HELP! Swaddling Issues

Hi A.,

Our son is the same age, and we've been asking the same question. Here are some ideas that other folks have offered to us: If Santino has started to find his hands, it could be useful to give him access to them (or at least one of them) to give him the chance to self-soothe by sucking on his fingers. But he doesn't have to be totally unswaddled to do this. Transitioning slowly could be a good idea, especially at this age when the little ones still flail around a fair bit. Two good options for intermediate steps are (1) swaddle him with his arms bent at the elbows so that his hands stick out the top of the swaddle and he can still get them to his mouth or (2) leave just one arm out at first when you swaddle him, so that he can have a hand to suck on and can start to get used to having some freedom, but will remain a bit contained during those sleep-transition body jerks. We definitely don't have the answers, but these are a couple of good-sounding ideas that we've heard and are planning to try ourselves. Good luck!

I would think he is ready to not be swaddled. I would suggest switching to a sleep sack. I started using them with my daughters at about 3 months. They do not confine the arms but have a snuggling effect to them. Both my daughters adjusted to them quickly from being swaddled. They sell them at Babies R Us or you can fine them online. I used www.halosleep.com. Good luck!!

You could try a sleep positioner for a few months to get him passed this stage. They are inexpensive and ease the transition.

We swaddled our son til he was 5 1/2 months old. And then went through a couple of hard nights as he got use to his freedom in his sleepsack. Whatever it takes to help them get their sleep! :)

Listen to your inner voice and follow his cues. He may not be able to talk but his body is talking to you all the time.

I would also recommend a sleepsack. I also used a sleep positioner - it has 2 sides and a litle pillow, all made out of breathable material - and it helps give them that cozy feeling.

my son never liked being swaddled so i never did it. funny story: My step dad said "Every baby likes being wrapped up like a burrito" I said no but he didn't listen took my then 2 1/2 month old, who was sleeping, and swaddled him Ty woke up kicking a screaming and kicked out of the blanket and fell back asleep.