Do All Babies like to Be Swaddled?

Always remember that your babies are people too. Every baby is different. Both my kids hated being swaddled. If I even tried it, it led to a lot of sleepless nights. I found that the pajamas that look like blankets were what my children liked. My kids didn't like the leg restriction it seemed. You can find the pajamas I'm talking about almost anywhere. They zip right up the front so it makes changing time in the middle of the night easier too.

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Not all babies like being swaddled. My older daughter HATED being swaddled. She would scream until we took her out of her swaddle, and then she'd sleep fine. My second daughter loved swaddling and insisted upon it until she was 9 months old! LOL

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I never really swaddled mine but I think it's because I didn't know to do it. ha! Poor babies!

Maybe she just wants to be held more than your 1st did. My girls were like that. When my 2nd came around, I was forced into attachment parenting. It was awful, I could never get anything done because she wanted to be held CONSTANTLY. I'm so glad we're past that stage...

Good luck!

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My son wouldn't rest until he managed to get at least one arm out!

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Maybe she's too hot or too cold? I can't imagine being that little and not liking the swaddle but I only have 2 LOs for experience =)

I do know that if either one of them were too hot.. and their temperature tolerance is much more sensitive than adults.. they would start fussing. In fact, both sleep better when it's cooler than what I think is comfortable which is why I call them my snow babies =)

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My daughter hated being swaddled. We did for the first couple of weeks and no problem but after that, forget it. She would NOT sleep if she was swaddled. I could tuck her in-light receiving type blanket wrapped around her. But NO ,and I mean NO, regular swaddling. She would scream like a banshee if you did that. I know they say all babies love swaddling but honestly, all babies have their own personalities from the beginning and I do believe they do not all feel great with it. For my first 3, one of them would get out of the swaddle right away and would sleep peacefully, hated the swaddle also.

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My daughter hated being swaddled. We did for the first couple of weeks and no problem but after that, forget it. She would NOT sleep if she was swaddled. I could tuck her in-light receiving type blanket wrapped around her. But NO ,and I mean NO, regular swaddling. She would scream like a banshee if you did that. I know they say all babies love swaddling but honestly, all babies have their own personalities from the beginning and I do believe they do not all feel great with it. For my first 3, one of them would get out of the swaddle right away and would sleep peacefully, hated the swaddle also.

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My third also seems to dislike being swaddled. I don't try hard and he sweats a lot so seems more comfortable out of it. I just keep a knit blanket kind of loosely draped around him at night but he sleeps on his side and seems to like holding his own hands in front of his chest (when he's not snuggled in bed with me). He's just a month old so I don't think he'll start preferring to be swaddled and my older two were out of it by a few months old.

He does end up napping in the swing or bouncy seat a lot just because those are the few safe and quick places I can set him down for short periods of time to chase after the other two or keep up with life.

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I have never had, nor met a baby that liked to be swaddled, but I am sure they are out there.

The thing that stuck out from your post is the startle reflex waking her up. My advice, put her on her belly to sleep.

3 of my 4 slept so well like this. And yes, I know about SIDS and after debate, and talking to my mom who was a neonatal nurse for 30+ years, and knowing that back sleep does NOT prevent sids, I did what worked best for my babies. And they slept so much better because of it.

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Mine hated to be swaddled with her hands inside the swaddle. Once I figured out to swaddle and keep her hands out of it, it was better...then it came to she didnt like to be laying FLAT..I had to elevate her a little bit (first was the boppy and the it was the car seat) BOTH I do not recommend but it got us by for a little bit. My kid slept in her carseat from 3 weeks til she was 4 months old swaddled but with her arms out of the swaddle.
The reflex may be bothering her. Try putting rolled up towels UNDER her mattress (to elevate it) that way she is not laying flat but more at an angle.

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I would say that most babies DO like to be swaddled, but not all... and some babies only like to be swaddled for a few weeks after birth.

Like someone else said, maybe she would like to be swaddled, but she is getting too hot. My daughter got really hot in her swaddling wraps that were similar to the "miracle blanket"- even if she was naked except for a diaper. I used the aiden and anais muslin swaddling blankets and she was MUCH happier in those (they breathe better).

Does she sleep ok without the swaddle? That is the big question, really. If she does and doesn't "startle" awake a lot, then you probably can just use a sleep sack or something with her.

By the way... some kids like the swaddle, but don't like BEING swaddled. My daughter didn't really like getting the swaddle "put on" - but once she was all wrapped up she was happy as a clam! (I think is is just the jostling around and "tugging" that bothered her)

use the swing if that works for her! Don't worry, it won't last forever! you could also try "half swaddling" her arms and torso, and then buckling her into the swing- just try to make sure it is reclined as much as possible so she wont fall forward in it.

Good Luck!
-M.

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Once I got good sized swaddling blankets (all the normal ones from the store were to small) my son stopped kicking out of them. He has an awful startle reflex. I've just now after two months have started to see if slow down but it's still pretty bad. However, he was to big for the regular receiving blankets and just from his normal reflexive movements would end up kicking out of them. I finally had a family friend who made me some very large oversized receiving blankets. I wrap him up on this snuggly and it helps calm him and he sleeps for much longer cause he's not startling constantly. Maybe she just needs a bigger blanket that she can't easily kick out of? Really the ones from the store are kind of pathetic in size even for a normal sized baby. It is possible though she doesn't like it. A friend of mines baby hated it and would scream from the moment you put it on him to the moment you took it off. (However, I would say this is not a common thing and most babies who like it still cry when they are getting put into it, mainly from all the moving around that is done to get it on properly) My son does get his arms out most nights now, but its not from him hating it and forcing them out, it's more from his normal movements as the blankets kind of shift around with him. Usually if he wakes up, all I have to do is re-tuck in his arms and he goes right back to sleep.

He does most of his sleeping in the bouncer or swing because he also wakes up easily in his crib. We're gonna transition him to the crib around 3-4 months when his startle reflex goes away. I wouldn't feel bad about using the swing if he need to put her down. I have yet to see many adults who need a swing to get sleep, so don't think your hurting her now by putting her in it.

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No not all babies like to be swaddled. Some just want that free feeling and really get just too hot in anything you may wrap them up in.

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My oldest didn't like to be swaddled. She also didn't like sleeping in our room or anywhere near us. She was happiest in her crib by herself, and she's been a great sleeper practically since birth.

My second liked swaddling for about a month, and then she was done. But she always managed to work her right arm out. Only the right one. Who knows? They're all different. =)

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Our first hated being swaddled. He always managed to get his arms out. He's almost 5 and to this day, does not like his arms covered up by his blanket, even in the winter when it's so cold in his room.

Our 2nd son doesn't really care. He could be covered up or not and sleep like a charm. He did like the zip up blankets you put babies in, (I forget what they are called) and the plus side of those is, they can't kick the blankets off.

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my daughter hated be swaddeled and held the swing became my best friend when i needed to get something done i put her in it and put her where she could still and hear me but did not need to be held

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My son DESPISED swaddling. Which the nurses knew on day 2, and which was confirmed throughout various attempts over the first few weeks. Wouldn't sleep unless totally exhausted, was "miserable" / struggling in it whenever he had the energy to... was just an unhappy baby.

The first thing my son did when he was born was to "stretch". The nurses laughed and took pictures of "The easiest baby to measure Ever." (23.5 inches). From that moment (when we didn't attempt to swaddle him) to this day 8.5 years later, the boy sleeps GREAT, and like an octopus. Arms over his head, or out to his sides... legs splayed. He's like a cat... takes up far more space than should be possible due to physics.

WORD TO THE WISE: Very few babies hate swaddling. For those who do, they also *usually* hate bassinets & cosleeping. They want SPACE. They don't want their arms or legs hitting anything.

HOW TO GET AROUND THE STARTLE REFLEX: Slide them down your arm (I had to ditch my watch). Always keep contact on their back, and hold them "snug" with both arms (if sliding down left arm, use right arm to press into the other side of them) as you lower them. It's a gliding sideways motion, instead of a lean down lowering motion. Once they're on the crib mattress, slide your hand out from under their back. I also found that stroking eyebrows would snap flutting eyelids shut (blink reflex put to good use) if the motion of removing your hand starts to wake them.

((Hehehe... the eyebrow thing did a bit of unintentional pavlovian training. To this day, 8 years later, no matter how bouncy and wide away my little trouble maker is... if I start stroking his eyebrows he gets instantaneously drowsy... eyelids start drooping, yawns, then he swats my hand away and groans "Mo-om!" Love that.))

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all 3 of mine didn't like to be swaddled when the nurses came in to reswaddle them they wiggled back out over & over again..I layed them on their back for sleep always & then I started to use a Halo sleeper they slept fine & didn't have to worry about a blankie going over their faces they were wearing it.

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No, not all babies like to be swaddled. My eldest loved it, my youngest hated it. Different body types I guess.

If the swing and the car seat works to help you get her to bed, do what works. At that age though she should not be sitting up, so get a swing that is close to flat but sways.

Unfortunately she might indeed want to be held all the time...

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She is a little human, and her sleep preferences should be respected. No, not every baby likes to be swaddled, because they are all different, separate humans. It's not working, so don't force it!

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I didn't swaddle any of my kids and for about the first 6 months they slept in either the car seat or the swing (swing when they were a little older). They slept like champs and everyone was sleeping through the night by the time they were 6 weeks old. I had no problems moving from car seat to swing to crib to toddler bed to real bed and I have never once had a problem getting any of these little people to go to bed even to this day. Contrast that to friends of mine who insisted on swaddling and putting the kid in a crib on his back ( or even co sleeping ) - all of them have had nightmarish times with sleep...not sleeping through the night at 2 and 3 years old, or getting up for the day at 4am - really?? or a 2 hour long battle at night involving every excuse up under the sun. So here's my advice - do whatever works to get your baby to sleep for long periods of time. I don't think there is any right way or wrong way, except to say that the wrong way is whatever way is preventing them from sleeping through the night at an early age! Seems that is a precursor for bad things to come!

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My daughter never wanted her movement to be restricted in any way....swaddling, stroller, swing, high chair, you name it.

My son hated being swaddled! He was a sprawler from day 1.

My baby girl hates it. When she turned about one month old, she decided that she liked to be "free". She wanted to move around a lot and plus she seemed to get really hot and fussy if i swaddled her too tightly. Now she is 12 weeks old and VERY ACTIVE!!! I think its because she has been free to move around ever since she got out of the womb. LOL. :)

Not all babies like to be swaddled.
She is so young.
Her startle reflex is there.
They wake.

Or try a sleep sack. Look it up online.

Also, make sure she is fed on-demand. And before any naps/sleep.
My kids as babies had GINORMOUS appetites.
Hunger keeps babies awake.
They also cluster-feed. Which means they need to feed even every single hour. Normal. Thus do not feed by a 'schedule' if you are.
In an infant, every 3 weeks is a growth-spurt. They need more intake and more frequently.

Also, gas can wake them. So try Mylicon Infant gas drops.
That helped my daughter.
And she HATED to be swaddled.