Transition from swaddling

Dorothy - posted on 04/29/2009

i swaddled my lo (6 months) until she fell asleep and then loosened the blanket on one side, a week later i did the other side then the third week i did the torso, now she likes to hold her swaddle blanket in her hands as she's asleep. good luck, it does get easier.

Stacey - posted on 04/29/2009

We still swaddle our 10-month old. Otherwise she wakes up once we put her in the crib and we start all over again. Swaddling has not delayed her growth, development, etc... and her bones are fine. She squirms out of the swaddle while sleeping and has been sleeping through the night on her own for the last two weeks (knock on wood). We would be very sad and tired parents without the kiddopotamus swaddle bag. I love Dr. Sears but glad, glad, glad we haven't listened to him on this one.

Jennifer - posted on 04/29/2009

Originally we just kept swaddling and put the triangle stoppers on her sides to keep her from rolling. However, the doctor advised us that those were no longer safe at her age (4 mos). I might have kept using it, but my husband is a little paranoid so we stopped using the stoppers. Life without the stoppers means we have been trying to slowly break her of the swaddle. We wrap one side tightly, but leave the other hand free just wrappng the other side under her armpit (like a 1/2 swaddle). Last week we started trying just naps without the swaddle, she seems to be transitioning well. So far it works much better than when we went cold turkey.

Michelle - posted on 04/29/2009

go for it.....our son is 4 months old now and I still swaddle for night only. Naps are sometimes a bear because he really does need it. Like your daughter he moves a lot. He ends up waking himself when he throws his arms around. He smacks himself in the face. As for how old to stop...our 3 year old comes to us at night and asks to be 'wrapped tight'. The Dr.'s have not told me to stop; it's a comfort thing. When she is ready to be loose, she will get loose or will have a way to let you know.

Arwen - posted on 04/29/2009

I was also told not to swaddle past one month, that it hampered bone growth. But my daughter woke up just as much when she was swaddled as when she wasn't. She also jerked in her sleep and woke up. It's because babies think they are falling when they are just on their back. It was solved for us by putting a tiny baby pillow on her tummy. It was really lightweight and thin, and I had it secured so it wouldn't move. But she really enjoyed the security of it. I don't think tummy sleep would hurt. I read that it increases SIDS for kids around cigarette smoke, whose mother smoked or drank while pregnant. Or children that have really bad reflux. My daughter eventually started rolling herself to her stomach. Slept so well in that position.

Kat - posted on 04/29/2009

Seeing as your baby is falling asleep well enough what I've got to say most likely will be of no help. But for anyone else maybe something I did might work for them.
My daughter slept swaddled for 3.5 months, & could not fall asleep without it. I slowly started to wean her by for 1 week leaving 1 arm out, then the next week leaving 2 arms out. Then on the 3rd week just swaddling the torso. Once she was comfortable with her limbs out I needed to come up with something else. As if I just put her in the bassinet with just her PJ's on she was a bit lost. So I made her a sleep bag. This replaced the sleep cue of the swaddling. So every sleep, day or night I put the sleep bag on her. It helped her to know the difference between when I expect her to sleep & when i just want to lay her in a safe spot for a minute. I also tried new things during her 1st day sleep 1st - not the big overnight sleep. Just short practices during the day before the big event so to speak.
Blankets at this age I thought was a no go. My understanding is your wouldn't introduce blankets till 18 months - but I could be wrong. I'm personally too worried to try having her sleep on her tummy & I'm glad she's not needed to. (My family has lost my nephew to SIDS, so I don't need a list of do's & don'ts - we know them all too well).

Maybe for a short time you just need to put in the hard yards & quietly settle bub when she wakes up. Just a gentle reassuring pat on the back & then leave the room. Maybe she needs to learn to settle herself & put herself back to sleep & that's how you need to look at it. The swaddling is behind you & now it's just a re-settling to sleep issue you need to deal with. Think of it like that.
I hope you get some info that suits you & works. Good Luck.

Allison - posted on 04/29/2009

Quoting Monica:

never swaddling, it delays development... I would say use lose blankes and not swaddle so tightly. Sounds like she is being a normal baby, my son woke up at night almost every night until he was 12 months old, try sleeping her on her tummy it helps a lot especially if she is used to being swadled.

Both loose blankets and tummy sleeping raise the risk of SIDS, so it's not recommended. Swaddleing *can* cause problems with growth, but only if used for more than a typical night-sleeping period (more than 8 hours a day). There is nothing wrong with swaddling at night.

My son was swaddled  for part of the night until he was 8 months old and able to get out of the swaddle himself. Swaddling became part of the nighttime routine - the last thing we'd do before we'd rock him to sleep and it worked well. It allowed him to sleep for 3-4 hours at a stretch. 

Ashlee - posted on 04/29/2009

I am so glad you asked this question...my daughter is 3.5 months old and I am trying to transition from swaddling. I have swaddled her mainly because she wakes herself up by flailing her arms and legs...but she is almost too big for her swaddling blanket and she sometimes get tangled in it (which scares me to death!). She has been sleeping through the night for two months now and I hate to screw that up but I think that it might just take a few nights to get used to it. Good luck! If you find a trick let me know and I'll do the same :)

Monica - posted on 04/29/2009

never swaddling, it delays development... I would say use lose blankes and not swaddle so tightly. Sounds like she is being a normal baby, my son woke up at night almost every night until he was 12 months old, try sleeping her on her tummy it helps a lot especially if she is used to being swadled.

Jessica - posted on 04/29/2009

My son is 10 weeks and we still swaddle him. His limbs move so much that they wake him up at night. I tryed taking it off after one feeding to see how he slept but all he did was cry...once i put the swaddle back on he fell right asleep. It works for my son and i know he is getting really good sleep, which helps them grow. Every child is defferent just because someone stopped swaddling their child at one month doesn't mean that what is supposed to happen. It sounds like your doing a great job.



I would keep at it, maybe have her unswaddled at nap time. That's what I am doing with my little one.

Yulia - posted on 04/29/2009

Hi jamie,

I was surprised to know that your baby is still being swaddled until now. My baby got swaddled only for the first month of her life. After that she constantly tried to be freed from the wrapping.

All babies eventually outgrow the need for swaddling once they become more active--and make this clear by trying to kick off the wrapping, which poses a suffocation risk. For that reason, and because swaddling can interfere with baby's ability to practice motor skills, babies shouldn't be swaddled once they become more active.

Hope it helps.

Emily - posted on 04/29/2009

That's what mine did! It is a pain but once she adjusts she will be fine and you will be glad she is out of it. It will pass, though it doesn't seem like it will.

Jaime - posted on 04/29/2009

Just a note... The reason she wakes up, is she brings her legs up and starts thrashing around, I've read some people so it because they won't FALL asleep with out it. That is not our problem, but more that she wakes herself up when thrashing around.

Emily - posted on 04/29/2009

My twins were swaddled until 8.5 mo. It was hard trans out of them because they spent a lot of time amazed at their arms, legs, etc in their cribs and it made it hard for them to get to sleep and go back to sleep. I guess like any other milestone interrupts sleep. I wish I had done it much sooner. If I had it to do over again I would have stopped at 4 mos. since it wouldn't have been as much of a problem.

Cassie - posted on 04/29/2009

There isn't a certain age that is too old. Follow your daughter's cues. My daughter was ready to stop being swaddled when she was five months old. If you are worried about your daughter rolling over while swaddled, use a sleep positioner. We used one with my daughter. We purchased it at babies-r-us. Some babies need the swaddle longer than others.

Carla - posted on 04/29/2009

oh i see

Jaime - posted on 04/29/2009

Tightly wrapping the baby in a blanket.

Carla - posted on 04/29/2009

sorry whats swaddling?