Stopping Swaddling - Need Advice

I swaddled my first daughter until she was almost 1. My husband made me stop-haha. She has no delays what so ever. She had a brain abscess at 3 weeks old and so if she doesn't have delays being wrapped until she was one I don't know if any child would. I have never heard of delays from swaddling. I was never able to with my second-she hated being swaddled. So yeah-I think you are fine to continue if you want.

Hi L.,

I swaddled both of my children until 6-7 months because they, too, slept better. My son had eczema and would keep himself awake by scratching his face, so I continued to swaddle him to keep his hand off his face. My daughter just seemed to like it.

Neither one of my kids (now 2 and 4) had any issues with the extended swaddle. They both walked before a year, they run like crazy, they're strong, no issues. If she's happy, keep her happy. When I stopped, I just stopped and they adjusted. At that point they tended to sleep a bit longer anyway, so the timing worked out well.

Good luck,

I don’t understand how swaddling can contribute to delayed development but, if your baby can roll over you should not swaddle after they have fallen asleep because they cannot turn back over. I suggest you swaddle to get the baby to go to sleep and unfasten the closure one you have placed baby in the bed. With their arms free they can have the benefit of the swaddle and are free to assist themselves should they roll over.

Still I wouldn’t worry about your baby’s development. My son was just starting to roll over and move around a good bit in the crib just at the same age as your baby is now.

Best of luck,
D.

I remember feeling the same way when my son was 6 months old. The only thing I can say is that it takes a few days for them to sleep better again. He would wake himself up with his hands hitting his face or body. We figured he needed to keep his hands busy so they wouldn't wake him up. We chose to give my son two small sized stuffed animals that he could hold in each hand. They were soft and safe (no eye buttons or loose fabric). The first few nights there was some restlessness but it was a success in the end. He's 4 years old now and a great sleeper. He still loves to hold his piglet and tiger at night. Good luck and remember things always seem difficult at first but if you stick with it you will have success!!

J.

I think swaddling is great. In order for babies to develope they need to be well rested and not ovr tired. I think it is fine as liong as they get time during waking to have arms and legs free. I swaddled my kids as lomg as I could so they would sleep well.

Good Luck,
E.

L.,

It's totally okay to swaddle still. If your child is rolling over onto her stomach I would lose the swaddle. Once my son started sleeping on is stomach we stopped using it. You can start by putting one arm out for a few days first or gradually loosen the swaddle to wean her of it. We also loved the miracle blanket because we could swaddle just his arms but leave his legs totally free (which might ease your anxiety about development issues).
Good luck,
Debra

I did have success in stopping swaddling my then 5 month old infant. He just would no longer have it. The had part was that he would wake himself up with his flailing (sp?) arms hitting the side of the cradle/bassinet. So I began only swaddling him for his long major naps. Then at night I would swaddle his lower half leaving his arms out but theat would only last for a few weeks. I finally transitioned him to his crib that gave him more room. He flailed a bit but soon grew accomstomed to his freedom.

My son was swaddled what seemed like forever. He got so big we had to use half sheets to swaddle him. He eventually grew out of it around one year. We tried doing it ourself with the one arm out thing, but he would never take to it. Eventually during his naps he would start falling asleep without being swaddled and eventually he started doing it (all on his own) during the night. Good luck ~ I know it seems like they will never stop, but it does get better.

My son was swaddled for about 7 months and it did not delay anything....but I know once they can break out of the swaddle, it's time to hang it up. I started using the sleep machine and that seemed to help soothe him.

I swaddled my son until he was 6 months old too, when he finally outgrew his Miracle Blanket. I transitioned him slowly by wrapping him in a regular baby blanket, tightly at first, and slowly wrapping it looser until he didn't need it anymore. It went very smoothly and we never had any problems with him waking up more often than usual. Good luck!

Hi L.,

As a Happiest Baby on the Block educator, I can attest to the fact that swaddling your six month old baby will not cause developmental delays! As long as your baby gets great sleep with the swaddling it's a good thing!
Enjoy her good sleeping,

H. Wiersma

We took our time de-swaddling--first with one arm out for a week or so, then swaddled him below both arms. We did this at around 5 months. It was a very easy tranisiton for a baby I thought would need swaddling until age 10! Good luck :-)

Swaddling is a case by case issue, we have learned. Our son loved and needed more swaddling. Great sensory feedback. He needed that comfort for soothing. To my understanding, the brain , the bodies muscle tone and temperment affect development more than anything else.

My daughte had to have her arms out and eventually legs,, to this day, kicks all blankets off and frankly, probably did not like the swaddle, which took us by surprise as that is what we believed in and thought we would repeat. Silly us for thinking one size fits all..They show you what they need..

Here is my biggest encouragement for milestones...enjoy them if you can and no matter what, encourage crawling as long as possible for brain development and also, read The Hurried Child..not because I think you are but because there is a lot of soft pressure on parents and children and it does more damage than people understand..skipping stages disorganizes a a young brain and their soul..hence, a growing epidemic of special needs children, IEP and a frustrated culture.

L.,

I still swaddle my one year old at bedtime- It is the best way for us to get her to sleep- now we use a larger toddler blanket and as she sleeps she eventually works her arms free- having said that- she has always been swaddled and hit all developmental milestones on time- she crawled by 9.5 mos and was walking before her first birthday, so maybe the swaddle could cause some delays but you might want to talk to your ped about it- Ours told us that if the swaddling worked to get her to sleep then to go with it- we have tried weening her- but her sleep is just not the same.

I guess I am curious what delays you are seeing? My little one was never big on rolling until after she crawled and before she crawled- we really thought she was going to walk first- At six months- it is hard to gage what is just your kid versus a real concern because they all do things sooo different.

Dear L.,
All babies are different, but I'm sure it's fine to continue swaddling. Some babies find it very comforting while my son, for instance, did not. I called him a little "holy roller" because to this day, he will find a way to make use of every inch of a bed, regardless of the size.
All babies I've known who liked to be swaddled let it known when they were outgrowing that restricted feeling and becoming more active at night as far as wanting to change sleep positions.
I'm sure your little one will be just fine!

My little girl now 2 years 3 months was swaddled till she was 10 months. She is now fine sometimes she can keep up with 4 year olds. But she started walking at 10 and a half months.

Do what you think is best if you need the sleep then i would continue to swaddle. We first stopped swaddling during the day just so she could get used to it.

Good luck

P.

Swaddling does not delay development if its only at bedtime. Try bundling him with his arms out first - if he sleeps well then graduate to a sleep sack. They keep baby warm but allow for rolling over, etc. My hubby keeps the AC set to Meat Locker so we bundled our son in a sleep sack until he out grew the biggest size - he always kicks off blankets.

Hi L.,

I know a neonatal nurse who swaddled all four of her kids until they could/wanted to get out themselves, some lasted close to a year. There is no developmental delay caused by swaddling.

That being said, if your daughter can start to get out of it, try letting her dictate how the process goes. she might start with an arm, then legs. If she has a really tough time sleeping still, then put her back in. Sleeping challenges are sometimes tougher on the parents than the kids - we know what we are missing. :)

Hey there, I swaddled my daughter until she was 15 months old. I stopped it when I stopped nursing her. She was usually half way out of it in the morning. It worked for us and her. She is one smart kid...no signs of anything developmentally wrong with her.
I'm on my second child now...he see's the swaddle blanket and smiles!

I agree with the others who have already responded that swaddling does not cause delay. My son loved being swaddled until close to 1 year and he is now 8 - no development issues at all. My daughter, now age 4, was totally different and stopped being swaddled at 2 months. She is great, too. Just go with what works best for your child.