Trying to Wean 6 Month Old Out of Swaddling/dependency on Blanket

I've let my daughter sleep with a blanket since she was about 5 months. She is happy with any of her old swaddling blankets. She wads up the blanket and puts it up to her face to snuggle. At 6 months, my opinion is that it's safe to let him have a _lightweight, small_ blanket. Even if it's over his face, he can still breath through it. A small blanket will prevent him getting tangled. And at 6 months, if he did get tangled up (my daughter never has), I am sure he would wake up and let you know!

He will be fine with a lovey. In fact it is proven to be helpful to children who have a blankie or favorite stuffie to sleep with. They sleep better and are more secure children. We also had a swaddler who then turned to taking a blankie. Our pediatrician assured us time and again that once the child can roll over the danger of suffacation is pretty much gone. My son would do the blankie over his face to, I would just take it down and put it next to him. Your boy will be fine with a blankie.

I went through the same thing with my son. After weeks of letting him fall asleep with it, than removing it once he was in a deep sleep, I did give in to the blanket. Only because I invested in a motion monitor. The brand is angelcare. Best investment out of anything I purchased. If 20 seconds go by without a movement or breath the alarm goes off.

Hi J.,

I have two thoughts:
1. changing a baby's habits at that age will always be difficult. I would assume, if you just get rid of the blanket alltogether, he (and you) would have a few tough days, but then he'll get used to it.
2. you need to decide if he can or cannot have the blanket. This back and forth probably confuses him tremendously. How about giving him a small piece? If your child is developping "normally", the risk of suffacating is getting smaller by the day, since he probably is able to move his head and turn over anyway. Check with your pediatrician about that.

Good luck!

H.

Hi J.,
If you don't want to do the battle of removing the blankie altogether I would get a bit of muslin wrap and give him this as it is something you can breath through.. That said though I'd cut it up smaller so there isn't so much he can wrap around his neck. For your peace of mind you can also get a baby monitor (Angelcare) that has a sensor that goes under the baby and will alarm if they stop breathing. Also I can highly recommend a site I've used called sleepsense by Dana Obleman.. she says if you decide to make a change in a baby's sleep behaviour the worst it will take is 7days. As long as you are consistent! Google her to see more of her tips for getting your baby to sleep through the night. I found her a godsend for getting my daughter to go to bed (she fought me every night). Good Luck.

My husband and I were never big on swaddling. We could never get it right and our daughter didn't seem to mind so I can't really give you any advice on how to get your son to fall asleep without being swaddled. I can tell you that our daughter always (except in the summer) had a blanket in her crib and we never worried about her suffocating because we tucked it in pretty well. She has also had a small blankie that she's slept with for quite some time. Again, we never worried about her suffocating. She's never put it in her mouth but she did like to sleep with it over her face while she sucked her thumb. She probably started doing that around 6 months (I'm not positive on that, but I know she's had a blankie for the majority of her life). If you have a concern that the blanket he's using is too big and could wrap around him while he sleeps, then just try to find something smaller. We got a blankie from www.thegigiblanki.com, but I found very similar ones at walmart shortly after that and you can always make your own.
I hope knowing that our daughter had a blankie at the same age helps calm your fears. Try to get some sleep!!

You've gotten some great advice, I just wanted to add something I noticed with my son. He too likes to cover his face with a blanket, msot nights he asks me to cover his face for him before I leave. Knowing this I often peek in, and uncover his face after he falls asleep. He has been fine, I would just keep the blankets lightweight and I'm sure you guys will be ok! Best luck

How about getting (or crocheting) him a little baby-sized Afghan (you know, with holes) for his blanket? Doesn't have to be fancy, just whip one up quick with a simple, open-type stitch. Use a large crochet hook, and it will make up very quickly, a couple of evenings sitting in front of the TV. You could use the nice pastel baby yarn. And then if it was over his face, you'd know that he could breathe OK because of the holes. I think I slept with a blanket until I was like 11! I had worn off all the fuzz by then, and it looked more like a sheet. I used to fold it up and sleep with it under my head, on the pillow.

Can your baby flip over yet? I went through the very same thing with my little one. One thing we had was a swaddle gaurd (I think you can find it on line) which velcroed over the swaddle to hold it in place. Once she was this age I used to stick the lovie into the swaddle gaurd (without the rest of the swaddle) and let her have a corner of it. Since she was six months old I've let her have the luvie. Someone once told me that if you are confident that they can't be harmed it would be ok. I felt that my baby was mature enough at that point to move away from it if it was a problem. She holds it up to her face too. She is 11 months old now and still sleeps that way, she just loves to burry her face in her little lovey. I know its not "SIDS correct" but my reasoning was that it was not a heavy piece of cloth and she could manipulate it herself.

You could always run your plan of giving your baby a lovey by your pediatrician and see what they say.

it worked for us.

E.

Hi, I am a first time mom and my son is 5 months old and is going through the same thing with blankets. When I went into his room and saw that the blanket was up and over his face and he was trying to move it off, I was like ok that its. I went to TJ Max and bought him one of those Halo Sleep Sacs. Let me tell you he loves it. I dress him accordingly so he never gets cold and he sleeps wonderful now. He doesnt even care about the blanket any more. It helped me out wonders cause now I never have to worry if a blanket is up over his head. Sometimes just for comfort measures I give him this little stuffed dog with teethers on the ends and he loves that I know that, that is too small as to where he could never suffocate with that. I hope this helps and please let us know what you did and what worked for you and your little one. Good Luck! ♥ S. ♥

Hi J.,you could maybe cut the blanket in half,I think its important for him to have something to sooth him,hes getting older so I think the chances of sids/suffocation go way down..but dont take it away,just cut a piece of it since he likes to rub it on his face(awww so cute)my son 14months does that w/a very soft bib,its the cutest thing, he takes it everywhere!!Good Luck and try not to over think it,you will drive yourself nuts!!

As a mom of a 28 weeker who had supplemental oxygen for a year - I can see relate to the worrying about breathing issues - but I don't think you need to worry as much. There are many good suggestions listed. Taggie brand makes a VERY small version - about 4 inches with a clip to attach to stroller too. Kids love the silky tags and it is small enough to be hidden in a pillowcase for sleepovers (at an older age when lovies are still used but not admitted to).

One bit of advice - if you are going to give in, then give in right away. Otherwise you are teaching the extended or intensified crying will be rewarded - and crying jags will escalate more often and more rapidly. It helps to decide your plan ahead of time - and then introduce it in a way that your child can learn - this all varies based on the issue/task at hand and individual child.

Good luck!

My son has also been swaddled from the beginning- however- he is getting so mobile that he rolls over and ends up all over the crib anyways. Several times I find him with the blanket over his face- its almost a security. I have found that I stop swaddling him during the day- he will still play with the blanket but will go to sleep. We are starting this at night as well when we first put him to bed. Hope this works! Good luck!

Hi,
I don't think you need to worry about your son clutching the blanket to sleep. It's completely normal at this stage that babies want to hold on to something to fall asleep. I am surprised you managed to swaddle him for as long as you did. Don't worry about him suffocating himself in it unless it's a very heavy blanket it's not possible. Why not let him sleep holding it and then remove it once he falls asleep or give him a lighter and smaller-sized material to hold, like a handkerchief?

Since you are worried, I would suggest finding a light weave knitted or crocheted blanket that you could give him. That way, if it does go over his face, there will be an easy way for him to breathe.
Basically, take a blanket and put it over your face. If you can breathe fine with it, then he should as well,

Is your son able to move around on his own? Does he move around much in the crib? My daughter also was swaddled and has slept with a blanket since about 5-6 months. I think I checked on her regularly to make sure she was okay, but never took it from her for those same reasons. I figured I would be checking on her anyway, but the blanket in the crib made me more aware. She was moving a lot in her crib, so I figured she would not be "stuck" with the blanket and also had a good set of lungs on her to call out if something bothered her. I ended up switching to a small taggie blanket for her to use and since it is smaller (but larger than a burp cloth) and could not wrap around her, I felt better. She still sleeps with it today. I plan to do the same for baby #2. Good luck!

HI,
When my son was about 6 months old and wanted a lovey I gave him a small hand knit blanket in his crib...it is just made of yarn and has plenty of holes etc so he couldn't suffocate. He loved to put his fingers in it. good luck!

My son loves to do the same thing HAS to have a blanket to sleep. we use to just give it to him till he fell asleep and then go in and take it away from him he is 7 months old at his last dr's visit the Dr said at this age (6 months) it is ok to give hime a thin blanket when he goes to sleep as he knows enough to take it off his face if he can not breath... i still worry a little But I give him receiving blankets. She also said that thoat little softy blankets with the little animal on top was ok to give him as well.

B..

Can you try cutting the blanket into sections, and just give him a small manageable piece? We did that with my son, who decided that a king-sized blanket was his favorite - he used to drag is around the house with him, and the tail end would be two rooms away from him! We kept one section in the car, one in the diaper bag, one in his crib, and one in the playroom. Saved time, and we were never without the magic blanket when we needed it! It also meant we could wash one section and still have another one handy.

Keep an eye on your little one too - see if there is a particular part of the blanket he likes. For example, my son just loved the part at the corner where the binding ended. That's the part he held on to while he sucked his thumb with the other hand. So we kept cutting the blanket down.

He may just like the feel of it or the smell of it. So a smaller section may do the trick and alleviate your worries.

Good luck!

Does your baby have good head/neck control? Then a small blanket should be ok. double check with your child's doctor.
I recommend the Silkie Blankets. They are very small blankies and my DD LOVES, LOVES, LOVES it!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3011088

Or you can get it straight from the manufacturer - Prince Lionheart.

Good luck!