Swaddling help, please!

649 Views 9 Replies 7 Participants Last post by faithnj, Apr 17, 2006

anonymous4_20

Discussion Starter · Apr 13, 2006

My DS is 4 months old. We didn't swaddle him at first, but when he started working his arms in the night we began to swaddle. It really helped him sleep because it stopped his arms flailing.

The other morning, DH went in to check on him (we don't co-sleep for various reasons) and the blanket was over his head and he was struggling to get it off. We were very scared, and decided to not swaddle him at night. Last night was the first night without it and he was up every hour and it took at least an hour to get him back to sleep!

Should we just wait it out and see if he gets used to not being swaddled? Are there any transitions we could use to get him used to it? Or should we go back to swaddling and try a larger blanket? I hesitate to buy a miracle blanket because he's very long and probably won't fit. We've just been wrapping his arms.

A very tired mama thanks you in advance for your help!

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winonamom2be

· #2 · Apr 13, 2006

try the 'amazing miracle blanket'. you csn find it at www.amazingmiracleblanket.com.

swaddling didn't work for us but this blanket comes highly recommended. dd could not get out of it, and it is also VERY lightweight so would not suffocate even if the dc did nanage to get out, which is unlikely.

good luck

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fiddledebi

· #3 · Apr 13, 2006

Though some don't like these, we just loved the SwaddleMe blankets. They're cheap ($10 each) and we still use one at 8 months!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...=glance&s=baby

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Grace and Granola

· #4 · Apr 14, 2006

Hey mama! I'm near Cleveland too! Nice to see you!

My ds was swaddled from almost birth until nearly 6 months. He is a very long boy too! We used a SwaddleMe blanket and just left his legs out. This blanket is very inexpensive, so if you don't like it, it's no sweat. I absolutely loved it and it was very secure. Sometimes it would bunch up near the neck, but it never ever went over his face. I feel like a swaddling guru, so if you have any other questions, please feel free to pm me!

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anonymous4_20

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 14, 2006

Thanks for all the advice!

I had a SwaddleMe blanket and I got rid of it because we weren't swaddling at the time because he screamed when I put him in it. It just seemed too tight. Can it be adjusted? It seemed to me that the velcro tabs had to go in certain spots for it to work. Of course, I also didn't know you could leave the legs out. Are there different sizes?

I'm going to try tonight with a bigger quilted blanket that I use for floor time and hopefully he'll stay in it. It's funny because he really doesn't like the swaddle, but he sleeps for 7-8 hours straight swaddled and for 2 hours maximum unswaddled!

Send some good sleep vibes my way tonight!

Good to meet you, Heather. Are you east, west, or south of Cleveland? I always go to LLL meetings in Strongsville--it's a cool group.

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Grace and Granola

· #6 · Apr 16, 2006

Good luck with your new swaddle! I actually made my own swaddle cloth when ds was too strong for the swaddleme. I just took a long rectangle of fleece and sewed on some velcro. It worked like magic! It wasn't as pretty as the swaddleme, but whatever works!

I live about 30 miles south of cleveland. almost in between cleveland and akron. I know where Strongsville is, but have never been there! Glad to see a local mom on the boards!

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afishwithabike

· #7 · Apr 17, 2006

We swaddle until they can control their arms on their own. I hated seeing my DC hit themselves on accident it always broke my heart.

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anonymous4_20

Discussion Starter · #8 · Apr 17, 2006

Well, we tried different swaddle materials this weekend. We decided that if the blanket is long enough to wrap around him a few times it won't matter so much if he frees his arms once in a while because most of the blanket will still be wrapped around his body and won't smother him. A large bath towel worked the best so far, but I'm worried that he'll get too hot as the weather warms up. What do you use in warm weather? I was thinking of going to the fabric store and picking up some light cotton or madras and cutting it to size. I looked for the SwaddleMe blankets, but the only ones I found were size small and were made of fleece which will be too hot.

He's got pretty decent arm control for his age, but I think he starts dreaming about reaching for something and wakes up and wants to practice!

Thanks again for all the help!

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wendizbaby

· #9 · Apr 17, 2006

We bought the miracle blanket and our son can NOT get out of that at all! We also had the swaddle me, but prefered the miracle blanket (much tighter swaddle).

Good luck!!
Wendi

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faithnj

· #10 · Apr 17, 2006

I did a lot of research on swaddling when my dd was that age, because I really needed some help with technique. The best example I saw was from the Johnson&Johnson website. The have video presentations done my the NICU nurses at St. Peters Hospital in NJ. Their demostration on how to swaddle worked like a dream. (I also watched the swaddling technique used by Dr. Harvey Karp on The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD. And while I love that DVD like crazy, his swaddling technique did not work for me. It might work for you, though. But the J&J video is online and it's free.)

Faith

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