Swaddling/sleep Positioning?

Hi M.,
My son is 4 months old and still likes to be swaddled in a Miricle blanket also. He rolls over during the day, but not a night. I have been swaddling him with one arm out for a while now, he seems to like it because he can put his thumb in his mouth to comfort himself. I sometimes find him completly out of hte swaddle, but I still start him in it as I think it helps him go to sleep and feel more secure. I also started out using a sleep positioner, however the ones that I have used all say to discontinue use of them once the baby can roll over, so I no longer use it. Personally I am going to discontinue use of the Miracle blanket once he can roll over...for my own piece of mind. Sorry I don't really have any great advice for you, just thought I would let you know that you aren't alone...we are kind of in the same boat. Hope you get some sleep!

J.

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From what I have heard it is no longer unsafe to have a child turned over on thier tummy once they can do it on their own. If he is pulling his arms out himself from the swaddle and then flipping it sounds like he is not in a dangerous position. He will outgrow swaddling soon enough so enjoy the time he spends wrapped.

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M.,

My son, who is now 9 months old, starting doing the same thing when he was about 4 months old. We would go into his room at night and find him face down and swaddled. Of course this worried me quite a bit. We talked to our Doctor and he recommended that it was time to loose the swaddle. It took 3 restless nights to convince him that he really didn't need to be swaddled to go to sleep. Now he loves having the freedom and continues to sleep on his tummy with his behind in the air. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have other questions.

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My son is just over 4 months old and we just stopped swaddling him because he was wiggling his arms out almost every time, however tight we got the blanket (we used a swaddle me). It seemed like he wouldn't go to sleep until he had one arm out, anyway. I tried swaddling him with an arm out for a day, then just gave up on the blanket altogether. He's been fine. I was amazed because he *really* liked being swaddled and it calmed him a lot. He still ends up all over the crib and can't get out of it, because he can only wiggle in one direction!

E.

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If you are going to swaddle I would leave one or both arms out just in case. Sleep positioners are great, but you have to find the one that works for your baby. We rolled 2 baby blankets up and would wedge it beside our son so he couldn't roll over and that worked for us. Or maybe swaddle him, but not so tight that he cant' get out! Good luck!

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M.,

I would still swaddle but keep both arms out. Do it a little looser so if he does kick and want to turn over, he can.

M.

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my son was done being swaddled at this point as well. he was like houdini and could get out of it anyway so i stopped. i would say continue swaddling his lower body and leave his arms out...try that and see...then if that doesn't seem to be working it is probably time to stop. interesting how they tell you when they are done with something :)

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Once they are able to turn over you are supposed to kick the swaddle habit because it is more difficult for them to flip themselves over. Kicking the whole swaddle habit was another can of beans for us, our daughter really liked it as well. We did the one arm out for a couple of nights and then just sucked it up and took it off knowing we would have a rough couple of days. I did start with the night vs. the nap since she was more tired and more likely to fall asleep. We had no luck with sleep positioners, they caused more scares and problems than they helped.

Good luck!

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well my son is now 13 months and has always been a crazy sleeper halfway through the night. He slept in his bassinet next to my bed or couch and when he woke up came to bed with me as well. I stopped swaddling him at about 3 months because he was a squirmer as well. i would watch him and he would seem to be dreamin of a lot of something for such a young man but he moved all over. He will now fall asleep with me on the couch and I move him to his crib and when he wakes up 1 -3 am because he rolled or kicked and hit something he sits up and i go and get him and bring him to bed. he will still roll and kick at me and hit me by accident and then he finally settles usually his head by my feet. I dont think i would recommend swaddling unless you are watching him and listening....good luck
J.

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what I do for my children is let them sleep in the crib with a changing pad that is for a changing table, place it on the wedge for incline (not the sleep wedge for rolling) I dont swaddle them anymore but I used to but now I just put my son to sleep on the pad and he cant roll. He does try but he cant because the pad in contoured so that cant and I know he is ok. My son is six months now but I still tuck a light blanket on his legs for his comfort. He loves a blanket in his face??? I just put a receiving blanket in there for him. sometimes he chews it but I usually pull it out and put a pacifier there if I can. I wish you the best and enjoy the young days...they grow quickly.

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Hello there,
I'm a big fan of the swaddle and see it's value for getting that large period of sleep. I understand your concern about turning over though and think a sleep positioner might be a great solution. We've been using one wiht my daughter because she likes to sleep on her side and it helps her stay that way. I think it also makes her feel comfortable. They're not very expensive so it might be worth a try. That said if your son is a big squirmer it might not quite work and you might need to try not swaddling.
One note - it is easier for them to turn onto their stomach than to turn over onto their back so he might still end up on his belly. If he regularly does this maybe consider putting his crib in your room so he can hear you breathing (which can help with reducing sleep apneas which can cause SIDS).
Just some thoughts...

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The turning over part and the fact that my son would not sleep on his back were the reasons I stopped trying to train my son to swaddle. Since your baby is flipping over I would stop swaddling... what if he can't get his arms free and you don't get there in time... :(

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my son's nicu nurse said that when you put him to sleep on his back, and he turns himself over, it means he's strong enough to sleep on his stomach.

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M.,
my son did the same thing at that age. I swaddled him leaving both arms out very tightly and put him a sleep postioner. We had to try a few different ones befor we found one that worked. We finally settled on one that is flat and had extra space on his side. He could turn onto his side but not ont his tummy. Actually he would lay on a diagaonl almost, more on his tummy than stright on his side. It worked well for us for about a month then he just really wanted to be on his tummy and he could roll well so we swichted to a heavier sleeping pjs so he would stay warm.
Good Luck
A.

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Hi M.,
My little one also moves about her crib like no body's business. We had her swaddled unti about 3 1/2 months then slowly took her out. You can try swaddling his body and leaving both arms out so he can move around or you can swaddle him when he goes to bed then take it off after he's asleep (if that won't wake him of course). I always have put my girl down on her back (she's now 10 months old) and she always moves onto her side or back and is all over the place, often times we will find her at the foot of her crib snuggled in the corner.

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I believe the Miracle Blanket states that once your child can break out of it, you need to discontinue use (roughly 3 months of age). It becomes a SIDS risk to have your child in a loose blanket. I moved to a sleep sack at two months of age with my son and was shocked that he didn't have any complaints. He's 4.5 months old now and has been sleeping thought the night for a month now.

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Hi M.,

My son did the same thing at 4 months old. It scared me that he could turn over while swaddled, so we decided to transition him out of it. We used the Swaddle Me and started wrapping him with one arm out. We did that for a few weeks, then wrapped the swaddle under both arms for a few weeks. He didn't roll over at all with his arms out (I was actually surprised by that). I thought my son would need to be swaddled until he was in kindergarten, so we took the "deswaddling" very slowly! This, thankfully, didn't affect his sleep! Now at 6 months, he's moving all over his crib!
Good luck!

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STOP SWADDLING!! We love the swaddle, too, but as soon as the baby can move like you described, it is not safe to swaddle. By the way, it sounds like you have a great sleeper for a 3 month old! 6 or 8 hours straight sounds wonderful.

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My Pediatrician suggested I use a sleep positioner until my son is 6 months old for this reason. I still find my son in different positions around the crib but he's always still on his back with the sleep positioner on still. He can roll from his back to his stomach but the positioner keeps him from doing so in the middle of the night. Best of luck!

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When my son was 3 months old he was ready to stop being swaddled and I was very hesitant because he loved it so much that I was afraid that he was going to stop sleeping so well at night. He actually slept better the first night that I left him unswaddled than he had in awhile. I would recommend leaving him unswaddled for a night and seeing how he does, if he doesn't sleep well than you can try just swaddling his lower body. Also, you may want to think about getting away from the swaddling with the warm weather on the way. I hope this helps you.
Jenn

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I used the papason swing which worked wonders for my little girl. She could sleep close enough to us and couldn't roll over. Because of the shape it has a nice snug feeling and you can buckle him in if you are afraid of him moving around too much. I never had to for her though. The only problem we had was transitioning her once she was too big for the swing. But at the time that was the only thing that would let us sleep. Now she is big enough that we are more comfortable with having her sleep with us.

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I'm the mother of a very active, strong 2 month old baby girl, and we stopped swaddling her once she would wake herself up because she would try to get out of the swaddle. We tried swaddling her with one arm out or both arms out, but those didn't really work. I found that creating the nightly routine of giving her a bath, feeding her, laying her in her bassinet, and turning out all of the lights has worked for the past month or so. She self-soothes and knows it's bedtime. Also, you may want to try an inclined to sleep pillow or something like it that helps to prevent the baby from rolling over due to the padding on the sides of the pillow. Now we only swaddle her when she's extremely fussy. I hope this helps!

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As for the swaddling, I'd say try leaving one arm out so he can move himself around if needed. As for the sleep positioners, I use one with my three month old, and I love it. She is one who pushes herself all over the crib, which wakes her up, so this keeps her in one place all night. Plus with the little foam pieces on the sides, they seem to feel as if they're being held which certainly helps as well. Good luck.

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HI M.,
My son hated being swaddled from the day he was born. The nursery would bring him to me swadded and comen in crying. once i took him out of it he was super happy. I put him in his crib at one month and he was sleeping through the night till about 5 months when he started to flip over. He would roll over on his tummy and get stuck screaming. I used a positioner but he was so active that he would inch his way downwards and not be in it anymore. I finally put his changing pad in his crib and put him to sleep on that. The one i have is like a cocoon with edges all the way around so he couldn't slip out or roll over the top of it. We did this for 2 months and finally took it out when he learned how to roll to his back again. We all slept a lot easier when he wasn't getting stuck on his tummy screaming and yelling at 3 or 4am. Every baby/child is different so it might take a few diffrent things to figure out what works. Its frustrating but only you know your baby better then anyone. I love this site so much. It helps me know I m not totally in the dark when it comes to being a mom. Good luck to you.

SAHM super active 2.5yo son and baby boy due in July. Loving husband who travels for work 4 days every week. Very hard doing it all alone but you do what you have to.

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I would definitely stop swaddling him now- too dangerous. He'll learn to sleep without it-- though it is hard at first...

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Hi M.,

Ah....you have a houdini master at 3 months! My son did the same but found comfort with the miracle wrap as your son...so I just began to leave both arms out until he was ready to abandon the wrap all together. It took a few nap times to adapt, but he managed. Good Luck!

S.

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