Help 4 Month Old Sleep Without Being Swaddled

Hi D.,

We tried to unswaddle our daughter at around 4 months and she wasn't ready. We got the miracle blanket and she stayed swaddled until at least 6 months. Then we switched to a sleep sac. She also got out of every swaddle until we got the miracle blanket. It's the best swaddle out there. We got it from a friend that is a labor nurse. Good luck. www.miracleblanket.com

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Hey
I'm sure at this point you have gotten all the answers you need - I just needed to chime in on the whole swaddling thing. I kept my daughter swaddled similar to the way Kathryn V explained until she was 2!! She was a very fussy baby and this was the ONLY way she would sleep. Naps and all. I worried about the whole "sleep aid" thing. You know trying to get them to be able to sleep w/o outside help. But you know what? I was so darn tired! She is now 3 1/2 and sleeps very happily and comfortably in her big girl bed alone. Except for "blankey and teddy" of course. Good Luck and sweet dreams.

I have put my son on his tummy since 6 weeks. It keeps his arms down, so he doesn't wake up. I hear once they roll over, you don't have to worry about putting them back on their backs too. I just cover his feet with a blanket, so it's not by his face. He's been fine and sleeping 7-10 hours averaging 8 hours since he was 8 weeks old. He falls right to sleep at night. We have a ritual of changing diaper, feeding, then wiping his face and praying, once that is done, turn on some music and he goes right to bed.

You can leave the arms out of the swaddle or get rid of it entirely. I would definitely not put a blanket in the crib until after a year old or so. My daughter slept in warm "feetie" pajamas even in the summer at that age. Our house is always at 75 degrees at night and she is fine.

Hi,

I suggest put him in a halo sleep sack- it will keep the warmth but he will be safe and not able to get entangled in a blanket. Try rocking him while in it, he will get adjusted to it- probably by night 3. Be consistent and you will succeed~ Good luck!

M.

Just swaddle him. I swaddled my son till he was 6 months old. Yes he would get out of the swaddle, but that was fine because he didn't cry when he did. He also would turn over while swaddled, which did make him cry. So between 5.5-6 months we stopped swaddling him. He loves to sleep on his belly and side. It was a good few weeks of us getting use to not swaddling him. If he still sleeps fine with the swaddle, then do it. There is no rule on how long a baby should or should not be swaddled. In some countries babies are swaddled almost all day so that the mom can carry them easily to do labor.

Here's some solutions to the lost pacifier wakings: Put 5 paci's in the crib, so he can reach out and grab one when it's lost. Or, tie (sew or strongly attach) something safe (like a little stuffed animal) to the paci. That way it's bigger and he can grab it easier when it's out. These two methods have worked for my friends. (I had a thumb sucker who wouldn't take a paci)
If you want to skip the blanket, you can either double up on the pj's or put a onesie and socks inside footie jams.
Also, you could try a Swaddle-Me wrap which is nearly impossible to break out of. It works much better than a blanket swaddle and is warm as well. Hope this helps!

If your son is able to roll over then why do you feel it necessary to keep flipping him over. Think about you. You have a certain position that you are most comfortable in...for most people it's not the back. Leave him be. See if that helps. The more you fuss over him the longer it's going to take for him to fall asleep.
My son has always slept on his tummy and has used a blanket at about 4 months or so. At first I was nervous about it, but the only time you would have to worry about it is when you vaccinate, if you are doing so.

Have you tried leaving one or both arms out when you swaddle? My daughter didn't like to be swaddled so we used the Halo sleep sacks. Our house was cold and my daughter likes to be much warmer than most so we ended up putting her in fleece jammies. She is 3 yrs old and still sleeps in her fleece jammies all year long. As to going in to check on him, that can be really disruptive to his sleep. I suggest getting a video monitor so you can check on him without going in. You can get one at Target for about $100-230 and they are wonderful! I have 2 different brands but prefer BebeSounds best. Make sure you are putting him to sleep at the correct biological sleep rhythm times too. I HIGHLY recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth for age appropriate sleep needs. They also make some great swaddling blankets that may keep him swaddled better. Some babies need to be swaddled longer than others. Email me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
L.

Hi there! Both my kids were swaddled until about 5 months. I guess I'm not sure if what you'd prefer to do at this point is teach your baby to sleep without being swaddled, or just find a way to keep him from unswaddling himself.

If you want to continue swaddling, what we did when our son was breaking out but wasn't ready to give it up, was similar to the miracle blanket concept. We folded a receiving blanket in half so it made a triangle and put it underneath him so the long side of the triangle was at armpit level. Then we tucked one corner over his right arm and underneath the right side of his body, then did the same with the left side. With his arms tucked tightly, we then used the Swaddle Me blanket (has velcro) on top of that, and it kept him from getting out. It also kept him warm in the winter.

My daughter transitioned out of it by tummy sleeping (as others have said, once they're able to roll on their own, it is safe to let them tummy sleep, safer in fact than giving him a blanket at this age). It was actually a two-fer: she took care of the paci problem by learning to suck her fingers. With my second, he hadn't learned to roll over yet but we were in Dallas in April and it was way too hot to keep swaddling! We weaned him off it by swaddling with one arm out, which he got used to, and then the other. I admit that there was a bit of crying involved because he was learning something new, but he also learned to soothe himself by sucking his fingers.

Best of luck!