Baby's First Year Community

Hmm. Maybe rock him a little in the car seat and move to the crib? Or rock him in a chair and then crib? Maybe get a positioner so he doesn't have to be flat on his back? Maybe try some positions during the day while holding him and see what it is he likes so much about the car seat and try to re-create that in the crib? Maybe he is still having nose problems? It may take a night or two of little sleep if you really want him back in the crib, but I think if he fusses enough and you put him in the car seat, he may figure "well, if I just keep it up, she'll do it eventually" I'm no expert, and maybe you should ask your Ped, but those are things I would try.

good luck!

I don't post much, but this is right up my alley. My LO, unfortunately, spends alot of time in the carseat as well. It's for a different reason though....she has really bad reflux. She is on meds and it seems to be making her more comfortable. I found the only way I can feed her and she can keep it down is by feeding her in it, and by default she sleeps in there also. The only time I can successfully get her to sleep in her crib is about an hour after she's had a bottle and passed out. 9 times outta 10 though she sleeps on my chest or in the carseat. I know this is not much help, but just wanted to let you know that you're not alone.

Lurking..........**TRIGGS** I hope this does not scare you but, When Shelby was newborn we had a similar problem. I asked her Dr. if it was OK because she sleeps so well in her seat in the car. He said NO WAY it is not safe. Shortly after I saw an article about a baby suffocating due to being left in a car seat in their crib all night. There have been multiple cases like this one. Every few months I see or hear of one. babyproducts.about.com/b/2009/02/06/babys-death-leads-to-warning-about-sleeping-in-car-seats.htm Again this is not intended to scare you or anyone. It is some information that I did not know and had never heard of before and I thought I would share it. GL

Totally can relate. Molly is almost 7 weeks and has not once slept in her crib (okay maybe once). She sleeps in a vibrating bouncer seat placed in her crib. Try that. Probably not as dangerous as the car seat. Molly also has acid reflux (she is on Zantac) and I am terrified she will choke on her own spitup if I place her on her back in the crib. Also, she hates the crib anyway (waste of money LOL).

He absolutely should not be sleeping in the carseat. I'm really surprised that your dr even recommended it.

When my daughter was in the hospital, they told me over and over and over again that car rides should not last more than an hour without taking her out and moving her around for a bit, and that she should never be allowed to sleep in the carseat because it could cause her to stop breathing.

Triggs* I KNEW a girl a few years ago, she had a 7wk old dd. Her dd was in the car, crying, while momma was driving. She stopped crying and momma thought that she had just fallen asleep. Turns out, her head dropped and she died and they classified it as a SIDS death.

Even for my daughter, she gets all veiny when she's in the carseat for any amount of time. I ride in the back with her while DH drives because her head sometimes drops down when she's sleeping and she starts turning colors.

I'd recommend letting him CIO if he's close to three months. That's when they say babies can CIO okay. It might be a rough couple of nights, but believe me...it would be a lot rougher for you if something happened to him while he was in his carseat. And it would be a lot rougher for you if you let him continue using it, cause eventually he wouldn't be able to do that anymore either.

I just read all the posts and I'm really shocked bc my pedi recommended the same thing for us when RJ wouldnt sleep on his back. What I did was during the day at nap times I would put him in his bassinet and when he woke up after a few mins I would get him out, rock him, and back in he went. Eventually he stopped wanting to sleep in his seat, and he sleeps in his bassinet.

I just had to say that when the carseat is in the car - especially if it has the base. With the seat in the car in the base it sits up and DS would constantly fall forward, but because of the base there wasn't anything we could do. When he is in my car I can sit the seat a little farther down so he isn't sitting straight up and down.

When he is just sitting in his car seat (outside of the car) it isn't in a position where his head would fall over, he is practically lying down - more like a "reclining" position.

I can't imagine that any doc would recommend something that would be so dangerous.

JMO

Wow this is a GREAT subject!!! *** TRIGGS***I Personally know my Brother in laws Ex wife her first son passed away because she let him fall asleep in his carseat, the docs also said it was SIDS, I believe that is very dangerous to allow a baby to sleep in a carseat over night. My DD hates sleeping on her back but I let her fall asleep in her bouncer and transfer her to he bed after she is alseep for five minutes. Sometimes we cant always listen to the PEDS and we have to use our better judgement, this is one of those cases!

I don't let my LO sleep in his carseat....not like he'd want to, he doesn't like it much lol but now that I read this it makes me worry a bit to think about that because I worry already if his head falls forward so this is something I hadn't realized could happen.

Acid reflux can make life rough for mom and baby. We tried just about everything for my nephew. Sleep in the bouncy seat helped and a sound machine with ocean waves. It seemed to not only calm him down, but his mom too. :)Then we found a Sleepy Bee online and we take the ocean sounds with us. We love it.

Being the newest medical expert to this panel, I would like to start by saying how very impressed I am with the knowledge of our parent members and how equally impressed I am with our parents' level of committment to safety and evidence-based practices with infants. I would like to echo many of the posts on this thread, and say that having an infant sleep in a carseat should not be viewed at as a long-term solution and in some instances, can absolutely be dangerous. The biggest risk relates to the positioning and angle of the carseat. Infants lack head control and so often, when babies are left for long periods of time in a carseat, their heads can fall forward, putting their airway at risk. I am all for elevating the heads of babies who suffer from acid reflux, but there are safe ways of doing this, that don't involve carseats. Does this mean that you need to panic if your baby falls asleep in the car? Absolutely not. It does mean, however, that you should be certain your carseat is installed at the correct angle in the car, and that when you are home, every parent should place a priority on the safest position for infant sleep: on their backs, in an infant basinette or crib. As parents, it often seems like such a catch-22. We, as "experts" tell you how important it is for your baby to be sleeping through the night at a certain age, but then when you finally find a solution, we tell you that it's not a good solution. It's frustrating, right?? I would encourage you to ask your pediatrician for specifics on how to get your baby to learn to sleep on her back, and to also make sure that there isn't some medical reason (like acid reflux) that would prevent her from being comfortable lying flat.
Here is an article discussing the risk of poor head positioning in infant carseats:
http://children.webmd.com/news/20090824/infant-car-seats-may-lower-oxygen-levels
For helpful information regarding how to properly install your infant carseat, go to http://seatcheck.org , where you can find NHTSA carseat inspectors in your local area.
Hope that sheds some helpful light.

To the original poster... Have you tried swaddling him tightly before rocking him and laying him down? Maybe that could simulate the way the car seat kind of surrounds him and holds him tight to help him fall asleep. Just a thought.

Acid reflux can make life rough for mom and baby. We tried just about everything for my nephew. Sleep in the bouncy seat helped and a sound machine with ocean waves. It seemed to not only calm him down, but his mom too. :)Then we found a Sleepy Bee online and we take the ocean sounds with us. We love it.

wow this is older than i thought it was.....but i know how you feel. My son LOVES his carseat....I allow him to sleep in it but i do take precautions....I fold a blanket in half and lay it over the buckles and straps. Then I put him higher up in the carseat than u would if he was strapped in making sure that the blanket will not cover his face and making sure his head can not fall forwar...It scares me but it scares me even more when he sleeps in the bassinet or crip...I can see him from my bed in the bassinet and I also worry that he will choke on his spitup...plus he hates the damn thing. I think mostly cuz he wakes up and cant see out and gets confused....I also set the carseat right next to me bed on the floor so i can make sure hes breathing well before i fall asleep and frequently check his position....He will sleep a good 4 to 5 hours straight sometimes....not bad for an 8 week old.