How to get 5month old to sleep unwrapped

Jodie - posted on 11/23/2009

Thanks to all for your comments they have helped heaps. Sam is now sleeping through the night unswaddled but in a gro bag. Again thanks heaps its nice to know people are going through the same thing, makes you feel half sane! :)

Krystal - posted on 11/09/2009

My son is 8mths and still swaddled. But for a diff reason, he has eczema so if i unswaddle him he scratches his face to bleeding point. However, i have read to wean off the swaddle you can leave one arm out for 3 days, 2 arms out for 3 days with just body wrapped and then loosely and remove. Hope this works for you xx

Charlie - posted on 11/09/2009

i agree Gro bags or sleep sacks are EXCELLENT !
And recommended in the prevention of SIDS.

they cant wriggle out so they stay warm all night , here is the website if you want to check it out .
http://www.grobag.com.au/story.aspx

Kate CP - posted on 11/09/2009

Sleep sacks are a gift from God. :)

Bev - posted on 11/09/2009

Girl...my husband still sleeps wrapped and he's 56! I think your baby just enjoys the comfort of being wrapped. Let him sleep wrapped. When he starts NOT sleeping while wrapped...it'll mean he no longer likes it.

Shilpa - posted on 11/08/2009

Quoting Jodie:

How to get 5month old to sleep unwrapped

My 5 month old is still sleeping wrapped (swaddled) but is getting fustrated with it. I have tried to put him down for his sleeps unwrapped but he just cries and cries and can't settle, in the end i try to wrap him with one arm out and again he tries to get his arm out. I have been wrapping him fully at night for i need the sleep but am worried that when he is trying to wiggle out of the wrap that it will end up on his face. Can any one offer some advise?

I swaddled my daughter until she was 2 months old (when we put her in her own room) She slept so well while she was swaddled and If I wasn't afraid of her pulling the blankets over her head i might have kept it up for longer.  I knew he liked the cozy feeling and also the tightness of the blankets. So I started putting her in a grow bag (a sleeping sac with a zipper, very safe, absolutely no fear of  being pulled over the head) and I also placed her an air flow positioner in her crib and put her in that. (keeps the baby from turning over) Since the airflow positioner has padding on both sides she still felt cozy and like she was being held. She's now 9 months old and It still works. Hope this helps!

Debra - posted on 11/08/2009

I still wrap my 6mth old boy as he wriggles and wakes himself up with his hands. He is very strong but cannot get out of the wrap due to the way it is done. You do need to use a very large wrap (I use 150cm x 150 cm) or a cot sheet is good.

Simply fold over the top of the wrap (couple of inches) and place the baby in the middle. Wrap each arm down by bringing the wrap over the shoulder and under the bottom. With the free wrap at the end, bring it up over the bub and tuck under each side.

As this method has the bub using his/her own body weight to hold the wrap in place, as long as you wrap firmly, he/she shouldn't be able to escape... Hope this makes sense!

Rachel - posted on 11/08/2009

My daughter is now 7 months old but at 6 months she started rolling so she was always getting out of her swaddle as she would roll onto her tummy. I was worried at first as I thought she wouldnt be able to breathe and the blanket would go over her face...but now I am okay. No more worries. I still swaddle her up but before I go to bed I check her and if she is on her tummy (which lately is 100% al the time) I take the swaddle away. and just place a light blanket over her..In the beginning I used the monitor to keep a listen out for her..Does you child sleep through the night?

Dimity - posted on 11/08/2009

I put my little one in a 0.5tog sleeping bag then wrapped his bottom half with a blanket so he still felt secure - this worked and after a few nights he was fine. Worth a try??

Tamara - posted on 11/07/2009

My son is 5 1/2 months old & has always liked being swaddled too. Recently I bought some of the Halo sleep sacks since he always kicks off his swaddle & he seems to like those a lot. You can buy the Halo sleep sacks at Babies R Us & Target. Maybe one of these will work for you. Good luck!

Angie - posted on 11/07/2009

The use of a sleep sack is a good idea.After the first couple months a baby should not be put to bed with any blankets. It increases the risk of SIDS. They should be placed in a crib on their back, with nothing soft in the crib. You should continue to do this until after they turn one.Good luck

Natalie - posted on 11/07/2009

Use a sleep sack. It will give him enough room to move around but he is zipped in so he'll always be covered.Here is a link to what some of them look like https://www.halosleep.com/.

Tonya - posted on 11/07/2009

Hi Jodie- sounds like your bundle of joy is having fetal warmth withdrawal. Try giving him his milk slightly warm and getting a heated blanket-( on the lowest temp)-put this under him, with a regular thin to medium blanket next to his body-loosely swaddled around him ( this will allow you to unwrap the electric blanket, and turn off when he falls asleep but keep him warm)- I think they sell a baby version of this. do this with you laying next to him ( if you can) with your cheek next to his or your face against his hand- this will allow you to move away quietly. That will give him the slight feel of your heartbeat to comfort him. He should fall off to sleep, allowing you to move to your bed- and have a comfy nights rest. This may take a few days, but try to stick with it aleast a week or so. I am studying to be a naturopathic doctor, I am currently a licensed massage therapist. If you have any questions feel free to email me at vhorizonsmassage@yahoo.com

Best wishes and blessings- Tonya Trotter

Rachel - posted on 11/07/2009

Hi Jodie.
I swear by the gro bag sleeping bags ( or equivalent). They come in differnent Togs so I use one for the day and one at night. My little boy loved being swaddled and we had a similar problem so what we do is stretch a thin cotton sheet over him in the gro bag and tuck it it the sides of the cot. I think this make him feel more swaddled and it stops him from moving around too much. It has made for a more restful sleep for everyone.
x

Julie - posted on 11/05/2009

im in the same boat my son is 5 months and is still swaddled. to get him to sleep is a little trickly as his legs try to get out and his arms are waving out there , sometimes i just wrap his body and his arms are free and other times i wrap his totally up.