Swaddling - Kennesaw, GA

At 4 1/2 months your son really needs freedom of movement even in his sleep. That freedom will help his normal development, integration of normal reflexes, and movement of his body against gravity (for example lifting his head and pushing up on his arms). If he hasn't had major issues with self-regulating (calming) since he was a newborn, I'd do away with the swaddling. You may inhibit his normal movement patterns. Is he rolling yet?

Try a few nights straight without the swaddling and take note of what happens.

(Don't mean to sound like a know-it-all. I'm a pediatric PT. Just want to help.)

Hi S.,
Im surprised he stayed swaddled that long ;0)
My seven month old stopped swaddling a month or so after we came home from delivery. It's about time he learned to sleep in a different position, if he's rolling over you can sleep him on his tummy. That's the only way my daughter will sleep, I think it's more comfy for them.
I would try it tonight and see how he does. Good Luck

Hi.. At 4 1/2 months they want to be able to move. My sister just went through this with her 2 month old daughter. She stopped the swaddling and used a wedge pillow. Hope this helps!

Hi S.,
We had similar problems with our son, and never found the perfect solution. Ask your pediatrician when it would be okay to put him down to sleep on his tummy. A lot of babies feel more secure on their tummies as opposed to their backs. Good luck!

My son also started sleeping on his stomach at that age. I just made sure there were no fluffy blankets under him.

~R.

My son was the same way. What I would recomemnd to you is to continue to swaddle for a while longer, as he obviously still finds comfort in being swaddled. I think my son was close to 6 months old by the time I stopped. I seem to remeber it not being a hard transition either. Your son will let you know when he does not want to be swaddled anymore. I hope this helps.

Dear S.,
my name is M. and I have three children ages 10, 2 1/2, and an 8 month old. Now as nice as swaddling is it can be breeched as you are finding out, and as they get older it gets harder to really please them in any way when it comes to sleep, that's why you need to let him find his comfort zone. It took my 10 year old to convince me that holding the baby to much was going to bite me in my bottom, if you know what I mean. I guess she knew b/c of her little brother and boy is he attached to me. Back to the advise, I eventually had to let my baby Bella the youngest scream herself to sleep instead of laying with her, holding her and walking or rocking my three favorites. I guess she was about 5 months old and it was heart wrenching, because the first two children I just spoiled rotten in that department of sleeping. That is why my son Henry still crawls into my bed every night without fail. So eventually I just got adjusted to lying Isabella in her crib and hearing the screaming. Low and behold she stopped all the crying and eventually just dozed off after about 3 weeks of gut renching screams so tough love does work. So away with the swaddle and endure the pain let him find his groove. I suggest starting in the morning and keep going until he finds his nitch, oh give him that fav blankie and what ever comforts him. I hope this helps, M.

You can take a bigger blanket that will reach across the width of the crib with enough room to tuck in some on each side. This also helps them to feel secure without the swaddling. And they stay warm during the night

Hi there,
Our daughter has been a good sleeper since 6 weeks, so I completely understand your anxiety over changing the props to help your son sleep. My advice is to graduate to a sleep sack or blanket sleeper (there are holes for the baby's arms and then you zip the body and legs into the blanket). There are several brands out there, but we like the Halo one. My husband and I were terrified of our daughter regressing with her sleep habits when we were getting to the stage of her wiggling out of her swaddle (we swore by the Miracle Blanket). I seem to remember that the recommended age to stop swaddling with the Miracle Blanket is around 4 months. I understood why when she would escape it, and we'd find it wrapped around her middle (and one time near her face/neck). One night we kept her bedtime routine the same but just put her in a sleep sack and crossed our fingers. She slept just as well, and we've kept her in it ever since.

Good luck!

Hi, my advice to you is to go ahead and discontinue the swaddling now. Within a month your son will be mobile enough to totally bust out of the swaddle blanket while he's alone in his crib and the last thing you want is him to get wrapped up in it near his face. My son is 6 months and I can't believe how much he changes positions from the time I put him down to when he wakes. We had to do away with all blankets because once he woke up crying with a blanket over his face, fortunately he had just started crying and it definately hadn't been on him long but that was enough to scare me to death to say no blankets what-so-ever in the crib again. Now he just gets to wear warmer jammies.

I swaddled my son for quite a long time (close to 5 1/2 months) because it was the only way he would sleep at night. I used a swaddling blanket that had velcro on it and he couldn't break out of it. I ended up with an extra large one by the end because he was getting big. They sell these at Babies R Us. He finally started sleeping without it, but I had to stop cold turkey. Good luck!

My youngest who is now almost 11 months was swaddled until a month ago. I used a crib sheet to swaddle him with because I could really get it nice and snug and no matter how much he wiggled he couldn't get out- UNTIL he hit 10 months old which is why we stopped. It was very rough on him for the first couple of days but he is good now.
I would say keep him swaddled but get a crib sheet to do it with=-)

YES stop swaddling. That's a sleeping crutch, and keeping him from teaching himself to go (and go back) to sleep. I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to swaddle after 2 months or so.

My daughter slept great when she was swaddled until she was about 3 1/2 months old and then it just seemed to make her mad and she was constantly kicking out of the swaddle and getting her arms out and this would wake her up. One night my husband and I just left her unswaddled and it has not been a problem. She sleeps just as well now not being swaddled as she did when she was swaddled. Hope this helps a little.

At 4 1/2 months I would say to stop swaddling. Maybe try the blanket sleepers or another really soft warm sleeper. My son eventually got tired of the swaddling and kept breaking out of it. So I just dressed him in a onesi and a pair of socks with a sleeper. He slept just fine. Hope this helps.
Johna

I swaddled both of my children from birth to a few months old. I found that once they were big enough to break out of the blanket, then I decided to stop swaddling. Swaddling, I was told, was to help newborns feel safe like they were in the womb and not feel like they were falling when they moved in the crib when they slept. One suggestion would be to put a blanket underneath his arms and tuck the blanket on either side of the crib mattress. I think now would be the time to stop swaddling, maybe he has grown out of that stage. Hope this helps!

Hi,

I would encourage you to try your last statement- stop swaddling and "suffer through" a few nights. It will be really really hard to hear him cry but he should soon get the hang of it. Try it for 3 nights and if it doesn't get better, go back to swaddling and then try again in a week or two. I have a 9 month old son and my husband and I have let him cry several nights when he would start waking up again. It is so so hard but it is worth it when you and your family can all sleep through the night again. Just think of it as being what is really best for him...and you!

Just my advice... you are his mom so whatever you want to do is just fine!!

Fellow Mom,
CC

My son loved to be swaddled and slept best that way up until he was about 9 months old. I suggest getting a swadldle-me blanket. Babiesrus carries them for around $10. It has velcro - which may sound weird, but it really worked for us. My son kept kicking out of any blanket I used to swaddle him. When we got the swaddle-me, he looked like he was in a straight jacket and when he wiggled around, he looked like a mexican jumping bean:) but he slept great in it. As he got older (six months or so) he eventually learned how to wiggle his arms out. When he was comfortable sleeping w/ just his arms out, I started wrapping him loose around his waist until he just stopped using it. Now my "baby" is 17 months and he sleeps like a champ so I disagree that swaddling an "older" baby teaches them bad sleeping habits.

Hi there. My 11 month old was a classic "swaddle & swing" baby up until six months if you can believe it or not!
Finally we broke the habit at 6 months but I wish we had broken the habit sooner. I think she would have been a much better sleeper. With our next baby, due in April, we are actually not going to swaddle.

I would suggest another swaddle or "the miracle blanket" if you can find one, rather than having him breaking out at all hours of the night.

If you can put up w/ a few tears, perhaps it is time for him to move on from swaddling.

Stop swaddling ...
I had a large square swaddle blanket from www.momsoncall.com which I used until my son reached 3 1/2 months when he started breaking out of the swaddle. I went 'cold turkey' on the swaddling. Nap times were tough but he had no problems at night. I use sleep sacks which work perfectly. Give it three days and he will be sleeping like an angel.

My baby will soon be turning 12 and how I now cherish the nights that I stayed up while she was in her infant stages. I say this knowing I'm at risk for being labeled old fashioned. I also say this in hopes of encouraging you and others. Know that this isn't going to last forever. My baby now sleeps all the night through. There are even nights she prefers to sleep away from us....can you imagine that? The bags under my eyes have disappeared and months of sleepless nights are a thing of the past. However, I have memories of her in my arms (she no longer fits on my lap), rocking her back to sleep in the wee hours of the morning, just the 2 of us. These memories are treasures that are mine alone and I wouldn't trade them for the world!

He actually may just be trying to stretch out now. My son is 7 1/2 months now and he did something very similar. Turned out my son actually just wanted to stretch his little legs and arms into a position that he felt more comfortable in. Good luck, as they are unpredictable. I hope this helps a little.