Help with swaddling, Please!

Silver Member Joined: Sep 03 2007 Posts: 631

My dd is almost 7 months old and we still swaddle her (the swaddleme is amazing!). We really want to stop swaddling her b/c she's getting older and I think that she would prefer not to be tied up like that. Plus, she's getting much more active these days, pulling up to standing and almost crawling...B"H. So tonight I decided to unswaddle just one arm like we do when she naps. She cried and cried and cried. She wouldn't fall asleep! I decided to reswaddle her and she fell asleep right away. How do I get her to fall asleep without the swaddle if she keeps crying so much? Should I just let her cry--we don't like that philosophy--what can I do?

Diamond Member Joined: Apr 27 2006 Age: 30 Posts: 2535

I never heard of htis before. I coulnt keep my kids swaddled past 1 month. I wonder if a sleep sack would work. go online, I think toysrus has it. that way she can be cozy but not totally confined

Executive Member Joined: Oct 22 2006 Posts: 354

Definitely don't let her cry! We were still swaddling my dd at that age. Everyone made fun of us that she was going to need to be swaddled to sleep her whole life.
If she cried so much, I would take it as a sign that maybe she needs a little more time. I was so happy I waited so long because when we started to unswaddle her it was a pretty smooth transition.
has she ever broken through the swaddle? have you tried to loosen it a little so that she will break through eventually?

Silver Member Joined: Sep 03 2007 Posts: 631

I haven't tried loosening it up b/c I'm afraid what'll happen. She has broken out of the swaddle. Sometimes when I get her in the morning she got 1 hand out and she's fine. It's wierd though b/c I unswaddle both legs and 1 arm during her naps, but at night she frieks out!

msycms, the sleep sack is a good idea, but it only is a sack around the legs, the arms are out in the open. An idea though!

I have the same thing. My dd is 6 months and she will only sleep swaddled. I have no idea how to transition her. The one time I tried to put her to sleep unswaddled, she cried and cried

Posted: Mon, Mar 10 2008, 2:20 pm Post subject: re: help with swaddling, Please!

Small world! My baby is six months old and also has only slept swaddled. Recently, I have been thinking that she falls asleep before she is fully tired because the swaddle sort of gives her a false sense of sleepiness--all warm and keeping her still. As a result, she has been waking up constantly in the middle of the night. (at least, I hope that's the reason! Because I am operating on no sleep and going ccccccccccccrrrrrrraaaazzz-zzzz....zzzz... oops, sorry fell asleep for a moment there)

So tonight I did not swaddle her. I stayed with her, held her flailing arms gently, patted her, for around 20 minutes, which didn't scare me because according to Baby Whisperer, that's how long it takes a normal baby to pass into real sleep, until she calmed down. Now she is sleeping. I'll let you know how tonight goes!

For the non-swaddlers, it really depends on the baby, I think. My oldest was out of her swaddle by one month.
_________________
"We don't have kids. We raise them."

http://www.jerusalemstoned.blogspot.com/

Silver Member Joined: Sep 03 2007 Posts: 631

I did the same sort of thing, but she cried so hard and she is a very strong baby-I could barely hold her arms still! Did your baby cry a lot and then just pass out?

Posted: Mon, Mar 10 2008, 3:55 pm Post subject: re: help with swaddling, Please!

No, if it was that bad I would have just reswaddled her. She was upset and her arms and legs were waving around, but I was able to stop her by holding them a little firmly. I do not believe in fighting with the baby.

Silver Member Joined: Sep 03 2007 Posts: 631

that's what happened last night! How am I ever going to get her to stop being swaddled at night then!?

Gold Member Joined: May 19 2006 Posts: 1682

maybe a sleep positioner would work so she would feel enclosed without the swaddle?

Senior Member Joined: Jan 01 2008 Posts: 162

try unswaddling one arm at a time. gradually...