Should I go back to swaddling?

[Lemoncello]

FYI, we don't cosleep, but DS is still sleeping in his bassinet in our room (and I hear every peep he makes.) I figured I'd post here for advice before going to "Life with a Babe." 

DS is 7 1/2 weeks old, and has not been swaddled for a few weeks now, at least. When he was a newborn he would sleep swaddled with the larger receiving blankets I had (36 x 36), but he always managed to wiggle his arms out relatively quickly. At first, this didn't bother me because he was still sleeping fine, but then he started grunting in the night, even though he looked asleep. I decided he was getting too cold (we keep our room fairly cool at night) and started putting him in a fleece sleep sack instead of swaddling. This kept him much warmer and seemed to help for a little while.

But as he has grown the grunting and wiggling has gotten worse and worse. I nurse or rock him to sleep each night, and he usually is quiet for his first stretch of sleep (which is often 4-5 hours long). However, after his early morning feedings, even though he is asleep when I lay him in the bassinet,  he begins making noises, throwing his arms around, kicking his legs and tossing his head from side to side. Sometimes it stops after just a few minutes, but it often lasts for 30 minutes, at which point I get up and bring him to bed with me until he settles down. I am not really getting much sleep as a result, and I am at my wit's end. DH doesn't wake to the noises, but he is about ready to move DS out of our room because he sees how sleep deprived I am getting. I don't want to do this, so I need to find a solution that will help our baby sleep more soundly...and quietly.

I'm considering going back to swaddling him to see if that helps. I can't afford to buy one of those fancy swaddling blankets, so I'm thinking about just cutting a couple of large squares from old sheets. Would 48 x 48 be a good size for an average 2 mo. old?

Any other advice or thoughts are appreciated! :)

[Kiwiontheloose]

Babies are noisy sleepers by default.  You actually want them to be a bit restless and NOT sleep too soundly for the first few months as it frequent stirrings/wakings are protective against SIDS... For us, it was something I learned to get used to (7weeks is so young - you might find in a week or 2 you become used to the noise).  But also I found as she got older the snuffling etc stopped.

Swadding might make a difference though.  I found that fabric with a bit of stretch in it was good, could get a nice tight wrap. 

[Monkey Keeper]

Before moving him out of your room, I definitely would give swaddling another try.  For my current babe, we swaddled hands-out.  He is now a thumb sucker and always has used his hands for self-soothing, so he was pretty adept at getting them out and really slept better with them out.  We swaddled him with the larger muslin blankets just under his arm pits.  That really helps with the flailing. 

Also, you WILL get used to the noises and only wake when you need to.  It just takes some time to develop that filter.  Have you tried going to bed when he starts his first solid stretch so that you can get a little more shuteye?  Sleep deprivation is brutal.

[MsFortune]

give it a shot!  I'd try a total swaddle for a night then try the arms out swaddle for a night.  See if it helps.

but both of my babies are / were snorters and grunters - they turn into pigs in the night - so I think the noise is typical

[Lemoncello]

Thanks for the replies. I was doing some reading online last night about babies and sleep...I didn't know how common it is for babies to make so much noise in their sleep! And according to my MIL, DH was quite a noisy sleeper himself, so I guess we're doomed. :lol

Anyway, I tried swaddling Josiah last night using 2 receiving blankets, a smaller one for his arms and a larger one for his body. It seemed to work well...he only got one arm out, and that was probably because it was too loose when I put him down that time. I think the swaddling helped him fall asleep more quickly, which is good. He was not really any quieter, but I was more relaxed about the noises he did make, knowing that he was not able to flail around and wake himself up as easily. I also realized that we were putting him to bed way too late, so we've push his bedtime back to 7pm. I think that will help us all get more of the rest we need!