How to Wean Your Child From Rock and Play
When Fisher-Price recalled their hugely popular dormant Rock ‘N Play earlier this month, sleep deprived parents around the world let out a collective sigh of frustration. For some parents – especially those with reflux in children – the slight slope and cozy structure (not to mention its vibrational characteristic) have been a godsend during sleep and, yes, at night.
Unfortunately, the features that helped calm babies also make it dangerous. Babies can roll, get trapped, and gasp, and tilting their airways constricts.
That’s why our best advice and advice from just about every expert we’ve found is this: Stop using it now .
The problem, however, as pointed out by the writer Patrick A. Coleman in his book “Fatherhood” , lies in the fact that many parents do not cease to use the Rock ‘N Play, until you learn what to do instead:
What the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) did in recalling Rock ‘n Play doesn’t really help parents who feel like they are missing out on an important tool in their arsenal. Children will continue to get hurt from these dangerous products until parents receive more than just a warning, but a better way.
It is in this spirit that the nurse for newborns and a certified consultant onbreast -feedingGilley Blankenship has developed a plan to help parents wean their children from the Rock ‘N Play up flat bassinet or cradle as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics .
“I think the safest tip is cold turkey,” says Blankenship. But for parents of babies who are struggling to adapt, she has come up with a plan to transition them “ASAP,” which she defines as a maximum of 2-3 days. The plan is only for babies who have not yet started riding and are wearing seat belts.
According to Blankenship, parents need to wean their kids from the three functions they love most about Rock ‘N Play: vibration, containment, and elevation.
Vibration
Start by decreasing the vibration level you use on Rock ‘N Play (or whatever tilted, vibrating sleeper you use). If you are currently at level 3, downgrade to 2 today and 1 tomorrow. Once the baby is asleep within 20 minutes, turn off the vibration, Blankenship said.
You want her to get used to sleeping in a still space. If the child wakes up, use vibration to get him back to sleep. Turn it off again when she falls asleep.
Containment
We do it; it’s time to move your toddler to a bassinet or crib with a flat mattress and tight-fitting sheet. To help recreate the “restraint” they felt when everyone snuggled up at Rock ‘N Play, first swaddle them with either a swaddling blanket or, for babies trying to roll, a swaddling blanket. (Blankenship lists some of his favorites here .)
Blankenship also suggests putting the baby to bed with his feet touching one end of the crib, rather than directly in the center. According to her, it helps babies to feel certain “boundaries” around them.
Height
This is the main thing and as Blankenship says on his website; “There is no real way to do this. But by the time you have weaned off vibration and containment, you’ve already done most of the hard work. ”
They need to go from raised to flat, so they will probably be uncomfortable and need a little (or a lot) of additional practical soothing in the form of rubbing, patting, or chanting that you can lessen over time. …
Do not use any other inclined sleeper.
Blankenship told me that an important takeaway from Rock ‘N Play’s review is that all tilt sleep devices like Rock’ N Play have the same security concerns.
“Don’t replace it with another product that is a sleep aid,” she says. “The safest place is in a crib or bassinet on a flat mattress.”