To Swaddle or Not to Swaddle?

Most babies fight the swaddle, and then relax. I haven't seen it recommended on this post, so I will mention "Happiest Baby on the Block" by Harvey Karp. He addresses the issues you bring up in your question.

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I have triplets and we swaddled them until they were 5 months old. It was the only way they could sleep. They seemed to squirm and jerk so much that it would wake them up. Two of my three had reflux. I would suggest buying the miracle blanket....they have a website and it shows you how to use it. They advertise it as "the gift of sleep." It worked for us. It was like 30-40 dollars. I knew to stop swaddling when they tried to get out of it as soon as I put them in it.

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Probably old enough to not swadle anymore. Especially if it seems like it bother him.

i just went threw this w/my son who is 6 wks old. i swaddled him for about the first 2-3 wks, but then i noticed that he was getting MAD that he couldn't move his arms in the middle of the night, and wake up screaming mad. so i was afraid to unswaddle him b/c he did seem to sleep longer swaddled, but when he would start to wake he would just get mad. so i decided to unswaddle him, VERY afraid that he wouldn't sleep well, and you know how mom's need their sleep...lol, but he did just fine. i never had to do this w/my dtr b/c from the moment she came out of me, HAD to have her hands by her face and was a thumb sucker. good luck w/whatever you decide :)

My daughter never liked to be swaddled, I swaddled with her arms out in the biggening she seemed more comfortable. I stopped swaddling at about 2 months. She as well fought it. Maybe try that? see if it helps? I hope this helps!

Sometimes it is normal for them to squirm around. However, my son was swaddled until I got the 'back to sleep' sleeper - at about six months. Of course, it was only an issue for a small amount of the time as he slept on my tummy for naps and sometimes even in the evening due to slight colic. This is what worked for us, so we did it.

I swaddled both of my sons. It was the only way I could get them to sleep (sometimes). with them screaming and swinging their arms around I found that all the movement would keep them awake longer. Plus, I always believed that swaddling made them feel more secure almost like they were being held tightly. I found that a good swaddle helped them to sleep longer.
I believed I swaddled them until they were about 5 to 6 months old.

H. with the son that had the reflux problem. When they did a sleep apnea study on him at 2 months, the nurse at St. Joe in Ann Arbor didn't swaddle him. She swaddled the blankets around him. She took soft hospital blankets (sounds funny that they are soft) made them into a rope like device and then she bent it in half. The middle of the blanket (once folded) was at his head, the sides came down by his arms and then around his feet. HE loved it and was no longer pulling a moving to get out of the body swaddling. She was a great nurse and had said they do this alot with babies because it makes them feel like they are still in the womb and that there beds are a cocoon. Good luck.

My son never liked to be swaddled. He was also born in August, so it was hot.

My son hated being swaddled from about 4wks on. I continued to take a receiving blanket, fold it in half length ways and wrapped him from the waist down to keep his legs from flailing around and through the crib rails. This worked well for him--he could still have his hands up by his head while he slept. We did this until about 9 mo when he started taking the blanket off and throwing it out of the crib.

I don't really have any words of wisdom but just found it interesting that my son had reflux and HATED the swaddle. I did find a Safety First blanket that you could swaddle with arms out but I swear he just didn't like to be restrained. Mine was on Zantac until he was over a year old. I took him off it at 8 months and it was awful again. I was finally able to wean him off after a year. He did not really sleep through the night until over a year. I'm not trying to scare you...I do not blame that on the reflux. There were other factors. Anyway.. hang in there he will eventually sleep. I am due in a couple of weeks and my son is just 3. I have the same concerns about him. If this new baby is like he was I have no idea how I am going to do it with 2!

Hi again. I just read your second story. The squirming and jerking brings back memories. He is doing that because he is feeling the pain and discomfort of the reflux. Reflux/Acid Reflux. The flap that suppose to close when you eat is not closing to keep the food down, the food comes back up and when it does it's acidic and burns the lining of the stomach. I strongly suggest taking your son to a Pediatric/Children's Hospital. When I took my daughter, I can't remember which, but it either a CT Scan or an MRI to see exactly what was going on in there. That's how they discovered the air on her belly and the burned abdomen lining from the vomiting. If you want to give your son and yourself some peace, I would take him to the Ped/Childrens Hospital. The swaddling is a form of comfort to him, he needs that. My daughter also liked to be swaddled, I believe it relieves the discomfort of the reflux.

I have a 1 year old. He hated to be swaddled from 2 or 3 weeks until 1 month. Then it was the only way he would goto sleep. Once he started to roll we swaddled only his bottom half for a bit because it was still cold outside. At about 3-4 months when he mastered 'rolling over' we stopped. Good luck!

my daughter never liked to be swaddled once we left the hospital. her first night was awful. she cried and cried. we tried EVERYTHING, including swaddling, and she didn't like it so we just never tried again, and she slept fine. babies will twitch and jerk when their arms fall down and stuff, but they usually just get used to it i think.

on the other hand, i had a friend who swaddled her son for 8 months or more! until he didn't fit or just wiggled out of it. i think it's whatever works for your baby.

NO SWADDLE they only need to be swaddled for the first week. listen to the baby if he crys when being swaddled or wiggles out or kicks out it because he wants to be free. listen to your baby he willtell you what he wants and doesn't

I have 8 children. Some of them were swaddlers, but, there were about 3 that just hated being swaddled. 1 didn't mind swaddling, as long as his arms were free. You just have to find what works for your baby.
Also, with the reflux, when my son had it, they just gave him Zantac, which made him cry less, but didn't fix anything. Something that helped at night though, was having something under his mattress that tipped it up a little, so that gravity helped keep his fluids down.
Hope the best for you - you will get through it.