[mel_mama]

DS is just shy of 5 months old. Since birth, he has slept in a Kiddopotomus swaddle wrap. It's part of our nighttime "ritual" and always seemed to work well at putting him to sleep. Of course, as he got older (and stronger), he started breaking out of the wrap. We moved up to the "Large" size and were able to wrap around a little more tightly, which worked for awhile... However, he is a fairly big guy (18 lbs., not sure on his length, but he is tall too!) and this size is quickly becoming too small. So now I'm wondering what our next step is. I've been having mixed feelings about swaddling him up lately, just because he squirms and looks SO uncomfortable when I first put it on at night... And also b/c I admittedly have a lot of friends with babies the same age who don't swaddle at all... So I start wondering...do we really *have* to do this? DH feels like it's "the only way" we can get him to sleep, just b/c it's what we've always done. However, my instincts are that *maybe* he doesn't need the swaddle to sleep..!

So last night I put him to sleep w/out the swaddle, and his sleeping was pretty much just typical for him. Waking up about 5 times at night to feed/change, but with LOTS of arm flailing and moving around in bed (we bedshare). The arm flailing and jerking around was a little much

. So now I'm thinking we need to do SOMETHING to get this little guy to sleep better... What should we use? He also has eczema issues and really dry skin that he likes to scratch!!! So something he can't break out of would be optimal (we do put mittens on him under the swaddle wrap tho, JIC).

Do any of you had wraps/sacks you would recommend? Anything to keep his arms from flying around? But that might be a little looser, as a gradual transition from the super-tight swaddling we've been doing?

Thanks!

 

[filiadeluna]

:

I tried that same wrap with DD (she's much younger), but the size Small was way too big on the legs, but a little tight around the shoulders/arms. Weird. So her legs could still move too much, and she didn't stand for it at all. She definitely squirms too much & wakes herself up. I am lurking to see what other options people suggest.

 

[nudhistbudhist]

I swaddled too until DS was 18 lbs, and then he was struggling to get out of it. So we stopped. Then he was flailing in his sleep so we tried swaddling again... and he got mad. So we stopped forever. He went thru a transition period where he flailed his arms about and kicked me all night...then he learned to crawl. Once he started crawling, he settled down at night again... until he started sleep crawling. now he is almost walking, and he is sleeping the best ever. Just look to him to take the lead. If you think he is uncomfortable in the swaddle, he probably is. Might be time to switch it up. Good luck, sleep tight

 

[taramoon13]

i agree with pp that he may just be uncomfortable with the swaddling at this point. we figured out pretty early on that ds liked having his arms free from the swaddle. after he outgrew swaddling i got a nice organic sleep sac from ebay. that was before i discovered ceewee baby sleep sacs which is where the one he is currently wearing is from. great company & quality products. i think the sleep sac made a great transition for ds, who tosses & turns too much to keep a blanket on.

 

[LilacMama]

Can you swaddle him so that he has one arm free? You could do that for a little while to "wean" him from being swaddled.

 

[merebella]

We swaddle DS who is nearing the 3 month mark with the same swaddler. It was my understanding that swaddling is really key during the first three months as kind of a "fourth trimester" thing. It helps them feel womb-like, I guess. I'm not sure if it's that important past these first several months.

So, as he gets increasingly frustrated, we've tried a couple naps here and there without it, and there has been flailing. But I wonder if that's something he just needs to go through a bit to learn to control those arms. Maybe if your little guy is getting upset or uncomfortable in it, it's time for him.

Also, to the poster who said the swaddle blanket was too big in the legs, I think it's designed that way because the important part to feel snuggled in is the torso and arms. Dr. Sears even says to make sure that legs are free to spread out froggy style when they sleep, so their hips aren't restricted. So, maybe that's why they make it like that.

 

[Evelynmia'smom]

I swaddled my dd until she was 6 months...used the same swaddle as you do. The first few nights were rough, she flailed alot, but now she sleeps fine without it...trust your instincts, if you feel like it's time and your lo needs more freedom, try it...i think i did the one arm out then both arms and then put her in a sleep sack...now she just wears footed pjs. hth

 

[PatchChild]

DS was swaddled until right around a year. He was desperately in need of the containment to sleep well. We went through every type of swaddle created, and actually used diaper pins to pin his cuffs to his jammies for a while. It sounds crazy, be he needed and loved to have his arms contained. He'd wake himself up and get all grumpy if his arms were free.

 

[Starfish11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatchChild DS was swaddled until right around a year. He was desperately in need of the containment to sleep well. We went through every type of swaddle created, and actually used diaper pins to pin his cuffs to his jammies for a while. It sounds crazy, be he needed and loved to have his arms contained. He'd wake himself up and get all grumpy if his arms were free.

Yup

Evangeline will wiggle herself free which causes her to wake up very unhappy until we tightly swaddle her again. We experiment every now and then to see if it is time to take off the swaddle but she just goes nuts at night. The crawling piece of information is interesting, though. I hope that is the case with us, too, b/c right now she is so squirmy that I have to reswaddle her a few times during the night to get her to settle back down. Invariably her arms or feet have freed themselves.

The one arm swaddle does work great for us. If both arms pop loose she is fretful, but with one arm out she is free to suck her thumb which soothes her.