Weaning from Swaddling?

If you son is sleeping well while swaddled there's no reason not to continue with it. We swaddled DD to sleep until she was 6 months (she was independently getting out of the swaddle at 4.5 when she wanted.) and stopped swaddling when she no longer needed it
to fall asleep. It was a totally natural transition.

When your baby is able to roll over you should loosen your swaddling blanket, so that your baby's arms are free (or he can free them easily) to avoid possible suffocation and of course the blankets should be appropriate for the external temperature to avoid the baby getting overheated, but neither of those have anything to do with "self-soothing" (which, in my opinion, is something completely unreasonable to expect of any child under a year old especially 4.5 month old barely out of the womb.)

1 mom found this helpful

try this...
www.sleepsense.net/blog

at 4 1/2 months, they recommend quittign swaddling cold turkey.

best wishes,
J.

1 mom found this helpful

oh how cute, we used to swaddle our little guy too! He loved it! I believe we started weaning him from the swaddle blanket sometime around 4 months also. He got used to it quickly, in just a couple of nights. I started using a sleep sack instead and he liked that. I think you can get them at www.onestepahead.com and Babies R' Us.
Hope that helps! Good luck!
L.

Hi T.,
I understand your doctors concern. But just remember they grow up so fast you will wish you had the time back. My baby is 11. Can't swaddle her at night anymore.

My son was swaddled til he was 5 months...I started just swaddling his legs, then nothing....good luck

My baby came from Korea at 7 mo. old and would only sleep when swaddled. We kept up the swaddling until about 10 mo. old.. and then I would swaddle her but not tightly.. she would eventually un swaddle by moving about while sleeping.. she then would get used to moving about.. by 11 mo. old I didn't have to swaddle any longer. Now she is 9 and hates to have the blankets tights around her.. she doesn't like clothes that are tight either.. go figure!!

We swaddled my daughter for months! It was the only way she would sleep for any length of time. I tried a couple of times to try weaning, leaving 1 arm out, but she always woke up after just an hour. I decided to just keep swaddling. Eventually, as she grew and was able to move more, she would wriggle out of it on her own terms and it never seems to bother her. It got to the point that she was too big to keep her feet in, but I would wrap her arms close to her body and she would fall asleep instantly, wriggle out on her own and stay asleep.

I say, if he likes it and its working, keep it up, he will grow out of it on his own!

I am a foster mother who takes in medically fragile babies who often need to be swaddled. In my experience every baby needs to be swaddled for different amounts of time. I have had a baby who required being swaddled for a full 7 months. We started by unswaddling her at nap times and then when she started to show us that she was able to sleep for a nap, we took the swaddle away at night. She ended up doing extremely well but there was no way that we could have done that sooner. I believe that you will be able to tell when your son is ready and you will always know what is going to be best for your baby. Follow your heart with him, the doctors do not always know what will be best for them-they can give you some guidelines but sometimes you have to let the baby lead the way.

Hi T., my son was swaddled until almost 6 months, but I just used a receiving blanket. As he got a little bigger he would be able to get one arm out, then eventually 2. He loved to be swaddled and he was a great sleeper I think because he was so comfy. I let him set the pace on weaning. Maybe try just a blanket swaddle during a nap and slowly make it looser over a few days until he can wiggle himself out to where he is comfy. But eventually he will let you know when he doesnt need it anymore. Good luck- A.

We did it cold turkey at about 4 months old. Shortly after that he started sleeping on his stomach and slept very sound that way too! Good luck!

honestly, i have to say that is the silliest thing i ever heard of, that he needs to be weaned from swaddling to self soothe. first off, babies need soothing especially before 6 months. does your doctor suggest that you leave the baby to cry too? why is your doctor saying he cant be swaddled? does he like being swaddled? does he sleep well swaddled or try to get out? if he tried to get out, then leave his arms out, or alot of times the baby wants one arm out. but if he is happy, why is she insisting he needs to be out of the swaddle?
some babies hate being swaddled, other love it. my first daughter was swaddled, then just arms not legs till like 9 months, otherwise she rubbed her eyes in her sleep till she woke up or scratched herself. the new baby loves to be loosely swaddled then pulls her arms out once she is asleep at 5 months, my sisters kids hated it from birth. all babies are different. instead of taking the orders of your doctor who has no idea of the personality differences between your baby and the next, take the cue from you baby. if he wants his legs out, or his arms out, or only his left arm out, then do it. but if he likes it, why are you fixing something not broke. all of a sudden he will show you signs that he doesnt want to be in it, and it will be gone forever.
remember, you are paying your doctor for medical advise. swaddling is not a medical issue. you are recieving ONE doctors opinion. its no different than asking your doctor which shampoo is the best, one will say A, the other B. if you ask a doctor something, they will always give an answer, but that doesnt mean the answer they give is the correct answer.
good luck to you, enjoy all these baby things as they will be gone before you know it:)

I had the same issue, but at about 3 months. Those swaddle me things are great in the beginning but tough to get rid of. Start slowly with naps during the day. We basically took it a day at a time. We did the same exact soothing techniques and bedtime routine, just without the swaddler. If he did well and fell asleep without swaddling, we would leave him there. If he was not going to sleep without it, then we would usually give up and put him back in it, but gradually loosened it day by day. Phase 2 we would take one arm out. Once he did well, then we left out both arms. This was the hardest part because he would flail around his arms and wake himself up, but after 3-4 days he got used to being able to move around more and he was ok. Finally we went without it and used a wearable blanket and then just footy pjs once it got warmer. It took about 2 weeks to transition him and honestly it was easier than we thought it would be once he got over the initial first few days without it.

I swaddled my son until he was seven months old! This is how I weaned him. The first week I took one arm out of the swaddle, then the second week I took the other arm out but had his body still swaddled. Just take your time and see what works for you and Terrence.

Hi T.!

My daughter went through the same thing. I loved those Swaddle me blankets. We referred to them as the "magic blanket." At around 5 months I started swaddling her with one arm unwrapped for a few days, and then both arms unwrapped for a few more days. It took maybe a week and a half or two weeks, but she was fine after that. Hope that helps!

B.

What is it with doctors pushing self soothing on infants?! So, I disagree with your docotr. Your baby will outgrow the need to be swaddled just as he will outgrow the need to be carried, nursed, bounced, rubbed etc to go to sleep and get back to sleep. I let my daughter out grow those stages naturally and I am very happy that we didn't push her to do something she wasn't developmentally ready for.

I know babies who started struggling against being swaddled at 4 months and others who stayed happily so until 10 months. If docs say that babies develop at vastly varried ages, why do they all have to learn to "self soothe" at the same time?

You know your baby better than anybody, he'll let you know when it's time to move on from swaddling.

While your pediatrician may have a point, we swaddled our son until he was 5 mos. We were never told anything about weaning him from swaddling, and he really did it on his own once he was more in control of his limbs and could roll over. He is now 14 mos and sleeps great, falls asleep on his own with just his favorite blanket at his side. You should really do what feels right for you and your son, and that goes for everything including swaddling. Does he take a pacifier? That may help. Or you can start to develop a sleep routine in which he knows that at the end of it he goes to bed to sleep. Maybe read a book, cuddle, bottle or nurse, then off to bed. It may be that he is just used to being swadded at sleep time, I am sure you don't have him swaddled during his waking hours. Good luck with it and enjoy every minute of your precious baby boy!

We weaned our baby one arm at a time. Swaddl ehim with one arm sticking out for a week or two. Then swaddle with both arms sticking out for a week or two and then no swaddle. It was pretty easy actually.

Hi T.-
My son was also swaddled until about 4 months. To wean him we put him to bed with the swaddle with only one arm swaddled. We did that for a few days. Once we saw that he was fine with it, we swaddled him with both arms out. We did that for a few days. Once that seemed to work, we took the swaddle away. He seemed to do fine after that. Good luck!!