When Should My 5 Week Old Give up the Swaddle

I Am the mother of 7 children and I Had a wonderful experience with a woman of 7 the last being 7 months old and AT the time I Had only one child and I Asked if I could try something with her crying baby ( As we were in a resteraunt at a wedding dinner)and she handed her over to me I swaddled her and she instantly quieted and the mother was happy and shocked thinking that you had to stop swaddling at a certain point. I will do it 'til the child is about a year or when they start to refuse it, I believe in making your child feel secure as long as possible and let them dictate to you when they no longer need the safety of it. all of my children gave me clues usually in tantrum form that they didn't want their arms pinned down anymore. that is when I stop.

We swaddled until 6 months and then to wean we wrapped tight in a blanket that we removed after DS went to sleep so it wasn't a hazard. After a while, they outgrow the blanket and that helps.

When he is ready. Euther that or when he is too long for receiving blankets. He'll let you know, he'll start kicking out of it. Just start doing it a tiny bit looser and looser over a week of two and he'll get used to it. That;'s what worked with my girl, but everyone is different. Hope this helps.

Yup... I agree with Deb K. too!!

I have a 3 month old who still loves to be swaddled. I know she is really tired when I can just wrap her in a blanket and she goes right to sleep. He will let you know when he doesn't need it anymore....right now it is very comforting for him to be swaddled.

We swaddled until 7 months. It was honestly the best thing we ever did. Try the Miracle Blanket. It is a swaddle blanket that your little boy won't grow out of. You can find it at www.miracleblanket.com or try Craigslist and there may be a few boutique baby shops around town that sell it. Also try the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD. You can check it out of the library. Its like the cliff notes version of the book and great for mommies that don't have a lot of time.

I have an 11 week old daughter who figured out how to squirm out of a swaddle at 4 weeks old. She decided on her own that it just wasn't comfortable for her any longer. As long as he seems comfortable with it, I would just go with it and make the decision to stop swaddling when he is able to wiggle his way out of it. That way there's no smothering hazard in the crib with him. Hope this helps some!

I agree with pp. There is also a book about sleeping habits for infants called The Happiest Baby on the Block and it helped me figure out different ways to soothe my baby to sleep longer especially when change is about. Good luck!

You do not need to wean him from it at all. When he is too big to swaddle then you stop. It is a great and soothing thing for a baby and my daughter was tiny, I swaddled her for at least two months, my son however who is a LOT larger I couldn't fit the blanket around him after about a month and he would kick it off anyway!! :) He will get it undone when he is ready to be done with it.

I agree with Deb K too!. :)