T has been a complete swaddle addict (naps and nights) since about 2 weeks. He'll be 4 months on Monday and I know I need to start the swaddle weaning process. I have tried to nap him unswaddled and he bonks himself after 20 minutes and/or I can't even get him down without a swaddle. Does this mean he's not ready?
If you had a swaddle addict how did the weaning process go? When did you do it?
grapefruit / 4278 posts
We're just starting this process with E. He'll be 4 months a week from today and recently starting screaming at bedtime and arching his back when he try to swaddle him. For the last three nights we've left one arm out. The first two nights he woke himself up by grabbing at his face, but he did pretty well last night. I'm going to keep doing the one arm swaddle for a week and then try both arms out after that. I think it will take a few crappy nights at each step while he gets used to his new freedom, but hopefully it will go relatively smoothly.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I let my son dictate when he was ready to ditch the swaddle. I didn't try to wean him from it because some kids lose the reflex action later than others and sleep was so precious!
coconut / 8498 posts
LO just turned 4 months, and we're about to do this too. Scary! We only swaddle for nighttime sleep, and she sleeps on her tummy for naps. I've started putting the sleep sack on her for naps to get her used to it. About a week ago we switched to the Woombie at night so she could get used to being able to move a little more. A lot of my friends have said that it was easier for them to quit swaddling cold turkey and deal with poor sleep for a few days. They all said their babies' sleep either returned to normal or improved after about 3 days. I'm planning on going cold turkey this weekend and hoping for the best.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@c.sassy: Eeeek good luck. I guess my biggest obstacle is that he knows swaddle = sleep. I don't know how I'll get him to think sleep without the swaddle!
grapefruit / 4582 posts
Why do you have to wean? IMO, if LO still likes it & sleeps good I wouldn't change anything. DD is 4.5 months and stilled swaddled. Ped said she had a 1yo still swaddled!
coconut / 8498 posts
@winniebee: Mine does too, but she also knows that the bedtime routine also includes a story and nursing/bottle. I'm just going to skip the swaddle step and cross my fingers. So far, LO doesn't seem too hard to break of habits. Most of the hesitancy comes from me expecting the worst. I should just take a step back and consider my child and not other peoples' horror stories.
coconut / 8498 posts
@anacarlin: Very true! I have lots of friends that have swaddled their children past 6 months! We would probably do it too, but we're going to be leaving next week for a month or so, and I know LO will have to sleep too many places that make swaddling impossible or unsafe (such as in the carseat).
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@anacarlin: There's some studies that show tightly swaddling for too long can cause hip dysplasia....my husband is an orthopedic surgeon so of course he's worried about that! I plan to ask our pediatrician about it at our 4 month next week. Also, he's going to start daycare at 5.5 months (still a month and a half away...) and I want him to be totally weaned before then.
pear / 1728 posts
@winniebee: Liv was swaddled until like...I want to say somewhere between 4 and 5 months. She needed to be swaddled. We used this technique (without the sleep sack)because it leaves the legs free and those werent her issue
Once she got pissed off about her arms being tied down, we just cold turkey stopped (one arm in or a loose swaddle pissed her off even more) but the only way she would sleep was on her belly. We had an Angelcare monitor, so thats the ONLY reason I was able to sleep with her on her belly that young
pomegranate / 3383 posts
I was soooo scared to wean the swaddle because I watched my LO wake himself up many times with his hands if he was sleeping in the stroller or the car. We weaned with the Magic Sleepsuit (for nights first) at 4 months, 1 week. It was a seamless transition. A few weeks later we stopped swaddling for naps.
At 5.5 months we started putting him in pajamas and again, a totally seamless transition! If you are willing to shell out $40 for the Sleepsuit I would recommend it! I was totally stressed about weaning the swaddle even though my LO wasn't close to rolling (he actually rolled from back to tummy for the first time today in his crib!).
pomegranate / 3008 posts
We didn't stop using a swaddle until my son was 6.5 months old. He just wasn't ready before then because he didn't like using his thumb to self soothe and he wasn't able to find and pick up his pacifier by himself until around then so for us it wasn't the right time before then.
pomelo / 5178 posts
DD weaned herself; DS I had to wean at 4 months because he was breaking out of the swaddle and waking himself up multiple times a night, and it was just too hot to swaddle for about a month here.
We tried a variety of methods over the course of a few weeks, but once I really committed to swaddle weaning, he was completely off the swaddle after 3 days. And he was a total swaddle addict! What worked for us was replacing the swaddle with a crocheted blanket. I wrap him up in it for naps (not swaddled, just rolled up like a little burrito) and at nighttime, I tuck it into the sides of his crib. Like I said, it took him about 3 days to make the switch. We didn't do CIO, but he did cry a lot the first night while I tried to soothe him. It really only took one major breakdown that first night, though, and once we got past that, he did pretty well.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
We didn't start the process until he was nearly 6 months and rolling over. Even though he was rolling before 5 months, he NEVER tried to roll in his swaddle. Until he was about 6 months old. It took a few weeks, but we also sleep trained him at the time which I think made it a little easier.
He was fine at night without the swaddle, but during the day he still had to nap with the swaddle on.
He was rolling over in his crib with the swaddle, so I wrapped the swaddle about his body, leaving both arms out and he actually stayed asleep. I did that for a few days, then took the swaddle off and instead laid an A&A blanket over him (pulled up to his tummy) and that was the wean of our swaddle. It was rough but now his sleep is good.
grapefruit / 4582 posts
@c.sassy: I never understood how you can even swaddle in carseat lol I even make my husband do it at night because I'm a terrible swaddler
@winniebee: oh no! I had no idea. Luckily dd sleeps with her legs straight. It's her arms that are the problem. Good luck!
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@Honeybee: thanks! I might just toll him up in an A and A blanket to calm him for bedtime then put him in the crib without? Tonight he was so wound up at bedtime (secondary to refusing a late afternoon nap....) that the swaddle was the oky thing to calm him. Always has been....since we are already in sleep regression hell I might as well ditch the swaddle.
@cocobee: thx! I have a feeling we may be doing a little sleep training soon, too. I just checked on him an he is so cute all swaddled up and sleeping so peacefully. Boo.
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