Swaddling Vs. Sleep Sack

We went through that same phase. Our son hit that 8-10 week old mark and wanted to flail about, but that then woke him up. We also tried the sleep slack and that didn't really work for us because despite the flailing arms, he also wanted to be wrapped tight.

So we actually bought a bigger swaddle (the Kiddopotamus ones in size Large) so that we could wrap it tighter. It took a few nights of us getting the wrap down and of our son accepting that his arms were inside. But after that he went back to sleeping pretty well.

Good luck!

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Hi Kelli,

I swaddled my daughter until she was 6 months old. But there did come a point in time when she would wiggle her arms free and then wake herself up. So.... the trick is to get her to feel that security of swaddling and be able to fall asleep, but not wake herself up later.

What we did was go slow. I would loosely wrap her arms at first... so when she wanted them out then she could get them out. I started with just one arm. I did the loose wrap of one arm for about 2 nights. Then, I just kept that same arm out of the swaddle. I found trying to not swaddle two arms, was too much. So, after a week or so of just one arm swaddled, we went for the second one.

Once you have both arms free and she is comfortable falling asleep like that.... then you could consider a sleep sack. But, until you can get her to fall asleep well without her arms swaddled, a sleep sack isn't going to do you any good.

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Kelli,

My son also wanted his arms free so I wrap him like a burrito (just under his armpits). He sleep awesome and he is warm and he is happy because he can get to his hands. J.

any posibility of putting her in a sleep sack then swaddling her?
As for the jerky arm movements its a developmental thing. She's probibly dreaming of who knows what and reacting in her sleep.
Congrats!

That was SO frustrating...they finally get to sleep and then wake themselves up with those crazy flailing arms! I never found a solution except time...sorry. Hope you get some good answers!

~L.

Hi Kelly, When my son was 2 months old he was in hospital for possible sleep apnea. the nurse shows me how to take the sheets and twist them until they were in a long tube shape. then I had to take the sheet and where the middle came that is where his head was, then it came down the side of him to his feet and it was snuggled real close to him. he still had the ability to move his arms and legs and he liked being swaddled. she said that it was like the womb and it cacooned him. I also wasn't worried about him suffocating because he was still small enough where he couldn't move around. But I hear the sleep sacks are good also. Neither of my sons would keep their arms in the blankets when they were swaddled like when they were first born. (still don't know how those nurses seem to get those babies swaddled without their hands and arms poking out).

Hello Kelli, My name is A. and I loved the sleep sack. I live in michigan so gets really cold. My daughter just seamed to be more comfortable in the sleep sack. Now that she is older it doesn't quiet work, but for about 4 mos it was a God send.

Halo makes a sleep sack with a swaddle thing, so you can have them in the sack and then wrap the swadle part around whatever you want. With my 5 week old we use it and keep his arms out of the swadle part since he doesn't like them down. It seems to work well.

I would say either a sleep sack, or the cheaper route and put her in footie pajamas. Carter's make some really nice and soft ones. They don't pill like so many do. I would say she'd be plenty warm in those. I remember when my daughter was younger, though, I had to also put socks on her feet under the jammies because she would get really cold feet.

P.S. You don't want to hear this, but my daughter used to jerk her arms too. She ended up becoming a tummy sleeper...

This probably goes against everything you've heard from your pediatrician amongst others, but forget the swaddle and the sack. Use a regular baby blanket. I've eleven year old twins, a 2 yr old and a 3 month old and have used baby blankets for all four without incident. Babies fuss and bop themselves in the head but after a few minutes of crying / fussing - they settle down. You can also try lying her on her side (this puts one of her arms under her). Again, this is probably going against what you were told - but it works and can be comforting for the baby. When my 2 yr old was born, we were told we could use side or back sleeping. Then when my most recent one was born it was only back sleeping. I guess things change in 19 months. Anyway - that's my advise.

you can swaddle her with her arms free, thats what i did with my girls when they got a little older but still loved to be swaddled. i never had a sleep sack, so i have no advice there but, iam sure a lot of people will recomend them.

When my daughter was little we used a sleep positioner thing. It was like two foam triangle attached together, but you could move them as far apart as you need to. Anyway, we put her in that and her arms were held in so they didn't jerk. Or, my daycare suggested just rolling up receiving blankets and putting them tight next to her. That also keeps a baby from jerking their arms. Hope these suggestions help.

Our son did the EXACT same thing! We went out and bought a special swaddler because he loved being swaddled tight. Then, one night he started fighting it. After two nights of him waking himself up grunting and trying to get his arms free, we stuck him in a sleep sack and he was great. I worried a little about his arms getting cold but he seemed fine.
I guess at some point they get used to having lots of room during the day (as compared to the limited space in the womb!) and really like it.

Hi Kelli,

My daughter loved the swaddle me at first, too. Around 8-10 weeks she wanted more freedom, so we switched her to just the sleep sack. It worked for us. I guess you could try it and see if it works any better for you. I have also talked to some moms who put their babies' arms inside the sleep sack (but she may still grunt to try and get them out if you tried this Good luck, I hope you get some rest soon!

We swaddled our son until he was 4 months old (and he let us know he was done being swaddled!). What would usually happen is he would get one arm out and be happy with that. Try letting one arm free or swaddling under both arms as the other mama suggested. Good luck. Swaddling was a SLEEP SAVER FOR US!!! I wish I could do it now and have him sleep as well as he did then (he's 8 months old now)...

Hi Kelli,
I had the same issue when my little one was about the same age. I found that, yup, it's time to stop swaddling. I didn't use the sleep sack. I just covered her up, made sure she was comfortable and let her do her thing. It's tough at first for them to get used to it but eventually, she'll get used to it and start sleeping through the night again. Good luck!