Breaking Twins of Habit of Being Swaddled

I continued swaddling until they were too big to fit into the blanket--it was 6 and 8 months. I am curious why you have to stop. I just read the comment about the hip dislocation and I agree that would be a concern, but I found that as the baby got older the swaddle was more for keeping the arms from waving around and their little legs were free because the blanket or velcro blanket (which are GENIUS) doesn't hold their legs tight.

I swaddled my son until he was almost 7 months old. We switched cold turkey to the Halo Sleep Sacks and LOVE those!

I just wanted to add that I thought my son was waking up around 4 am, then 4:30 am, then 5 am because he was getting out of his swaddle. Turns out that when we switched him to the sleep sack he did the exact same thing and that was just his internal clock and when he started to stir for the morning. He's grown out of waking that early, but it was good for me to know he wasn't waking because he got out of his swaddle.

I say swaddle as long as they seem to like it and you'll know when to stop. When you do I highly recommend the sleep sacks because there will not be loose blankets in the crib and it stays with them so their legs/torso won't get cold.

Good luck to you!!! :)

We left one arm out at a time...waited until he was used to that and then left out the other arm, too. It took time, but he got used to it. Good luck!! It will happen.

Hi K.,
I swaddled my baby girl until she was five months old. I also quit because of my pediatrician's recommendation. I was terrified to stop for all the same reasons you mentioned- part of the routine, sleep disruption. I was convinced she wouldn't sleep a wink. (and neither would I!) A good friend told me that I would know when it was time to stop and I did. When my daughter continually broke out of her swaddle, I knew I had to stop. I had made it into such a big deal and it turned out to be so minor! The first night without swaddling it did take her a little longer to fall asleep, about 45 minutes, but she slept fine the rest of the night and kept to her usual routine. After two nights, she was back to falling asleep within five to ten minutes and was sleeping well the rest of the night. It was so hard to be brave, but I know you can do it too! :) I guess I didn't really offer any advice, but I have totally been in the same place you are right now. Good luck!

K.,
Dr Karp, the American Academy of Pediatrics resident expert on swaddling says that babies can be swaddled up to 8 months if they need it, and many do. He agrees that the hips and legs should not be restrained so the studies from countries that use backboards and straps as in the Middle East and American Indians do have problems but they believe it is because they are tied straight without room for movement.
The rule of thumb that I use is if a baby an roll over while swaddled it is time to stop.
I use the Miracle Blanket because you can swaddle with thier feet out and it alows for growth as well as hip movement without the velcro and it is cooler than a regular blanket.
Please check it out online and if you would like a free demo we would be happy to do that at The Nestingplace in Grapevine.
K.

The reason you are supposed to stop swaddling now is so they don't get to where they RELY on it to fall asleep. Up to 3-4 mos. of age, you can't "spoil" a newborn, you are only mimicing the womb because they are not mature enought to take in the world around them as it is outside the womb. At 3-4 mos, they begin to better understand the world around them and start a REAL life routine. You want to break the swaddling then so they don't get too used to it that they HAVE to have it.

The way I managed to do it with both of mine was this way. Start by leaving one arm out of the swaddle. After several nights, both arms. Then swaddle loose so they can move their legs but still have some "support". Eventually, they will either squirm their way out of the swaddle all together and get used to it not their or you can swaddle the blanket just around their torso (using a smaller blanket so as not as much excess). Eventually, one way or another, they will get used to "being free".

Good Luck!
T.

I agree with the other mom's. Swaddle until they are ready!! My daughter was swaddled until she was 7-8 months old and sleeps fine now (18 months). My daughter moved around so much that I had to use a swaddling blanket and the velcro one at the same time. That was the only way that she could sleep and she loved it. Every time I would start to swaddle her she was just grin from ear to ear. Wait until they are ready, your doctor cannot know everything!

We swaddled my daughter until she was 8 months old. We used the velcro kind. My doc never told me to stop swaddling...I can't imagine what harm it could do, but I'm not a doctor. My daughter would kick out of the bottom of the swaddle sometimes but she never woke up because of it. If you want to wean them off, I would start with nap time and maybe only partially swaddle them - leave either their arms or legs out. Another thing we did was to do the swaddle looser and looser so that she didn't feel so tight. Good luck - swaddling saved our lives!!

A.

What was the reason your Dr advised you cease swaddling? My son is 14 months and I still swaddle him believe it or not. Keep in mind,that since he was 6 mos old,he only actually stays in his swaddled postition for 15 min to a half hour at most. He unwraps himself and gets into a comfortable position before falling asleep. I only do the swaddling because it relaxes him.
I never used a blanket with velcro. Just a regular Amy Coe blanket. They are stretchy and easy for swaddling. I still swaddle him because it is part of the routine he knows that it means it is time to relax and go to bed.
He isnt swaddled for naps however,as he just seems to fall asleep wherever,usually in the car...and then I transfer him to the crib if we get home while he is still napping. But in the evening, I swaddle him,and rock him while I say his night time prayer and then put him in the crib and tell him "sweet dreams". He sighs,turns over,and closes his eyes for the night. I usually check on him 30 min to an hour later and he is always out of his blanket and on the other side of the crib so I just get the blanket and drape it over him so he doesn't get cold. He "sleeps like a baby". I see no rush to stop swaddling a little 4 month old but I would advise you go with your instinct and your best judgement as all babies are different.

Hi K.,

I have a six year old smarty pants girl and 4 year old twin boys. I so remember the days you are in. My days were exactly like yours. I had the 3 hour schedule and I swaddled. It was at about 4 months that my boys didn't tolerate the swaddling. Prior to 4 months the swaddling worked great because their reflexes startled them awake. The babies reflexes are getting very strong, and you can strenthened them with rattles, etc. Like anything, the babes will have to learn to sooth themselves. They may cry a bit, but don't pick them up unless they are wailing. The Baby Whisperer was a great source for me. My Pedi has a theory about sleeping through the night. It is determined by weight, not age. At 12 lbs. a baby can make it six hours, at 14-16lbs 8 hours, 16-18lbs 10 hours, and at 20 lbs 12 hours. I may have over answered. Call if you ever want to chat.
M. Brooks, Flower Mound, ###-###-####
Twins and Another, What a Blessed Mother
Kelleigh 6
Steven & Andrew 4/12

Swaddle your babies until you know they want to stop, don't go by a doctor's timeline. I have a friend who swaddled her twin boys until they were about 7-8 months old. I swaddled my son until he was around 4-5 months old. We used the SwaddleMe with the velcro.

Just because they are busting out of the swaddle doesn't necessarily mean they don't want to be swaddled anymore. It could be they are strong enough to get out of a wrap type of swaddle. Once my son could bust out of the velcro swaddle, we started putting him down for naps without a swaddle and then moved to the same thing at night. We left him tell us when he wanted to stop swaddling...

Do what's right for your girls, don't take your doctor's word as the only way to do things. :)

Swaddling for too long can be detrimental to their development. Swaddling babies too often and for too long can interfere with the normal development of the ball-and-socket joint in the hip (infant hip dislocation is common in cultures that use long-term swaddling). It is much easier to start healthy bedtime routines now then waiting until they are older. Try white noise, classical music, a quiet bedtime story, singing lullabies and keep the same routine EVERY night so that they grow into this new routine. My oldest son is 3 years old and he will tell my mom if she watches him at bedtime if she does part of his bedtime routine out of order! We do bath, pj's, books, prayers, songs and bed. We also play classical music very softly and we have a white noise machine that plays waves and lulls him to sleep every night. We do the same thing with our eight month old. Good luck! My sister has twins and I know it can be a challenge!

My son loved to be swaddled until he was about 5 months old. I asked the doctor about it at his 4 months check up and he said to just swaddle him as long as he wants to be swaddled. In fact his granddaughter wanted to be swaddled until she was a year old. The swaddle that has velcro sounds like a great idea! If your girls are comforted by being swaddled I say stick with it until they are ready to give it up.

i think that is kind of crazy... my son we swaddled until he was like almost 5 months old and could roll himself over. however, i did have to wrap him differently. since of course they get bigger, i would only wrap his arms up, and not tuck his feet in... that way he is still wrapped like a bug in a rug but his legs can move and stretch out and it won't bother his arms. also, if you can make sure a bigger portion of the blanket is underneath them on their back... eventually they will not want to be snuggled and want to move around so they will break themselves of the swaddling.

Hi K., Congratulations on your babies. I have twins that are now 13 months old. My girl loved to be swaddled with arms out and my little boy would be wrapped up to to his chin. When I had to change anything for them sleeping wise I would try it at the first nap time of the day and work from there. I used naps as my "trouble shooting time" I was awake...more patient... I would do things in the day first and then the night once we got settled. We also switched to the HALO slumber bags. I could zip them and tuck around them and they could still move a bit.
I swaddled until 5 months for my son and 6 months for my daughter.
I hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.