Hello moms/dads - I have a 3 week old infant daughter who is such a blessing in our lives. I'm having trouble deciding whether it's better for her to be swaddled or not. It worked well with my son and helped to calm him when he was an infant. My daughter does NOT like it and fights it. I've tried not swaddling her, but she will just wake herself up. I have the velcro swaddles and she gets out of it every single time. Any suggestions/advice?
Many thanks
swaddling's great, if it works. if baby is fighting it and wiggling out of it, clearly she's not a swaddle baby. why force it?
khairete
S.
My son hated to be swaddled, so we didn't! There is no reason they have to be swaddled, most just like it. If she fights it, don't force it. She will be fine! :)
My advice....stop swaddling.
My second son LOVED to be swaddled. As soon as I wrapped him up he would go right to sleep. It was great. We swaddled him until he was about 6/7 months old.
My third...she hates it. She fights it, she wakes up. Swaddling is just not for her.
I would guess that your daughter doesn't like it either. :)
L.
You only swaddle if it works for the baby. It isn't working for you daughter so no need to swaddle. Both of my sons hated it so I was unable to do that. Every baby is different and has different sleeping habit and coping skills. You just need to find what works for your daughter.
our dd hated the full swaddle so we kept her arms out and put socks on her hands we also kept her in long sleeve onesies, she ran hot so if we did bundle her we had nothing on her legs. we also used the sleep sack which she loved. it had a valcro piece that came off if we did not want to bundle her tight.
I liked swaddling mine in the Woombie: http://www.thewoombie.com/. It gives them enough room to stretch their arms and legs a little. It isn't so confining as a traditional swaddler.
If she really doesn't like it, try a few times without swaddling, and see how she does. If she's fine, I would let her go without. It won't hurt her either way. :)
some babies like it, some dont , I wouldnt push it either way. Both my babies hated it and wanted their arms up over their heads. (the only thing besides their looks they had it common,lol)
I had much better luck with the Miracle Blanket. The Velcro always woke up my younger son, and it was impossible to wriggle out of. Good luck!
I had one who hated it and one who loved it. But I wish I had thought about the half swaddle thing below...that sounds like a good idea.
With my oldest we used socks or those little mittens around her hands as she was more fussy in a swaddle. She sleeps just like me...arm/hand over her face and she would wake up with scratches.
My oldest never did take to swaddling. Right from the beginning, she could wiggle herself free even when the experienced nurses swaddled her at the hospital. She just hated to be confined. But she did enjoy being curled up in the slings, so I often carried her around even at as a tiny thing.
My first 2 babies loved being swaddled but then there was my third that was such a wiggle worm that she did not know how to adjust to it at first. I never used those velcro swaddles as they didnt seem to do the job I always used a regular receiving blanket or childs blanket to swaddle as she got older. She would throw a fit at the first couple of seconds but as soon as I swaddled her I began rocking her and she would fall asleep and I would keep her swaddled while she was asleep. Eventually she grew out of it as she became more mobile with moving her hands and legs but that is what worked for us. So just try some things out and if she doesn't like it then don't pressure her.
try it... but don't force it! Most babies like to BE swaddled, but may not like getting swaddled.
If she likes it she will probably complain while you are jostling her around (gently of course) and then once she is bound up snuggly she will be happy as a clam.
I liked muslin swaddling blankets, because my daughter is a natural born space heater and the Velcro wraps were too hot for her, and she grew out of them lengthwise VERY quickly. I could swaddle her snugly and securely in the muslin and she seemed to "escape" the velcro wraps pretty easily. I probably would have had better success with the miracle blanket or woombie brands that fit more tightly that the brand I got- oh well. What my wraps were nice for was to double wrap her (over the muslin swaddle) up in to go outside, she was a winter baby and we have SUPER cold weather her, and they were so warm and cozy for her. She looked like a little Eskimo papoose!
Swaddling and back sleeping is (now) considered a better sleep habit for newborns than letting them sleep on their tummy. It can help give them the support they want if they are easy to startle awake. My daughter liked a very snug swaddle, and would 'complain' if hers was loose enough for her arms to sneak out. When she was wide awake she wanted to be as free as possible... even early on... but if she was drowsy or asleep she wanted to be swaddled.
She was swaddles till she was about 3 months... then she had a weird couple of weeks when she started solid foods at 6 months where she liked to be swaddled again at nap-time (but not night-time)... i think that was do to gas. Technically once a baby can roll by themselves over they shouldn't be swaddled unless you can actively watch them, so we never even tried swaddling her at nighttime when she was 6 months.
If your baby is happy and content, and can sleep on her back without a swaddle- then don't fret! Some babies ARE that way... just put her in a sleep sack with no blanket. That said, try to get the swaddl to work instead if she is a "tummy sleeper"- at least until she can successfully lift her head OFF the floor or mattress when she is on her tummy. (at least, those are the guidelines my pediatrician recommends)
Good Luck!
-M.
If she doesn't like it, then I would not do it.
You can always try a half swaddle... wrap the velcro blanket around her abdomen but leave her arms out. My girl loved the full swaddle but a friend's baby wanted his arms out (over his head) so she just wrapped him under the arms so he'd still have that "secure" feeling. Seemed to work well for them!
My first hated it too...she would always wiggle free. I did keep in her in the bassinet though and I think that helped for the first few weeks so she felt more confined since there was no swaddle but we moved her to her crib at 2 weeks and she was fine with it, so if it isn't working, don't do it!
Swaddling may still help her to calm down and fall asleep, even if she wiggles out of it while she is sleeping. I never wrapped the arms fully into it (I know I would HATE that), just so that when bent they were kind of supported and held close, but they could move them and stretch if they wanted to. But then some like it better than others, and it is important to make sure they are not too warm. Some of the wiggling out may be to prevent overheating...
As someone else suggested, just have (light) long sleeves on them, and socks or little mittens over their hands if scratching is an issue.
Once they outgrew swaddling I used the sleep sacks. Now you can find them here, I had to import mine from Europe 20 years ago... They are wonderful, long or short sleeves, depending on the weather or climate and age, just the diaper or a full sleeper suit underneath, whatever is appropriate. My boys used the sleep sack until they outgrew the larger size I had, which happened at about 2-3 years. It was so nice to not have two worry until then about them throwing off their blanket.
I liked the sleep sack also when camping, they had their own little sleeping bag of sorts, and for cold nights they simply wore warmer night clothes and a sweater on top. And they can still be covered with another blanket on top, if necessary, but they are less likely to lose it since their feet/legs are contained.
If she's not liking it, I would stop trying to swaddle. Every kid is different.
