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I have to share my experience with the Fisher Price Snugabunny Cradle N Swing because it is the SOLE reason my Claire started sleeping through the night at six weeks old.
Besides that, it’s what I use if I need to make dinner, shower, eat lunch, clean the house, or just get something done that can’t be done with a baby in my arms. I love that I can just set her down in the swing and as long as she is fed and changed, she will be happy.
What The Swing Does
It gently rocks the baby. There are six speed settings you can experiment with to see which one your baby prefers. Mine prefers four or five most of the time, but there are different occasions for each of the speeds. The swing is also adjustable, so the baby can either rock front to back or side to side. There are songs and nature sounds built into the swing to help soothe baby, as well as a mobile with animals that can spin overhead while baby is swinging. The fabric in the cradle part is soft and cushiony.
When To Use It
I recommend placing the swing in the largest, busiest area of your house. I keep my swing in the kitchen and living room area (my kitchen and living are combined). This is a great place for the swing because I can keep an eye on her while I do the dishes, eat a meal or bake something. There’s a bathroom close to that area, so if she needs something while I’m going, she’s close by. It’s also a much safer option than just plopping her on the couch when I need to get something done.
Sometimes babies just like to be moving rather than sitting in one place. Claire likes to move AND have something to watch, whether it’s the TV or me sweeping the floors. If I set her down in the crib during the day, she gets bored quickly (not that there isn’t a time and place for the crib… such as nap time). Setting her in the swing gives her that motion she loves and allows her to keep an eye on the activities around her, and most of the time it rocks her to sleep!
Sleeping in the Swing… My Disclaimer
I don’t think it’s recommended to allow your baby to fall asleep in the swing for long periods of time, especially unattended. Maybe I’m a bad mom, but Claire sleeps in the swing through the entire night. Let me explain.
The night before Neil went back to work after six weeks off, I kind of had an emotional meltdown. Claire was SO fussy that night– nothing we did could calm her down. It was past her bed time and we could not get her to sleep. The thought that kept running through my head and eliciting panic was that Neil would be gone tomorrow, and I would have to deal with this all on my own.
Up until that point, she had been sleeping in the bassinet next to our bed every night. We would feed her and either Neil or I would rock her to sleep in the nursery’s rocking recliner. Usually we would have to rock her for at least 30 minutes before she would let us lay her in the bassinet, and even then, she would often wake up and cry. To help each other get more sleep, Neil and I would take turns holding the baby while she slept during the night, usually in four hour blocks.
A typical day looked like this:
- I fed the baby between 9 and 10 p.m.
- Neil took the baby to the nursery and sat in the recliner with her until about 2 a.m.
- Neil brought the baby to me to eat.
- I took her to the nursery to eat, then took her either to the guest bedroom where we had one of those co-sleepers, or to the kitchen area, where I could sleep on the couch next to the swing. This allowed Neil to catch some sleep. If I brought her to the bassinet that was in our bedroom, she made so much noise while sleeping and would wake up every one to two hours. It wasn’t my number one option.
- Once I took my turn with her, she would wake up every two to four hours to eat, so there was approximately a 5 a.m. feeding and an 8 a.m. feeding.
- I would usually get up after the 8 a.m. feeding and eat breakfast.
- Neil would wake up around noon, I would feed her again and he would take her while I got some sleep for a couple hours.
Basically we were sleeping around the clock, and Neil and I never slept at the same time during that first six weeks. Newborns sure are cute but EXHAUSTING.
Bounce back to the night before he went back to work… you can see why I was nervous. How was I going to get any sleep with Neil working? How was he going to get any sleep?
We decided to put the baby in the swing that night and see what happened. We swaddled her, gave her the binky, set her in the swing and turned it on. And I took my tear streaked self to bed, hoping she would give us just a couple hours of sleep.
Guess what? She slept for nine hours that night. When I woke up the next morning I seriously thought, “Oh no! Is she dead?” But she was not dead, just sleeping soundly in that swing!
We did ask our doctor about the safety of letting her sleep in the swing. She assured us that our biggest problem would probably be transitioning to the crib eventually… so we have more battles to come. Make sure you consult your doctor before trying something like this. For now, I am just thankful for something that lets us keep our sanity.
We kept putting her in the swing every night after that, and she has slept through the night almost every night since. In fact, most nights she sleeps for 10 to 11 hours. She is now almost four months old, and thanks to the Fisher Price Snugabunny Cradle N Swing, we are a well-rested mama, daddy and baby.
I found the cheapest Snugabunny Swing on Amazon:
Do you have a sweet newborn right now? What works for you, and what “rules” have you broken in order to catch some sleep and sanity?
