Hello,
I have been swaddling my 12 week old girl at night since she was born. She sleeps pretty well at night, usually waking only 2 times. During the day she naps mostly in her carseat which is her stroller seat in a snap-n-go (I have a 3 yr old and am on the go quite a bit) or Maclaren chair, so I don't swaddle her then. Do I just start putting her in pjs and no swaddling and have her tough it out to get used to sleeping with all arms and legs free or should I start by leaving just 1 arm out, then 2 but still wrapping her legs? Or some other method? She is really tall for her age and she is just barely fitting into the wrap I have been using, plus I think it's time to move forward. Any advice or info on how you did the transition? Thank you very much in advance.
Thanks so much for all of the great input and for relating your experiences. It was funny - I wrote my request and then went upstairs to check on her and she was sleeping with her arms out of the swaddling blanket. From your responses I remembered that I have a couple of the sleep sacks so I will give those a try. Thanks again!
With my son, who was also very used to being swaddled and loved it, I got him used to not being swaddled by leaving one arm out of swaddle for about 2 weeks. After he was comfortable with that I would bring both arms out, but swaddle his body still. Then after a couple weeks of that I completely unswaddled him.
We just started not swaddling as tight. Looser and looser and the kids would just unravel during the night. It's the same thing later with "tucking in" in a big bed, at first they seemed to like being tightly tucked in and now just a sheet and blanket pulled over them is fine.
One other thing you can do since she's long is switch to a new blanket and just wrap it over the top of her so her body weight holds it together underneath.
One last suggestion, if you haven't already maybe introduce a "night night" blanket. We bought two of the same from Kohl's - really fuzzy and soft. We'd lay it NEXT to the baby so she could feel it without being wrapped in it. It only stays in bed tho. And the second one is hidden in case the first gets dirty. I've heard tho to make sure you keep switching them when they're washed or else one will be pristine and the other ragged. The kid will figure out the difference later on. They have been real life savers for us. They've allowed us to bring the kids on vacations, to grandparents, etc. and have no problems getting our kids down. It's like a piece of home. I'd really recommend keeping it a BEDTIME only blankie tho.
I hope this helps!
I had the same questions. My girl is now 6 mo. old and sleeps w/out a swaddle. I knew she was ready to be rid of the swaddle when every time I'd check on her, she was frustrated and trying to get her hands into her mouth - almost "busting out" of the swaddle to do so. If you think she's ready, go ahead and try just swaddling her legs only. The other option is to have her sleep in a sleep sack - the ones from Halo have a "tank-top"-like top and then the sack on the bottom. That way, similar to just swaddling her legs, her legs will feel contained, yet her arms will be free. Eventually, when it got too warm, I just stopped using the sleep sack and she is fine now in just a sleeper with her legs and arm "free!"
If you do want to continue swaddling her but just need a bigger swaddle blanket, I suggest the Kiddopautamus (sp?) Swaddle Me (I got ours online at Target) in the LARGE size. Additionally, http://www.lunalullaby.com/lunalullaby/ has great larger sized, light-weight blankets that are great for swaddling as well as for summer.
Good luck and happy continued sleeping for both of you!
I found the amby bed fabulous (www.amby.com). It is jpma certified and recommended by dr. sears for babies who like a closer environment. My little one beat her way out of her swaddles but wasn't good at sleeping in crib or bassinet. the amby bed was a great transition.
We went toga style (one arm out) before we got rid of it completely.
We went from swaddling to the halo cotton sleepsack. Our daughter LOVES them. We also have a 12"x12" (approx) doggie blankie for her by angel dear. (there are many different animal choices).
http://www.amazon.com/Chenille-Pink-Doggy-Security-Blanke...
I have 3 mo. old twin girls and stopped swaddling completely 2 weeks ago. We swaddled from the waist down (left arms free) for 2 weeks and then just put them in sleepers and now that's how they sleep. No need for swaddling anymore. They adjusted very well.
Our son was so active as an infant that he kind of de-swaddled himself after the first couple of months. We just couldn't keep him wrapped up anymore. So we just basically let him make the transition himself. We would start out by having him wrapped up, but he would wiggle loose and then quickly just outgrew the receiving blankets that we had used to swaddle him with (it was spring, so warm outside...) I think during that summer, we just put him in pajamas with no blanket at all, or if the AC was on, we'd just place a receiving blanket over him and kind of tuck it around his body.
Like it's been said, just go slow. Eventually she'll break out of it. And enjoy all the extra sleep you and she may get now. If anything, just loosen a bit.
If the wrap doesn't work, try a larger blanket. One layer of flannel would do fine in this weather.
Good luck.
It's been a while, but I seem to remember when I was doing all my newborn research that easing babies out of swaddling made the transition smoother all around. I'll bet you have the right idea with leaving an extra limb out until she's completely free. Kudos to you, because my son HATED swaddling. He'd holler until you turned him loose. And in the hospital, they called my daughter Ari (like Harry) Houdini because no matter how tightly they wrapped her, she managed to wiggle until she escaped. Good luck!
I didn't check to see how anyones else responded but with my triplets we waited for them to show us when they didn't want to be swaddled. As soon they started to fidget out the swaddling blankets, we switched to halo sleep sacks. They're great - they make light cotten ones and fleece ones too. You can get them at Babies R Us, Buy Buy Baby and of course, online.
Keep swaddling her until she wiggles out herself. She will transition herself on her own. My kids always slept well while swaddled, so I went with it. They were super active and eventually started wiggling arms out of it, and then kicked their legs out too at some point. Just let it happen on its own and enjoy the sleep you've been able to get!
I have a 4 month old with the same issue. Instead of swaddling, we've been tucking the blanket around her shoulders and under her body loosely. This seems to be working so far, though she still fusses just a little to get to sleep. But she's still doing it on her own. I think that's the key.
Good luck!
