Anybody use a Woombie?

[odoole]

I purchased one when trying to transition my 4 mo son to a crib. It's amazing! He instantly went from sleeping 2-3 hours at a time (with a fair amount of fussing/fidgeting in between), to sleeping 5-6 hours at a time very comfortably.

The thing is, it kind of creeps me out. Even though we have one and I know it works incredibly well, I hesitate to put him in it, and often choose not to.

I don't know why that is.

**I guess I just feel weird about how much he's sleeping now.

**It also seems a little cruel and sad to see him bundled up like he's in a straight jacket (though he doesn't seem to mind).

**It seems to violate the "too good to be true rule." Should parenting a baby be this easy? I worry about the safety of having his arms bunched up against his chest like that. I'm feeling particularly nervous because I was recently burned by the Amby Hammock recall, which had also been a godsend for his sleeping, but it turns out a hazard to him as well!

**I don't want him to become dependent on being swaddled in order to sleep. On the other hand, I think it's totally unnatural for a baby to have to sleep there, totally exposed without blankets or anything keeping him cozy. (We do co-sleep a little in the morning, but given what our schedules will be in the future, we do need him to get used to sleeping on his own. We don't CIO or anything like that, and he seems to be relatively happy in his crib.)

So anyone have any experience/thoughts about the woombie, or swaddling in general?

(I should note that I have tried other swaddle methods, but those are definitely unsafe for him. He gets out of them easily and then I wake to find him in a dangerous situation with fabric over his face or tight around his neck.)

[Voltige]

I swaddle my 5 month old and have similar concerns. It looks cruel and I feel bad doing it. But he won't sleep unswaddled, and I'm only getting 2 hour stretches as it is

I use a baby blanket, folded, to flap his arms down, then wrap him in the velcro blanket. It keeps him snug, he can't get out. He's not trying to roll in it either. We cosleep.

I want to unswaddle him, but I'm scared and desperate for some sleep.

[crayfishgirl]

We had a whole swadding system that involved a Miracle Blanket and a Woombie. The Woombie on its own did not work for our daughter because she could move around too much and would wake herself up. When she got too long for the Miracle Blanket we just used it to swaddle her arms, and then put the Woombie on top because her twitchy legs would wake her. The Woombie kept her legs still and had the added benefit of helping keep the Miracle blanket in place.

I too was concerned that we were making our daughter dependant on swaddling, and at times my husband thought we were being cruel. However, I realized that I couldn't worry about what she needed to sleep in the future because she needed to sleep now and would only do so if she was swaddled. And she was clearly comforted by swaddling so I knew we weren't being cruel. When she was just a little older than 4 months she was really calm and didn't seem to need the swaddle, so one night I swaddled only one arm, and the next night she was done with it. If it works for you and your baby, then I think you should carry on...they'll let you know when it doesn't and you'll make changes then!

[tigermiep]

my son needed to be swaddled until around 10 months, and I would have loved to have something like this -- he was getting way too big for the blankets we had. Once he was able to remove the swaddle by flipping around, we quit using it, but I really miss its settling effect. with it, ds slept 5 hours, then 2 or 3 at a time. now, we're lucky to get one four-hour stretch most nights...

do what works for your child. if swaddling feels secure to him, then I agree to above replies: keep it up.

[SeekingJoy]

My wacky 2 yr old still "wraps" herself up in her swaddling blanket and carries it around as a lovey. We are obviously in the whatever works camp.

[lisavark]

I swaddled my DD till she was over a year old, and it didn't even improve her sleep that much. She still woke at least every 3 hours--just was easier (read: possible) to get her to sleep the first time. It took one hour instead of two or three to get her down.

If I had a child sleeping 5 hours...man, I would be thrilled! Don't feel guilty--enjoy it! Get some sleep for me, please!

[ChaoticMum]

I was looking at that woombie for my Duo......they bust their arms out of the the swaddles but yet settle amazing when they ARE swaddled. They like their hands up by their face tho, so I'm not sure I could still do that in the woombie..

Anyway - I'm of the 'do whatever works' camp too!!

[MADOCKA]

I know this is a little bit too late for a reply to this thread but I think it will be beneficial for new moms out there. I am in the whatever works camp too. Here's my 2 cents about this query.

I saw this documentary on how babies develop their motor skills and the reason why newborns flail their arms and legs is because they do not have full control over their entire body yet. The brain is basically sending out signals to the different parts of their body to "test out" the connections but since the connections aren't fine tuned yet they end up moving parts that they aren't supposed to move. This is the reason why babies startle themselves in their sleep and do get upset over it. If the woombie helps the baby sleep by swaddling them comfortably then by all means use it. Can you imagine trying to sleep with muscle spasms? wouldn't you want to have a restful sleep without having to worry about it? That's what this swaddling resolves. Like crayfishgirl said, her baby didnt need to be swaddled after 4 months, probably because her baby has fine tuned her flailing arms and legs by that time.