Swaddling, Pacifier and CIO

My kids around 6 mos could put the pacifier back in their own mouths. We would literally have a "mine field" of pacis around the crib.
This presents a challenge for you as you swaddle. I would start by weaning off the swaddle first. Esp at this age, she is going to begin to start rolling soon, and swaddle might hinder that developmental milestone (they do a lot of practicing in their cribs). One thing that helped with weaning off swaddle was to get a sleep sack. Or try swaddling with one arm out, then progress to two, then none, and then move on to the sleep sack.
Also, both mine still had one night time feeding at this age. I would suggest feeding her around 4:30 and see if she goes back to sleep again. Eventually, this feeding will go away, but at 5 1/2 mos it still seems a little early to expect her to go all night.
Good luck!

You're going to get a lot of different answers on this because it is a touchy subject for moms.

When my youngest was 5 months, she still liked to be swaddled. Once she would get an arm free she'd wake up. So, I started loosening her swaddle for a few days and then I started swaddling her with her arms out so she would still be warm and wrapped tight, just not with her arms in. I put an extra long sleeved onesie on her to keep her arms warm. Then she started sleeping through the night.

Try that regarding the swaddling. Regarding the pacifier, I say nix it. Easier now then later.

Have you tried feeding her? I'm really surprised she's not eating at least once, if not twice, each night at only 5 1/2 months.

She's probably hungry. I bet she'd sleep a solid 4 hours if you fed her.

I co-slept which made my life so much easier. Of course my kids didn't sleep through the night until after 2 yo. though. (I nursed)

I am really not a fan of CIO.

If you want her to find her thumb then by all means, take the pacifier.

Aren't you feeding her during the night? She should still be eating a couple of times per night shouldn't she?

Maybe she's hungry.

I'd say when kiddo has the ability to turn over and move around on her own she'll change all this again and she will be able to pick up her pacifier on her own and put it in her mouth.

None of my kids slept through the night at 5.5 months, they were hungry and wanted to eat at least once. I nursed and it was painful for me if they didn't want to eat at least once every 4-6 hours or so. I know bottlefed babies can go a little longer, but I'd still think the amount of hours you are wanting her to sleep, she would be hungry.

I would try to stop some of the things that are just habit as it would be easier to give them up now...but try feeding her.

Does she get a bottle/ nurse during the night? Maybe she is hungry.

You didn't say...but is there a night time feeding? There should be at least one at this age..possibly 2.

Do not give up the pacifier, that would make things worse. I would try placing her on her belly to sleep....some babies sleep better this way and don't wake themselves up as often. If you are swaddling only to keep her hands tied down, it may make it worse and she will never learn to find her pacifier on her own then.

Remember, babies go through growth spurts and for a few weeks wake up a lot more often...and need to eat. At this age, they should be eating on demand and are too young for CIO. She is waking up for a reason, for food, diaper change or love and comfort. Don't deny her of any of those things.

She's hungry. Pick her up & feed her.
She can't go that long.
Don't CIO. That's why she's crying. Trying to let you know she needs food.
When she's a bit older she'll go longer by nature. Hang in there for now.
You can stop the swaddle (or at least try to drop it) if you think she wants
to be free of that.
The paci....it's hard for them at that age to keep it in. Usually can't put it back in themselves. She wakes up ever hour because she's hungry.
Just pick her up for those late & early a.m. feedings.
She'll get better soon & go longer between feedings but for now she's
letting you know in the only way she has that she needs to be fed.

I co-slept and fed on demand for the first year, so I didn't have these problems. Babies wake up a lot during the night, that's just a fact of life. Unless you have that rare baby that just falls asleep and stays asleep for longer than 4-5 hours from a very young age, getting up multiple times per night is par for the course of parenting a young baby. We lessened the impact on our sleep by just sleeping with them, it was really easy to just roll over to feed them than get up and walk down the hall and take them out of crib and sit in a rocking chair and...and...yeah, I wasn't into all of that lol!

I also didn't take the pacifiers away until they were ready. I simply tuned out anyone who gave me advice about it. Give yourself a break and stop worrying so much about whether you are doing the right thing. Your baby is telling you what she needs, all you have to do is listen. (FYI, I also do not believe in sleep training of any kind, so take that into account, too)

A baby doesn't need a pacifier anymore after 5 months. Once that sucking instinct has dissipated, then a pacifier becomes a habit. And that's what she has, a habit.

Wean her from the paci FIRST. If you want to cut the end off a little bit every day til there is nothing but a nub left, then do that. STOP coming in and putting the paci back in her mouth when she wakes between 11:30 and 1:00. Go in and pat her back and walk out. Yes, you'll have a hard time getting her to sleep, but this is how you do CIO. DON'T pick her up. Don't talk to her. Don't engage. Sit on the floor and put your hand through the slats and pat her. Then just touch her leg. She will tire out and finally fall asleep. Do this every night until she stops waking up in the middle of the night.

No more rocking her. Do the same thing at 4:30 with patting her through the slats. NO picking her up, unless you decide that you want to feed her a bottle. She IS old enough to go without a night feeding. If you can draw it out to 5:00 am, that would be better.

Make sure she gets a full bottle and maybe a little cereal in her tummy before you put her down the first time. That will help her.

I believe that they make garments that help transition swaddling from legs and arms to older babies that still need some swaddling. Research that and see if it helps. More than anything, you just have to get rid of the pacifier. It will deep six ANY sleep training you try...

This is one of those things that only you can answer. It depends on the baby and you.

My babies sleep 10-12 hours by 5-6 weeks, and then around 6 months --when they really wake up-- I mess it up, and they start waking up 1-2 times a night. That social desire is strong :-) also, self-soothing skills become super important.

I give my kids taggie toys. They have 4 paws and are a reasonable size. Babies can grab them and shove them in their mouths. I buy 3 of them, so they have a clean one each night. This is what I use instead of a pacifier.

I thought I'd use full of CIO with my third, but it doesn't work for me. So I go visit when needed. I figure it is a need, and it's part of having a baby.

Also, you are in the thick of one of the worst wonder periods.

What times does your LO get up in the morning? Seems to me you are putting her to bed too late. Babies like 12 hours, and when they wake a lot at night, and aren't hungry, exhaustion is usually the reason. I'd try moving bedtime up.

I always put extra pacis in the crib with my daughter. It made it more likely she would find one if she lost the one from her mouth.

And I did Ferber around 6 months. I don't like the term CIO for it, though, it is more delayed response than just CIO.

My babies slept for at least 6 hours straight by then. When they woke after that (slept from 7:30 pm until maybe 2 or 3 am) I'd feed them. Then they'd go right back to sleep for another several hours.

Have you tried feeding when she wakes up after several hours? I would.

Have you tried feeding her in the middle of the night. She sounds hungry and the pacifier is not going to stop her from waking up hungry. Pacifiers are great and i love then but She also needs you. Try bottle or breasting feeding at least one more time at night. She needs you more than you need sleep. We are here to be parents. Our job is 24 hours. If she needs you then be there for her. She really needs to eat more at night. Baby's brain development happens rapidly within the first 2 years and they need lots of healthy fat (milk) for that. Try breasting feeding her at 1 am and see how she does.

If you are going to sleep train...get Ferber's book from the library, used book store or Amazon. It isn't just you let the CIO until they sleep! There are very specific steps and it is just delayed response not no response to their cries.

A lot of people just let them cry and don't actually sleep train. BIG DIFFERENCE!!

Get the book please...and then use it the best way for your child.

wow, you're expecting her to go for a LONG time without a feeding at under 6 months. i'd feed her at the 4:30 wake-up for now, and then both of you can get another few solid hours of sleep.
ferber isn't really CIO. she's too young to CIO. ferber could be appropriate, but not if she's actually hungry.
i'd swaddle her, but with arms free, and leave a few pacis within reach.
khairete
S.

Sleep begets sleep.
Make sure she's FULL before bedtime and put her to sleep earlier.
Try leaving O. arm out of the swaddle?

Behavioral extinction is the quickest way to end a behavioral problem.
Anything else you try will work as long as you are consistent. It will just take longer.
But yes, cold turkey, IMO, would be best.

Her sleep schedule sounds normal for her age to me. In fact, you are lucky to get 8 hours of basically continuous sleep (sounds like just one pacifier re-up in that time). If she likes being swaddled, keep doing what works for you! In a few months she will be old enough to grab her pacifier herself an put it back in her mouth. Maybe try one of those little clips with the ribbon, or the paci connected to a little beanie-baby-like stuffy?