Swaddling - Prosper, TX

Why stop a good thing? If she sleeps well being swaddled let her be swaddled. My almost 9month old still needs to be swaddled occasionally when she's overtired or can't stop squirming and fighting sleep long enough to fall asleep. After she's asleep I loosen up the blanket so she can move freely in her sleep.

WE had the same problem we ended up doing it till she was almost 6 months old. We found a soft on one side silky on the on there blanket and wrapped it around her and she loves it and that's the only thing she will sleep with now. It was a rough first few nights.

I'm with Brandy,if that is how she sleeps best, why stop? Here is a site for the sleep sack like she was talking about:

https://www.halosleep.com/

Hi M.,
Why do you want to break her from it? Both of my boys liked to be swaddled and when they got older they liked to be tucked into bed.
Chris

I'm curious why you would want to "break her" of this habit at this point in time? 3 months is still quite young and if she still needs it (she still does if she will only sleep for a brief time without it) Both my kids showed me they didn't want to be swaddled later on by struggling to get out and that's when I knew they had outgrown the need.

Great advice from the past 3 moms!!! My daughter would only sleep when swaddled but she stopped wanting to be wrapped at around 5 months. It's a great source of comfort. She will let you know when she is ready to be done!

Hi M.,
When I weaned my boys from swaddling, I would wrap them tightly without wrapping one arm. Then a few days later we would unwrap the other arm. Then they would sleep with just the legs swaddled & eventually no blanket at all.
I agree with the other moms that if your baby likes to be swaddled, why stop. My sister still swaddles her 1 year old!
T.

This may sound extreme, but with my daughter it just got too hot outside to swaddle her and she had troubles going to sleep so we put her in the buggy/stroller and jiggled the heck out of it! She would settle down after a couple of minutes and then we could slowly gentle the jiggling, but to begin with you really have to go at it. Have you read Dr. Harvey Karp's book "Happiest baby on the block"? It gives some suggestions about weening from swaddling as well. Good luck!

My pediatrician recommended that we'd stop swaddling our baby at our 2-month check-up, because he felt it might impair the baby's motor development being swaddled. I know people have different opinions about this (and I'm sure there are lots of moms out there who swaddled their babies for a long time without any problems), but we decided to follow our pediatrician's recommendation. I looked everywhere for advice on how to stop swaddling and I don't think there's a GOOD way of doing it. We ended up pretty much cutting the swaddling out cold turkey, and the first day my baby only slept about 20 minutes at a time until I gave in and swaddled him in the late afternoon (feeling like a horrible mom). But the next day he slept much better, and he quickly got used to not being swaddled - just like our pediatrician said he would. I occasionally swaddled him if I felt he hadn't slept well enough for a few days, but I think within a week he was no longer swaddled at all.

I should say that we had already noticed that he slept OK at night without the swaddle (until the early morning hours when he wasn't as deeply asleep), so I think starting to unswaddle at night when the baby sleeps more deeply might be a good idea.

Hey M.. We swaddled my son until he could get out of...I think until he was about 6-7mo. Once he wouldn't stay in he could stay asleep even through his startling in the night. This startle reflex is one of the biggest reasons to swaddle so I don't think that you will have to necessarily "break your daughter of swaddling. I think she probably wakes up cause that reflex hasn't quite outgrown her yet. Keep swadling and get sleep for you and her ;)
A., mommy of Noah

Hi,
I know some Indian tribes who continued to swaddle their children until they were 1-2 years old. One child that I tended when I was younger had to be swaddled for nearly two years due to an infirmaty that needed to be operated on. Once that period was over she seemed to naturally nto need it as much. It is easier to break fro mthis habit when it is warmed outside though, then it seems natural to wantt he covers looser.

I raised two children and swaddled them both. The funny thing is that I don't remember ever having to "wean" them from it....they just outgrow it...when they are ready. They will wiggle out when they don't want it anymore. If the baby is secure and comfortable...why would you want to change that? Along with the other mom's I am curious what makes you want to change this???? Good luck with whatever you decide.

M., Hi! My son never wanted to be swaddled, but he had trouble sleeping if he was not warm enough. It's not just the jammies they wear, it's the keeping body heat in. I had him in a cradle, and finally figured out that I needed a loose weave soft, thick, and knitted (preferably home made) blanket between the mattress and the fitted sheet. That allowed for his body heat to be trapped and he snuggled right down and slept. I hope this might help some. Could you share what problem the swaddling is posing for you?
J. :)

I'm probably not the best person to give advice, because we tried to de-swaddle our son (now 14 months) around four months, a few weeks after we moved him to the crib in his own room, but that was way too much for him, and he just stopped sleeping. So we kept swaddling him. Around 6 months we started swaddling him with one arm out, and it took several days for him to get the hang of that and sleep well. Finally, we put him in a sleep sack and just tucked one arm in. He could get the arm out if he needed it, (like when he rolled over) but it seemed to help him feel snuggly and secure enough to go to sleep. Just to prepare you: it was a long, gradual process for us. Some little sweeties don't do as well with the change!

Why stop, it isn't hurting anything. If she is wiggling out of it try a sleep sack.

Hi M.,

My experience is that your baby will outgrow the swaddling soon enough and that if she sleeps well with the swaddling, keep it up! I've read that you can keep swaddling up to and beyond 6 months. Your daughter will start to move more and kicking and you'll know you can start weaning her of it. You can slowly swaddle only an arm and both legs and then just her legs and then you won't need to anymore.
I guess I'm wondering why you're wanting to break her from the swaddling if she likes it...

it gets better! We went through the same thing. Good luck

Why do you want to break her of this? It's a good comfort measure for her. Eventually you probably won't be able to swaddle her because she'll want her hands free. So, you could just let her grow out of it. However, you can also just tuck her blankets in tightly around her or roll them up on either side of her. They also have devices out there that are cushions to help hold her, like the rolled blankets do.

I'm adding to the "if it works why change it" camp. We live near an Indian reservation, and some women continue to swaddle their children into toddler years. My adopted sister would wrap her two-year old securely in her cradle-board for naps! Her daughter is now 14, healthy, secure, and athletic.
Bottles, pacifiers--yes, they need to stop those after a year or so for health reasons. But is there any health reason to stop swaddling? I had a hard time when my son stopped wanting to be swaddled because it was much harder to get him to sleep. Babies who sleep are happy babies, and happy babies have happy moms!

Hi M.,
this is just more of a note of support than anything. My daughter is also 3.5 months and we just stopped swaddling her about 2 weeks ago. It took about a week of waking up every 1 to 2 hours (exhausting!) but now she is used to it and has been going her usual 5-7 hour stretches. So hang in there - it gets tough but they do get used to it! We just stuck to the same routine and it's been ok!

Why?? Is my first thought.. If your little person wants to be wrapped snug and secure, why tell her she can't have her security?? And how easy is it to soothe someone with a favorite blanket.. Even on the home dec shows, bedding plays an important part.

If you're worried about entanglement in the blankets, I think the chance is low. I also think that as she learns to move around she will either learn to love her blanket or learn to move it away.

I am a mother/baby nurse, and have found that some babies love to be wrapped; others become more fussy. Love your baby--too soon she'll be off to college.....

Swaddling is something that they break themselves of. My daughter would wiggle out of the swaddle when she was 6 months. That when we stopped it all together. Let her lead you with that one. Sleepis is a good thing for you and her so take it as you can. Dont deny yourself sleep to break a habit! Good Luck!