https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 19 May 2026 03:28:25 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2001282 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 14:51:42 +0000 HabesBabe 2001282@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We swaddled both kids until they were rolling over consistently-- so around 5-6 months. We used the velcro swaddles from Summer Infant. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2001241 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 14:34:13 +0000 Mae 2001241@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did. We used a halo swaddle sack, and when she started busting out of that we double swaddled with an a&amp;a blanket first and then a swaddle sack over that. It definitely helped her sleep because she basically didn't nap hardly ever until I realized I should try swaddling her for naps (we'd always swaddled for night and she was a great sleeper so not sure why it took me a month to try it for naps!). Once we unswaddled the transition was rough because she couldn't keep her hands off her face/rubbing her eyes, but a merlin suit helped. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2001237 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 14:32:59 +0000 pui 2001237@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I swaddled my baby like twice in the first couple days. DD didn't seem to need it and it did not make much difference to her sleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2001231 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 14:31:23 +0000 ShootingStar 2001231@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did use a swaddle because we could see a clear difference between swaddled sleep and non-swaddled. If he wasn't swaddled he'd always startle himself awake. He did somewhat fight it at first, but we'd bounce him and shush him (by we, I mean DH, lol) and he'd settle down. We actually swaddled until he was about 6m old. He started being able to get his hands out of the swaddle no matter how tight it was or which ones we tried, so we ditched it and no transition issues. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2001047 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 12:57:50 +0000 snowjewelz 2001047@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO is almost 4 weeks and I'm still trying to figure out if we should swaddle! She doesn't seem to like it as she likes to sleep with her arms up or being able to move them. But part of our bedtime routine so far is swaddling... I have all these swaddles I don't even know if I should return or not! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2001040 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 12:54:29 +0000 MenagerieMama 2001040@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I also thought I *had* to swaddle, but my poor LO HATED having her arms tied down. I had tried just blanket swaddling and the SwaddleMe and gave up and just let her squirm around. That didn't last long. Then we went to the halo swaddle sack and just left her arms out, that helped a lot but her startle reflex was (and is!) so strong that she would wake herself up a lot. So then what we did for about 2 months was put her in the halo swaddle unvelcroed when we were getting her down, and then once asleep swaddle up her arms. Then she didn't wake herself up as much. She always got her arms out before the morning and I usually didn't reswaddle unless she was super flaily. We just got her a Zipadeezip because she was busting the velcro on the swaddle super fast and then scratching her poor face too much with her flailing, and so far it's been working really well! She loves that she can sleep with her arms out, and I love that she can't scratch herself and her flailing is a bit dampened and even though she still startles it either doesn't wake her up or not enough that she usually can't settle back down. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2000899 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 11:01:32 +0000 edelweiss 2000899@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yerpie110: that's what i thought too (thanks to harvey karp)! if we go through this again i hope to trust my instinct more. </p> <p>@Rocker2014: we used the halo sleep sacks after we ditched the swaddle. that's great that you guys were able to figure out what worked for your LO! i don't know if i ever did.</p> <p>@erind425: ah, a minute seems very reasonable (although yes probably seems long in the moment). i didn't know whether people are supposed to wait 15 minutes or something. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2000896 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:58:31 +0000 jape14 2000896@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@edelweiss: He probably fought it for less than a minute - but, of course, it feels like an eternity in the moment! If you're not against nursing before bed/naps, we often swaddled, then I nursed him, then readjusted the swaddle/rocked a little before putting him down. I think he began to associate swaddling with feeding, so he fought it less and less. (And a lot of times, the fighting the swaddle was actually just resisting being put down for a nap or bed, which would happen regardless of whether we swaddled him!) Our DS is a very classic tension releaser, though, so we knew once we got him through that initial "fight" he'd be soothed and happy. Even now that we aren't really swaddling anymore, we noticed that a really tight hug/squeeze will calm him down/soothe him while he does his tension release thing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2000875 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:43:53 +0000 Rocker2014 2000875@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We use Halo sleep sacks with the Velcro swaddled and they work great for E, who is 10 weeks. She hated them at first (likes her hands up by her face) so we only swaddled arms loosely, but somewhere around 5 weeks she started getting her arms out and waking herself up. We moved back to a tight swaddle on the arms and sleep definitely improved. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2000862 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:37:38 +0000 yerpie110 2000862@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO hated the swaddle because she liked sleeping with her arms up. I thought, "Every baby must love it and if they don't, you're not swaddling them tight enough! That's what all the books say!" But in my gut, I felt it wasn't right for her. DH finally convinced me to let her go without (around week 2/3) and trust my instincts, and we were all happier for it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2000859 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:32:59 +0000 edelweiss 2000859@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@erind425: when you switched to the swaddleme velcros, how long was the initial period where your LO "fought" it? i've heard about babies settling down after an initial fuss, but i was always confused about how long one should wait before calling it quits! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2000856 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:31:24 +0000 LuLu Mom 2000856@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did not, LO hated to have her arms down, I used a sleep sack for a few months, but she ran so warm that I stopped using it because I thought she was getting too hot. She slept through the night from about 6 weeks on, so I'm hoping we can skip swaddling with my next one too ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2000853 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:29:09 +0000 jape14 2000853@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My son has a crazy startle reflex, so we love swaddling! For the first few weeks, he fought the swaddle so we swaddled him arms out, usually with A+A swaddle blankets. Once we switched to the SwaddleMe velcro swaddles, he didn't fight them nearly as much. Swaddling definitely calmed him and helped him sleep - we noticed he'd do an initial "fight" of the swaddle but it was more of a tension release thing. At 16 weeks, we have mostly moved on to the Merlin Sleep Suit - he started busting out of the SwaddleMes pretty consistently at about 14 weeks. We've been swaddling a little over the past week, though, because we've had him back in the rnp due to a cold, and they still work in a pinch! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2000849 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:27:14 +0000 edelweiss 2000849@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Tanjowen: i've heard good things about that swaddle. my friend is pregnant, i'll mention it to her as a possibility (she's making her registry).</p> <p>@autumnlove: @Mamasig: @cait: hearing about your experiences makes me wonder if i had tried to do without the swaddle earlier. it's silly because that ship has long sailed (LO is almost 2), but clearly i'm still traumatized by infant sleep. thanks for sharing! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2000841 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:21:49 +0000 cait 2000841@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My DD hated being swaddled from the start! She was a summer baby so I don't know if the heat had anything to do with it... She was always a sweaty sleeper. We stopped trying and she slept better without. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2000838 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:20:12 +0000 Mamasig 2000838@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DS1 - We swaddled him with his arms out. It never occurred to me until the pediatrician suggested it. I told her he fought the swaddle so much. She said just do it with his arms out. Duh! He slept like that until about 3 months when we switched to sleep sacks. </p> <p>DS2 - I never swaddled him at all. Just went straight to sleep sacks. His startle reflex was minimal. It didn't affect him at all. He is my better sleeper. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2000834 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:14:55 +0000 autumnlove 2000834@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We swaddled for the first 3-4 weeks before we switched to a sleep sack. Both LOs liked sleeping with their arms above their heads! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2000831 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:13:20 +0000 Tanjowen 2000831@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO had a very strong "startle" reflex that kept waking him up, so swaddling up until 4 months was a must for us. He was a strong little thing too, so I wound up using the Summer Infant wrap with velcro. When he started to roll, I swaddled him in his A&amp;A wrap, so that if he got free, I didn't have to worry about him smothering himself or anything. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-you-swaddle#post-2000822 Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:06:46 +0000 edelweiss 2000822@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we used a swaddle with LO until he got close to rolling. we tried various swaddles, but ended up liking the woombie the best (although so $). </p> <p>however, i always wondered whether we could have gone without the swaddle, since swaddling didn't seem to particularly calm or soothe him, and lord knows it didn't help him fall asleep. i was too scared to try going without (i mean, what if his sleep had gotten worse??).</p> <p>did you use a swaddle with your LO(s)? did it work to calm them? what kind of swaddle did you use?</p> <p>if you didn't use a swaddle, how did that work out for you and LO? </p>