Weaning off of swaddling?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

My DD is sleeping OK in her crib (finally!), although still not in long stretches. One thing at a time, right? Anyway, we have her on a Tucker wedge/sling AND we swaddle her with a Miracle Blanket. I know, it’s a sight! She looks like Hannibal Lecter all mummified! Anyway, it works for us but my problem is that she’s now getting to the point where she can actually break an arm or two out of the Miracle Blanket (should I ask for a refund? ). This always causes her to wake up because she can get her hand to her mouth but she’s not coordinated enough to keep it there (i.e. to suck her thumb). If she could just keep her hand in her mouth we’d be fine (she uses a pacifier otherwise). I know we need to start thinking about getting her out of the blanket anyway but the big question is HOW? Should I just start leaving a hand out during her naps and deal with the fact that she won’t sleep very long hoping that she’ll get used to it? Should we try to keep her in it a little longer until her coordination improves? TIA!

Karen

[Anonymous]

I am in the same boat as you…although my DD is only 3 months old and hasn’t broken out of her swaddle yet…though she is trying. I think books recommend swaddling them with one arm out as a transition. I think its inevitable, since she will be becoming more mobile and will probably like the swaddle less and less…but some people swaddle their babies until they are 8 or 9 months. If you find any good solutions, please post them….good luck!

[Anonymous]

I had this problem with my middle child. She would only sleep swaddled for a very long time, but once she got too big to stay swaddled, like Tess, she’d get an arm free and then flail around and wake herself up. This is what I did for a temporary fix….I say temporary because in the long run you are much better off weaning her off of swaddling.

For Ellie I bought a pair of shorts in a size 3t or 4t and put them on her over her pajamas, then pulled the waistband up over her arms up to her shoulders. Then I swaddled her in a thin blanket so she wouldn’t be too warm. This worked very well for a while…a few months probably, but eventually she became uncomfortable being swaddled and really needed to have some freedom of movement in bed.

To wean her from swaddling I started to swaddle just one arm at naptime, then just one arm at bedtime. It took a few weeks for her to get used to it, but we were also battling untreated Reflux (I didn’t know about PPI’s then), so things may have gone more smoothly if she had not been uncomfortable with her reflux problem.

I’m fortunate that my first baby and my last baby never liked to be swaddled for sleep, so I never had to wean them.

ndrose2006-5-12 9:54:30

[Anonymous]

When Robbie got too big for the Miracle Blanket we got the Kiddopotamus swaddler in size large — supposedly goes to 22 pounds! Then we started velcroing it really loosely, then not actually velcroing it, and eventually he quit needing it.
Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Christine,

LOL! I wonder if I read a previous post of yours because the shorts over the arms sounds familiar.

I tried leaving one arm out yesterday during Tess’ naps and they were only marginally shorter than her usual (she’s not a great napper yet anyway) so I guess I’ll just keep trying that. Towards the end of the day she was getting very cranky because she was so tired so then I put both arms in the swaddle. A little at a time, me thinks.

Thanks everyone!

Karen

[Anonymous]

That is so funny. My daughter Paige also born on Dec 27th has the same issues. She is on a major incline and in a tucker sling type contraption and swaddleled with a Miracle Blanket. She is also breaking free!! I get worried that she is going to get it over her head!! She is on an Apnea monitor AND I have an Angelcare Monitor on too….so hopefully we will know if anything happens…. I have tried the one arm out and it cuts her naps in half! I think I will try the kiddopatumus swaddler. I would swaddle her forever if I didnt fear that she will suffocate. Good luck. Your daughter doesnt happen to have MSPI as well?

[Anonymous]

Hi Shannon,

My DD doesn’t suffer from MSPI. We almost had twins born to different moms there. LOL! Tess hasn’t broken out lately. I’ve discovered that we really have to make sure the wrap is up to the top of her shoulders. My DH doesn’t do it as well (naturally ). We also needed to wash the wrap as it was stretched out a lot. Good luck with the kiddopatumus.

Karen

[Anonymous]

Sarah–

I did exactly the same thing. The problem now is that she started acting like she was fighting the swaddling, so I tried stopping it. She wakes up a few times at night (only fed one of the times) and a pacifier usually puts her back to sleep. She has also developed a terrible cold so that could have been it. I may try the swaddling again. I’ve read that many people swaddle babies on up to a year old. I say do what works. Unless you keep them swaddle a ridiculous amount of time each day, in my opinion, it will not hurt them.

Karen- Wow! My Ellie never got her arms out of the Miracle Blanket. (the others- yes) She just became to long for it. You must have a real escape artist on your hands.

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