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How long is too long in a baby swing?

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Hi Annie,

We have a 3.5 month old baby girl who is content in a baby swing whiile we eat or make supper.
She is also in the swing on occasion during the day while my wife makes lunch, etc.
However, my wife said that today our little girl slept for more than 2 hours in the swing with the swing in motion.
Isn't that a long time for a baby to be constantly in motion?

Thanks,

Sandy

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Hi Sandy

Thanks for writing in to me. My feelings on the matter are that baby swings are certainly very helpful for those times when you want to make dinner or sit and eat a hot meal for a change etc. In terms of a time limit, I'm not aware of any limit on the motion end of things but then small babies are not my specialty, so I would urge you to contact your health care provider for that information.

However, from a future behavior standpoint my advice would be not to let her get too used to it. Like anything you can always have too much of a good thing and if it's used for naps or getting her to sleep it's use could have unintended consequences. Motion could become so important to her sleep routine that she'll have difficulty nodding off without it. That could set you up for nights of driving around the block once she's the size that the swing is no longer viable. Not my idea of a great night's sleep!

All things are great in moderation and there's no doubt at this time of her life that the swing is a useful resource. I would just make sure it's use is balanced by allowing her to go to bed awake and fall asleep on her own.

Hope this helps. All the best,

Annie

Date Entered: 2007-04-07 11:44:48.0
Date Last Modified: 2007-04-07 11:45:31.0

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