Swaddling - Downers Grove,IL

Try the Miracle Blanket (http://www.miracleblanket.com/index.htm). I used it with both kids and it is a LIFESAVER!! You can also get it at buy buy baby and babiesrus.com. Good luck!

I know this is not recommended, but some moms put their babies to sleep on their tummies.

I gave my newborns each a stuffed doggie and put them to sleep on their side. The doggies are longer than a teddy bear and you can put in between baby's arms. Instead of startling, they grab doggie. It's also helpful if your baby likes to grab at her face.

It really helped them to sleep, and I have friends who also gave their babies doggies.

Be sure to buy two, and be sure to find ones that can be washed over and over in the washer. Ours were Ty brand from Toys R Us.

Mine never liked swaddling after the first week or so. I love the doggie suggestion, and I like the arms tight/legs free idea. We would not have survived infancy without white noise. We started with one of those "heartbeat" stuffed animals and graduated to a fan or air filter that blocked out sudden noises for our easily-roused baby. Don't go by guilt feelings for "tying her up" if it works. But for you, it's not working, so let that be your guide.

And just so you know, by the time you figure this out, she'll be in a new phase and you'll be learning something new!

Have you tried swaddling ONLY her arms? Swaddling the legs tightly actually forces the spine into an unnaturally straight position, which can be uncomfortable. (If you look at an infant laying naturally, their legs are spread at the hip and bent, which allows the spine to curve naturally.)

I also agree about the noise... At this age, the startle reflex is still pretty strong. If something startles them, it causes them to flail the arms out. Maybe playing white noise or soft music would help.

P.s. my DD also had a small lovey as an infant. You aren't "supposed" to put anything in the crib with them... But you gotta do what works! Lol.

There are some swaddle sacks at Target which just velcro around the arms, but are looser for the legs. Perhaps that might work? A little more wiggle freedom but still keeping the flappy arm thing under control?

Only one of my kids liked being swaddled. I have never noticed anyone of them flapping their arms and waking themselves up, what I did notice is an unusual noise caused them to flap their arms and on occasion the noise actually woke them up.

Ours was an october baby, we used the halo sleep sacks. they had zippers and velcro to help keep the baby contained. It worked for us.

Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

I swear by the Miracle Blanket. My oldest son always got out of the Velcro swaddled, but he was very small, and I think it's easier to get out of them when they're wee newborns. I gave up swaddling with him, then when he was older another mom told me that a swaddle should be pretty tight. I learned about the Miracle Blanket on this site with #2 and it was a godsend. There used to be a video o the website with a screaming baby that stopped crying as it was being swaddled...that's what it was like for me. Not so much that my son screamed, but he would nod off so easily and self-soothe once swaddled. I loaned them to my SIL who was having sleep problems with her newborn and she couldn't believe it either. Worked like magic for #3, too. It was tough once my kids started growing out of it because they'd wake with their startle reflex but they could get out of the swaddle. It's pricey (maybe $35) when I bought them in 2008, and I had 3 (one in use, a back-up in case of spit up or a blowout, then one for the daycare)....but worth every single penny, in my experience.

sounds like you may not be swaddling her correctly. Watch a youtube video just to be sure. If you are then double swaddle, one normal then the next backwards (so the crossing over parts are all on her back)

you are NOT tying her up, you are giving her the chance to get that nap she needs so much, good sleep is the key to happy kids

Here here to the Miracle Blanket! I agree that it is THE BEST way to swaddle a baby. Swaddling a newborn is awesome for them, but the arm thing is SUCH an issue! One of the things that I learned is that a baby spends 9months growing in this tiny little space that is so cramped and noisy (white noise) that to come out of that instantly is freaky! One of the best things a new parent can do is to try to recreate that space to help make a nice transition. Swaddling, white noise machines, heartbeats, skin to skin, rocking etc. are all things we do to make this possible.

www.miracleblanket.com is the website http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+use+th... here are tons of videos on how to use!