newborns sleeping in car carriers

In article , Hillary Israeli says...

I have nothing productive to add. I just had to say that gosh, the subject
line keeps getting me. I keep thinking it says "newborns sleeping in CAT
carriers." I guess I haven't seen the phrase "car carriers" used before

Kinda like "eye dropper" isn't it? I mean, it isn't cars being carried.

Cheers,
Banty

"jl" wrote in message
36...
Our twin boys were born five weeks and a day early nearly five weeks ago.
For being premature, they've done terrific, breastfeeding well, gaining
weight at a terrific clip and becoming more alert and active all the
time.

Our problem has been getting them to sleep in a crib. They'll break out
of a tight swaddle in minutes and one will always be awake and crying in
an hour.


If swaddle busting is there game...

http://www.miracleblanket.com/viewpoint.htm


However, they do great in their car carriers, and will now
occasionally go four hours between feedings. They seem to like the
confinement of the carrier and by tucking a second blankent over them,
the swaddle is easier to maintain. Our concern is the slumped over
posture they occasionally adobt in the carriers. I worry whether they're
able to breath as well (though they sound fine) and what effects bad
posture might have. We've consulted with their pediatrician and have
tried a number of things like elevating one side of the crib mattress in
case acid reflux is the culprit, however, they simply won't take to the
crib, and we feel they must sleep, both for their health and ours. Every
few days we try the crib again, but to the same result. The pediatrician
feels if the carrier is what they need to sleep, then we should stick
with it for the time being.

So my questions a
1. What are the potential harms of allowing them to sleep in the carriers
and how serious are they.


They will outgrow the carrier and then find themselves with no place that
they are accustomed to sleeping. This is a ways away. But it is worth
considering for a bit so you do not look down one day and see these giant
kids and say... Now what do I do?

2. How do we get them to sleep in a crib.

If we we're only dealing with one baby, we could tolerate more
experimentation, but with two, they seem to never get a full sleep in the
crib.


I would first try the swaddle thing. When they sleep in the carrier, do they
FALL asleep in the car? If no, then maybe better bundling is all you need.

Other thing I would try is white noise, like a humidifier or a fan,
something you can leave on.


Thanks for any help.

In article ,
Stephanie Stowe wrote:

"jl" wrote in message
. 136...
So my questions a
1. What are the potential harms of allowing them to sleep in the carriers
and how serious are they.


They will outgrow the carrier and then find themselves with no place that
they are accustomed to sleeping. This is a ways away. But it is worth
considering for a bit so you do not look down one day and see these giant
kids and say... Now what do I do?

My girls took a while to grow (they were also premature); I got
18 months of use out of the infant carriers. Needless to say,
they learned to sleep in a crib waaaaay before they were too big
for the carriers.

If you let your little ones sleep in the carriers, at least
some of the time, you'll find that they will over time sleep more
and more in the crib. One thing that happens is that as they are
getting more sleep and are more rested, they will go to
sleep more easily -- and probably won't mind the crib. Get them
well rested by whatever method you need to (infant carrier,
whatever) and their whole sleep pattern will improve.

I'm a big fan of Weissbluth's book "Healthy Sleep Habits,
Happy Child". He suggests waiting until kids are 4 months
(adjusted) before setting up a sleep schedule, but I
started my kids at 2 months adjusted and it worked pretty
well. Saved my life :-)

Good luck,
- marty
(mom to Andie & Alex, 3)