Swaddling at 6 Months?

Updated on November 02, 2009
M.W. asks from Seattle, WA
27 answers

My soon-to-be 6 month old is a super strong, healthy, bright babe. She prefers tummy time to back time, she eats like a champ, she's social, well-adjusted, all that... BUT, she still likes to have her arms swaddled when she sleeps! Is this normal?

We dont' swaddle her tightly, and we don't swaddle her legs, but she really has a hard time falling asleep without her arms snug against her torso. She usually wiggles out of it during the night, and often times I'll go in a couple hours later to check on her and she's got arms out, up next to her head. It's just to fall asleep it seems. The times when we lay her super-sleepy, but not all the way asleep, she will go from "eyelids almost shut" to wide awake and wild (and frustrated) in about 2 minutes.

I will say, she is a good sleeper, and she doesn't need to be fed, rocked, held, or anything else to actually fall asleep except having her arms restrained.

Has anyone else experienced this? My 3 year old likes to touch my ear or arm sometimes when she's tired, but otherwise has always fallen asleep with her arms up, near her face.

If she's sleeping 5-6 hours at night and that's the only time we do it, it's not going to interfere with any development is it? Her daycare provider said she does it there too, so they "roll" her in her blanket and once she's asleep they untuck her arms and tuck the blanket in at the bottom of the mattress (required by regulations in WA state). She said otherwise, she'll only get 20-30 minute naps.

For anyone who has experienced this, did your child grow out of it? Did you have to just do some cold-turkey to break the habit? Are they sleeping well now?

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B.H.

answers from Seattle on

Totally normal, she will be just fine....lol. One day she will outgrow it and go to sleep on her own.
My son was around 8 months when he stopped needing to be swaddled!

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D.A.

answers from Portland on

I swaddled both of my kids until they were about 1 or so. Neither would stay asleep if their arms were loose. I had to learn a new swaddle technique that Russian families often use in order to keep my kids tightly swaddled. I think they both had super-sensitive startle reflexes and it would wake them if not swaddled to where they couldn't get out.

Both have outgrown this need, I don't remember the actual age in which I stopped, but it was after their first birthdays.

Enjoy the time while it lasts.
D.

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L.A.

answers from Seattle on

I still swaddle my 7 month old for naps and night time. I don't think there is anything wrong with it and it is the only way I can get him to sleep.

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T.S.

answers from Portland on

I remember swaddling our daughter, I loved it! And she did too.....but only for about 2 months!! I wish I could still swaddle her, and she's almost 2!! LOL. Good thing I have another one on the way!! Enjoy it as long as she'll let you~I'm sure one day she will just grow out of it. And I'm sure she'll be fine =)

T.

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C.R.

answers from Seattle on

My husband and I used to joke that we would be wrapping our daughter's arms down with an Ace bandage when she's 14! We swaddled her in an actual swaddling blanket for the longest time. Like your girl, she would be out of the swaddle before morning, yet still asleep. I was very nervous that she would NEVER sleep without the swaddle. We tried it without it a few times and she was awake after an hour or two. Right around 9 months (maybe 10) she started getting very upset when we'd swaddle her at night. She'd scream and fight us on it. So, we stopped... We haven't swaddled her since. Just like that... It was the weirdest thing. Before then she wouldn't sleep more than an hour or two without being swaddled at night and no more than 15 or 20 minutes for naps.

My daughter is 17 months old now. She sleeps a good 11 hours at night and takes 2 hour-long naps. She doesn't have sensory issues and she's active and meeting all of her milestones. I think your daughter will just decide she's done one day. For my daughter I think it was just a soothing/comfort thing for her.

C.

3 moms found this helpful

M.B.

answers from Seattle on

M.,

The other three moms here have it nailed, in my opinion. This is something I wish my children would have done. My older child hated being swaddled with a passion from day one. He'd wiggle and squirm until his arms were free. My daughter would tolerate being swaddled for short times, but she soon grew to hate being pinned down too. They're now 6 and 2 1/2 and can be holy terrors at times. Enjoy it while you can.

I think it's perfectly normal. As a grown woman now, the feeling of heavy blankets on me is quite comforting. I will also cocoon myself in my blankets at night. My husband on the other hand, hates the weight of any kind of blanket.

My point: Every person is different and your little one is already showing her preferences for what she likes and doesn't like. :)

Hope this helps,
Melissa

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M.S.

answers from Portland on

My son was the same way. He grew out of it around 9 months. My son used to wake up if he squirmed out of his swaddling, so we bought the velcro swaddle blanket from Walmart. It goes up to like 12 months in size.

I don't think there is anything wrong with a baby liking to feel the security of swaddling. I personally would not even consider trying to force them into a new way to fall asleep. My first was also like your first... liking to touch my skin while she fell asleep. My second though found no comfort in that and wanted to be left alone, swaddled in his own bed. He is now 3, and perfectly normal...and does not need to be swaddled anymore.:-)

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D.L.

answers from Seattle on

We had to double-swaddle our little one and we continued almost to her first birthday (even though she would get out when she wanted at that point). It's totally healthy for them up until their first birthday, and I bet there are some children that might even go beyond that a month or two. Don't worry and be happy that it helps her sleep better. She'll naturally move out of that stage when she's ready. :-)

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K.V.

answers from Richland on

We swaddled our son until he was 9months old and he is now 2 1/2. He has developed normally, but I understand, we had the same fears. When I was being chastised by somone once about it, another friend came to my rescue and pointed out that traditionally in biblical times it was normal to swaddle children until they were more than a year old, for more than just napping. So it's perfectly fine to do so for as long as you want. We stopped at 9 months cause we started to see signs of him not really needing it anymore and you will too. We now have a 4 mo. old daughter who also wakes herself up with her hands and I'm pretty sure we will be swaddling her for awhile longer too.

The important thing is to not beat yourself up about it. She is developing fine, and because of the care you take in swaddling her, she is sleeping fine too. If it aint broke, don't fix it. :)

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R.M.

answers from Portland on

Hello M.-

I worked with a 10 month old when I was a Nanny many years ago who would only go to sleep when swaddled. I think it had to do with the new house they moved into, but there were several sleep issues we had to work through.

Good luck, but it is normal.

R.

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P.M.

answers from Portland on

It's unlikely that you'll affect your daugther's development if she has freedom to move, roll, crawl and explore when she's awake.

Your daughter is still really young, and may still experience a natural startle or flailing reflex that tends to wake babies as they are sleeping.

Lots of children have sensory integration issues. They generally learn to cope better as they get older and can seek out the stimulus they need in other ways. Some children are hypersensitive to certain stimulation, others are hyposensitive and are comforted by certain strong pressure, movement, or touch, and some children are a mix, liking more of certain stimulation but less of others. Wanting pressure on her arms as she sleeps seems like a minor and harmless preference, especially if it helps her sleep. And she sounds like a pretty easy baby otherwise.

I know adults who like to feel "tucked in" and achieve this with heavy blankets. Others, like myself, hate the feel of heavy blankets. Probably all common variations on the theme of sensory integration!

Here's a good website to help you explore this possibility:

http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-proces...

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B.S.

answers from Portland on

My daughter, who is now 2 years and 2 months old, wouldn't fall asleep without being swaddled in some fashion until she was about 18 months. She, like her Momma and Daddy, is a light sleeper for about the first hour of trying to sleep, after which she sleeps like a rock! It seemed like she would start to fall asleep and then startle herself awake, so we kept swaddling her.

After about her first year we swaddled her very loosely, and then after she got used to that we left her arms out so just her legs and torso were swaddled. With all of these "modified" swaddles she was always able to get out and did, it just seemed to help her fall to sleep.

After that first year I would always ask her if she wanted to be swaddled, and up until about 18 months she would always say, "yes," then one day she said, "no" and there was no struggle - she just never needed to be swaddled again.

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T.H.

answers from Seattle on

Hi - I used to swaddle both of my boys and at some point they just stopped needing it. They both would get their arms out of the blanket and would still stay asleep.
If it is still working for her to get to sleep, I would just keep doing it until she grows out of it. It will just happen and would not worry about it at all!

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J.C.

answers from Seattle on

my guy (now 5) swaddled until he was 8 months. Some kids just like/need that feeling of being hugged. My only concern was having a blanket large enough! I would not worry about it...especially if it helps her sleep.

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J.J.

answers from Seattle on

I have always heard that it is comforting for babies to be wrapped in a blanket. I was shown that by a maternity nurse when my oldest was born, she is now 21.

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B.D.

answers from Portland on

Both of my kids loved to be swaddled and broke themselves of the habit on their own when they were ready. With my first one I was worried about it like you and tried all the tricks of first just swaddling one arm then taking out both, but I don't think it is necessary. My second I swaddled until she was 9 months old and at that point she made it clear she didn't want to be swaddled anymore. My pediatritian said it won't have any developmental ramifications either. We did a really tight swaddle also, because that is what they likes. The Miracle Blanket is a great swaddle when they get a little older. One more thing, both of my kids are excellent sleepers. The 2nd one slept through the night at 7 weeks and always has, she is now 2.

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C.P.

answers from Spokane on

Our second child was EXACTLY the same way. He had to be swaddled in order for him to fall asleep and the moment we attempted to lay him down, his eyes would be wide open like he had just taken a 2-hour nap! At the point when started to become more mobile, able to roll around, we felt it was no longer safe to have his arms swaddled. (We were concerned about him rolling onto his stomach with his arms still swaddled). We discontinued swaddling between 5-6 months and it only took a few nights for him to adjust and fall asleep on his own. Putting something in the crib to help soothe her (we used the Fisher Price Aquarium) may be helpful as well. Good luck!

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L.C.

answers from Portland on

I wondered the same thing about our daughter (who is now 14 months old and sleeping beautifully). We swaddled her until she was probably 8 months old. We stopped though when we found her face down and still swaddled (a little scary!) I think it is totally fine to still swaddle and would not affect her development in any way. I compare it to being tucked in at night, some people just prefer to be nice and snug. So my advice to you is do it until you feel uncomfortable about it, safety wise, and then try each night to put her down without swaddling. If she does not go to sleep, swaddle her and try again the next night. Hope this helps. Good luck.

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H.D.

answers from Portland on

Our Pediatrician said that swaddling is fine, as long as they aren't swaddled during their awake time as well. As long as it's still safe to do, it should be okay. My daughter is 8 months now, and we just stopped swaddling her because we found her one morning on her stomach w/ 1 arm half-way out. She has now adjusted to her Sleep Sack wearable blanket. The 1st day or two, she didn't sleep or nap as long, but now she sleeps almost as much time as she did when swaddled. Good luck!

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A.B.

answers from Portland on

I swaddled at 6 months, my pediatrician said it's fine up to a year, although every month or so I tried without it and she gave it up around 7 months...

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S.W.

answers from Portland on

i swaddled my son till he was 8 or 9 mo, old - also only when he slept and his legs were free. he is 18 mo. now and perfectly fine. if that is what she needs to sleep well, that i say do it. when it became clear to us that the swaddle wasn't working anymore (he no longer was sleeping well), we stopped - not easy, but it wasn't working anyway. i would't worry about it. good luck.

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B.A.

answers from Portland on

My 9-month-old son is still swaddled when he goes down to sleep. He has eczema and gets frantic itching himself when he is tired...swaddling has been the only way to help him get a good rest. I was concerned about joint development after 6 months (as I've read that's when you stop swaddling) but my doctor said sleep is more important and not to worry about it. He is crawling and pulling himself, walking with help without any issues. I do know that during the day we have started laying him down without swaddling to try and break him of the habit, but we still have to do it at night. Especially if it's only her arms, I'm willing to bet it's just fine to continue to do it. I would, however, check with your pediatrician to make sure.

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J.B.

answers from Seattle on

My daughter still wanted to be swaddled at 6 months, and then after she turned a year, she hated having blankets by her feet at all. Now she's reached 20 months, she sleeps with blankets as they would be on a normal bed. I'd say just let her grow out of it.

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M.L.

answers from Seattle on

Our pediatrician advised us to stop swaddling our oldest when she was 6 months. She said that developmentally, our daughter needed to be able to move in her sleep. We transitioned from a full swaddle to one arm out, then both arms out (swaddled just under her armpits) to a sleep sack to just a blanket. That took a month or so. She's now 2+ and likes to have her blanket tucked around her when she falls asleep, but she sleeps about 12 hours at night and 3 hours for nap.

She did start sitting independently, crawling, and walking later than most of her friends but still within the norms.

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M.R.

answers from Seattle on

our 2nd daughter was pretty much the same way - could not get her to sleep unless her arms were wrapped up. i believe we swaddled her until she was one, maybe a bit older. she grew out of it, tho still will fall asleep with her arms tucked under her body (shes almost 3).
we had asked her doctor and he said there would be no interference with development as shes sleeping and not really developing any coordination skills or anything like that while shes sleeping.

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A.G.

answers from Seattle on

M.,

Our baby is now 7 months and we just stopped swaddling her 2 weeks ago. She did all the things your daughter does. We had to stop when we found her face down and still swaddled. Although strong, I'm not sure she could have rolled onto her back if she was having a hard time breathing with her face in the mattress. We may be overly cautious, but it just seemed the right thing to do. Now, we put her down on her back and she immediately rolls onto her stomach, butt in the air, with her arms under her so they don't flail when she starts. It took a few days for her to do this without waking and fussing a little, but now it's automatic.

Don't know if I helped,

A.

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A.C.

answers from Dallas on

Snuggle spot...It is a baby bed/pillow that makes a baby feel like it is being held when you cant hold it. www.laneybug.net

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