadays she's in her cot while he reads in a chair, but in the early days it was necessary to have that close contact.
Declaimer: we never rocked her to sleep in anything. Also, she never fell asleep without physical contact unless it was in the car/pram, so laying down with her was absolutely routine for us.
posted by geek anachronism at 5:45 AM on June 9, 2011
Declaimer: we never rocked her to sleep in anything. Also, she never fell asleep without physical contact unless it was in the car/pram, so laying down with her was absolutely routine for us.
posted by geek anachronism at 5:45 AM on June 9, 2011
Weissbluth's book is poorly edited and full of contradictions. That said, it was a little helpful.
We literally had the same problem - baby slept best in car seat, baby growing out of car seat - a couple of months ago.
We kept him in the car seat as long as he seemed comfortable in it, which was several weeks past the time we switched him to a new seat in the car. Eventually he started trying to turn over while he was trying to fall asleep and he just seemed less comfortable.
It took about ten days to break him of the car seat habit for night sleeping, and I had to resign myself to letting him sleep on his stomach (he's almost a year old). For several nights he would wake up, then sit up and not be able to go back to sleep, but he got over it.
He still fits fine in the Fisher Price bouncy chair for naps during the day. And yes, vibration is niiiiiice.
He also likes to listen to Pandora's lullabye station while he is napping.
posted by bq at 10:37 PM on June 10, 2011
We literally had the same problem - baby slept best in car seat, baby growing out of car seat - a couple of months ago.
We kept him in the car seat as long as he seemed comfortable in it, which was several weeks past the time we switched him to a new seat in the car. Eventually he started trying to turn over while he was trying to fall asleep and he just seemed less comfortable.
It took about ten days to break him of the car seat habit for night sleeping, and I had to resign myself to letting him sleep on his stomach (he's almost a year old). For several nights he would wake up, then sit up and not be able to go back to sleep, but he got over it.
He still fits fine in the Fisher Price bouncy chair for naps during the day. And yes, vibration is niiiiiice.
He also likes to listen to Pandora's lullabye station while he is napping.
posted by bq at 10:37 PM on June 10, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
I don't know what your Graco swing is like, but I googled it, and I think it's different enough that the FP swing will be what you want. It swings in two directions and it's very smooth. Plus it's more of a little nest than a chair, so baby is in more of a reclining/sleeping position.
posted by peep at 11:24 AM on June 8, 2011