Hi! I’m Dana Obleman, creator of The Sleep Sense Program. If you’d rather read than watch, I’ve transcribed the text of this video below.

This week’s question comes from Nancy. She writes:

“My 13-month-old daughter has been sleeping in our room in her swing. That has been the only way we could get her to sleep—in a swing. We’re ready to move her to her own room, and we want her to sleep in a crib, but we’re not sure how to make the transition…”

I’m really glad to hear you’re ready to make the transition. I just want to talk a little bit about sleep that occurs in a swing or sleep that happens in a car seat or stroller. There’s lots of evidence that suggests that when people are in a reclined position but not fully flat and lying down, our bodies tend to not let us go into the deep, stage-three sleep as often or for as long as we really should. The thought is that it’s our body’s way of protecting us from any kind of danger. Your body’s thinking that if you’re not lying down totally horizontally, are you in any kind of danger of falling out of whatever you’re in and hurting yourself?

So, a lot of sleep specialists call stroller sleep and swing sleep “junk sleep.” It’s OK, it takes the edge off, but it’s not really good quality sleep, and it’s not going to be as restoring to their brain and body as it would be if they were sleeping flat in a crib somewhere.

It’s great that you’re ready to make the transition. The swing’s not a great place for her to be sleeping. I’m surprised she even still fits in a swing at 13 months. So, how do you make that transition? I always tell people that you should start where you want to end up, so you don’t have to do this more than once. You’re just going to do it all at once. I’d start in her own room, in her crib. I’d just get rid of the swing altogether. Do the routine as you normally would—however that was—and then, instead of putting her in the swing, you’re going to put her in the crib.

If you think it’s going to be a really big, hard transition for her, and you want to be supportive. I suggest you do the stay-in-the-room method with her. You can be the cheerleader and the supporter as she learns, “How do I get myself to sleep now that there’s not this going on every night?”

And you can bet that’s it’s going to be a transition. Think about it from your own perspective. If somebody came in tonight and said, “I know you’re used to sleeping in a bed, but tonight I want you to sleep on the floor. It’s going to be better for you in the long run, but now the floor is your new place to sleep. It’s going to take you quite a while to get used to sleeping on a floor, and you’re probably going to have some anxiety around it.”

You’re probably not going to cry about it because you’re an adult, but you can see how that transition would be tough for a baby who’s spent a lot of her life sleeping in a swing. So, of course you can be supportive, say a key phrase, do a bit of careful touch, be present in the room until she finally falls asleep—but the only way she’s going to figure out how to do this is if she has the opportunity to practice each and every night. The more she practices, the better she’s going to get, and soon she’ll find her way. And you’ll find that she has a much better sleep. You might even notice some changes in her overall mood throughout the day, because she’ll be getting better quality sleep.

I’m glad you’ve made this choice. I want you to go ahead and do it, knowing that you’re making the very best decision for your daughter. Thank you. Sleep well!