Breaking the Swaddle Blanket Habit

If you are scared about her rolling over. They make sleep positioners. We used the Cool Flow Back Sleeper, which was great because my son liked side sleeping and this kept him from going forward or backwards. They are $12.99 at Target.

I would keep swaddling. Be grateful that she is sleeping thru the night. She will eventually not want to be swaddled b/c it won't be comfortable, but will still probably want the blanket for comfort. She WON"T want it forever.

if you want my opinion...don't worry about it. If it helps her sleep, then so what?? My kid wanted to be swaddled until she was about 8 months!! (by that point, it was less like a swaddle, and more like a "roll"). Still to this day (she is 3.5 yo) she likes to have the blanket tight around her, and will sometimes roll herself in it.
You won't have to do it forever, she will eventually get old enough where she has more control over her limbs. It was a slow transition w/ our kid. One day it just started where she would wiggle one arm out....then both arms...and so slowly weaned herself. We didn't have to do anything.
So, IMO, don't worry about it...it is more important that you and her get a good nights sleep. It will take care of itself.

I would give her more time and keep being patient with her. My husband and i have 4 children and as i am sure you know every child is so different. Please don't be embarrassed of her --one of our sons who is now 14 years old didn't give up his blanket that he used every night until he was 6 years old--to our surprise he wanted to give it to his baby brother at the hospital when he was born--we tried getting him to give it up before that to no avail--our thoughts were that he just had to become secure enough to let it go and he did so on his own. It can be frustrating--but i wished that i had been more patient with him. Best wishes.

I don't mean to sound dismissive, but I really don't see the problem here. She's still an infant, she's only 5 months old, which may sound really old to you right now, but that is still an infant. Be happy she sleeps through the night, and don't worry about swaddling her. There are bigger blankets out there, and I'm sure there are parents of 6 month olds out there that would gladly swaddle their child to get a full nights sleep

I agree with the other ladies. Just remember... Don't sweat the small stuff. When you step back and look at it, this is small stuff. It may not seem like it to you now, but take it from us veterans out here, it's small.
I predict that she will adopt this blanket as her "blankie" and once she tires of swaddling, will carry it around with her constantly. If that's the case, buy a few of the same kind/pattern and use them equally. (But let her think there is only one) That way her world won't stop revolving when she has lost her blankie. You'll always have a spare.
Enjoy your little one!

I have to agree with Catherine. When I read that you were embarassed, I expected it to say she was 5 YEARS old. There's nothing wrong with a 5 month old wanting to be swaddled.

Who says that she needs to be broken of the habit? It is a security and if you both are getting quality sleep don't worry about it. One of my best friends did the same thing with her son. I believe that he was much older than your baby when he stopped. Think about it- which is worse- a tired cranky baby or a well rested delightful child? We all have sleeping habits. How many kids love to be tucked into a "blanket burrito" -lots of kids- grade school kids. Don't let this get to you. Save that for potty training!

My daughter hated swaddling and I wished with all my might that she would like it, because she could distract herself so well with all limbs free. I think you should be glad she is sleeping through the night like that...Have you seen the movie "Hope Floats"? Remember the girl gets tucked in "snug as a bug in a rug"? I think that kids, especially babies need a security, and if that is it, then buy a bigger blanket!! Wait until they are old enough to understand reason to take their basic securities away. (i.e. blankie, swaddling, for me, it's my hair that my girl pulls on while she sucks her thumb:)

I'd like to agree that you should leave her swaddled, but also give you a view into the future. Both my daughters required swaddling to fall asleep, but they both grew out of it. They got to the point where they were strong, inventive and mobile enough (7-10 months old) that the swaddle didn't hold. Once she is able to crawl and stand you'll have more trouble at bed time again.

Why does it bother you? She's only 5 1/2 months old.

She takes a pacifier? That must be nice. Neither of my girls took a pacifier. They both used me. Babies are oral, but not all of them have a strong enough suck reflex to work a pacifier (mine), so enjoy it while you can and worry about weaning it from her after she's a year old (teeth are usually the biggest issue for weaning).

Right now, relax and enjoy that all you have to do to get her to sleep is wrap her up, put in a pacifier and ta da. I spent hours trying to get my 2 1/2 year old to lay down last night (without a nap) she was asleep around 11.

S.

My son needed to be swaddled until around 5 months. I finally decided to stop when I went in his room and found him on his stomach, swaddled! That scared me because I did not want him to suffocate. Honestly, the way we got around it was putting him on his tummy to sleep. He was fine after that and soon started to sleep twelve hours overnight (with some help from the tips and tricks at www.babywhisperer.com message boards). I figured that if he was strong enough to roll over swaddled, he was strong enough to roll over onto his back should he need to breathe. It was kind of scary after everything you hear about SIDS, but some babies are just tummy sleepers, and they do believe that SIDS is genetic now, anyway. Hope that helps! Also, the miracle blanket was the only thing that would hold him at that age. :)

S.

WHere is it written that a 5 1/2 mo has to be weaned from her blanket? It occurs to me that perhaps she has a sensory need for the "material" of the blanket for children who are sensory sensitive sometimes they will have difficulty falling asleep until they can have their piece of "special texture" what ever that is - for some it is not the fuzzy kind but the satiny edge of the blanket, for others it is the furry kind and still others the weave of the afghan.

I would make it a special effort to see how she responds to different textures before I made too big of a deal over taking away an item that offers her a special sense of comfort.

When you see if it is in fact a textural thing then perhaps she can be introduced to the same "feel" but a different object like a "sleeping buddy" a particular doll or stuffed item that is in the same material - if this works then you can use her blanket to 'tuck in' the sleeping buddy and teach her how to do it so that she is distracted away from her own reactions to the 'baby' and let her wean herself by taking care of another.

I have a daughter who has sensory integration difficulties and we had to be REALLY FLEXIBLE when it came to touch, smell, hearing, and taste in other words all her information she was learning was in a sensory mode "I would sing a song to her if I needed her to do something then the instructions would be in a musical way" she would comply instantly because she could concentrate on the words and the tune.

Good luck and let me know if this helps.

Thanks

J.

Another mom that thinks you should leave her swaddled! What's the big deal? Babies let you know what they want, don't ignore their signs! It's perfectly fine to be swaddled even well into age 1. Most babies decide on their own when they don't want to be anymore.

Add me to the --- if it works keep doing it....

I can't help but think that many parents and grandparents are quick to attach the word 'habit' to something a child does ---as if it is a bad or harmful thing....

Obviously at this stage of her development there is some 'need' for the swaddling.When she outgrows the 'need' the behavior will disappear or if the need continues she will find ways to meet the 'need'....

I always try and ask myself how big the issue really is (and is it my/someone else's issue or the child's issue. I mean it isn't like she needs an intervention b/c she's smoking crack. (Although you may fear that she will be as attached to the blanket as an addict is to crack......At least the blanket won't be physically harmful!)

Just enjoy your sleep filled nights! (The earliest any of my kids slept through was 6 weeks--my others were well over a year!)

I am having a hard time understanding how and why this is bothering you so much. I have 5 children and 11 grandchildren so I'm not a beginner at the child thing. If she scratches herself, make sure her nails are short and filed so she doesn't make scratch marks. I think it is something that she is just going to have to get used to, going to sleep without the swaddle blanket, and I would bet that she will do it on her own. Instead of trying to put one arm out, can you just make it gradually looser and looser until she doesn't really have it secured on her, but just sleeping with the blanket? Maybe she needs to have the pacifier more than what you are presently allowing her. It sounds like the swaddle blanket is as much of a habit as a pacifier can be, so she must need the reinforcement, many children do. Try to relax a little, they generally break themselves of these things at thier own pace. As she grows out of the blanket, it won't feel the same and she might just want to stop using it without a fight.

Hi S.,

I just wanted to say (and I don't know if anyone already said this buuut) have you ever heard the rule ....... "don't fix what's not broke". Well if you have then thats what I think you should do.

I think that if this is the way she wants and needs to go to sleep and sleep through the night then keep doing it. As she gets bigger you may have to buy a bigger blanket or even wrap her a different way, so what. Do you know how many people out there that just wish their 5 month old would sleep.

My son loved to be swaddled and that was the only way we could get him to sleep good at night. When he outgrew the normal sized swaddling blankets I bought some material, hemmed the edges and used that to swaddle him. We did it until he was old enough to figure out how to get out, then we figured he was ready to move on. He was probably closer to 10 months old when we entirely quit using the swaddling blankets. That is also when he adopted his favorite "blankie" that he carries everywhere with him and WILL NOT go to sleep without it. 5 1/2 months old is still a baby, a very young baby! She needs all that she can to comfort her, and if that is being swaddled and a pacifier then do it. Babies feel very insecure in this big, scary world, do whatever makes them feel safer!!!

You shouldn't feel embarrassed that your 5 1/2 month old still wants to be swaddled, she's an infant and needs/wants that comfort and I don't see why you wouldn't want to continue to give it to her.

hi well we seem to be in the same place my granddaughterwas two in NOV.and she still has her blanketand her pacifer.she will not give either one up.she was not taking the pacifer then she got sickand wegave it backto her we are hopeing she will do it her self .she only gets it at nap&bedtime she ask for it but we do not give it to her