2 Month Old Baby Swaddling....

my son hated to be swaddled but I wonder if you swaddle him looser and looser if he will get used to not swaddling?

I don't think he is old enough to try to transition out of the swaddling. There is nothing wrong with it- it's a natural instinct and comforts them, and helps them deal with the outside world. Definitely don't try to "break" him of it and let him cry when it's time to sleep. His arms will be fine if he moves around normally when not sleeping. Someone else mentioned the "4th trimester", I have heard that too and it made total sense to me, at least what I saw with my own baby. You can't give too much comfort and security for the first few months. It always makes me sad to hear someone saying "cry it out" in a baby so small.

The thing I used to transition from swaddling (because I was really bad at it and he kept getting loose) was the Halo sleep sack with the swaddling wrap. It's great- it's an extra blanket for cold weather, and it is the one that you can swaddle above and below their arms. Mine started prefering it without the arms tucked pretty quickly. And you can take the swaddle thing off eventually. Unfortunately, the one with the swaddling only comes in newborn size, so if your baby is on the big side, it might be too small now. I used mine for about 4 mos I think.

Mine was the same way with the swing- it was the only way we got any sleep. He has never been a good sleeper. You should probably try to get him used to the crib, he will outgrow the swing eventually and then it will be a shock. He probably likes it for the same reason as the swaddling, it cradles him. I just gradually started putting mine in the crib for one a nap a day at first. That way he still got some good sleep. I agree you should check into slings and such, maybe that will help fulfill his comfort needs in the daytime and he will nap better. There is all kinds of information on babywearing and how it is supposed to lead to babies with a better sense of security and confidence. (And it is convenient.) Hope all this helps.

I'm not sure where you got the idea of swaddling from, but the book I read about swaddling was "the happiest baby on the block". The book referred to the 4th trimester which was the first 3 months of life. The author talks about doing a lot of swaddling during these first 3 months. Until your little guy gets out of the "4th trimester", I wouldn't worry about swaddling him too much. As his brain develops more he will begin to want to be free so he can move around. I think you should just go with what it seems he needs right now! One other thing you could try is using a baby sling and do more "baby wearing". Since he likes being bundled up, he might like that as well. :-)

He will let you know when he doesn't like it anymore, but it may frustrate him. My youngest loved it and now that he is 5, he still loves it, but he obviously had to recreate it. You may need to let him cry it out. I promise he is not too young for this. Don't let him get too use to taking his naps in his swing. You can ease him into sleeping exclusively in the crib but you may have to let him learn to soothe himself. His exercising his arms is not necessary. My son who still loves it, keeps himself wrapped in a towel after a shower and loves it. I will sometimes find him all wrapped up in the bed blanket at night. I love it. There was a lot of adjusting on both our parts to make these transitions, but he did fine and your son will too.

my 2month old son is the same way. if he's too big to be swaddled in a regular recieving blanket, but still needs the tight ssecure snuggley feeling for sleeping. i have a miracle blanket. it's best swaddling blanket i've ever seen and are good for babies up to 20 lbs i think. my mom ordered it off the net for me...go to www.miracleblanket.com and check it out.

I have a 7 month old - she LOVED to be swaddled. We swaddled her until she was 5 1/2 months old and then moved her to a sleep sack, we didnt have any problems with the transition. She also loved her swing soooo much. She would only take naps it it as well. I moved her from her swing about the same time, 5 months, because she outgrew it. The next week I put her in our bed to take naps and the week after that moved her to her crib. It only took a couple days for her to realize the difference between naps and bedtime.Hope this helps!

Hi G.!
Aw, Swaddling! I miss that myself! I'm a mother of four, ages 10,12,18 (all girls) and a son 19....My response may be different than others...
I cant swaddle my children anymore! I cant hold them, I cant carry them. I cant rock them to sleep. I cant have them sit on my lap anymore. And of course NONE want mom to hold thier hand!
My opinion is this: There's no such thing as swaddling too much, because one day, you wont be able to at all! My children didnt turn out to be spoiled brats for me "loving on them" too much either.

My 1st hated being swaddled, my 2nd required it to sleep. I used those SwaddleMe premade things, much easier and secure than using a blanket. #2 had to be swaddled for all naps and at night or he'd wake every 10 min or so. As long as your baby has his arms free when awake it shouldn't effect his development. My baby startled a lot in his sleep and the swaddling kept his arms from jerking and waking him up. Eventually he started working his arms free when he slept and I knew it was time to loose the swaddle. The startle reflex lessen as they get older and he was outgrowing it at around the same time, 3-4 mth old. We switch to a blanket tucked under the mattress of his cradle. He too went through a period of not napping good except in his swing, around 4-5 mths. A wedge under the mattress helped with this some.

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He'll let you know.
He will begin to squirm out.

Enjoy him at this stage while you can!

P

I know you've gotten a lot of responses and I didn't read them all to see if anyone else suggested this, but...my daughter is 7-1/2 mos. now and still loves to be swaddled when she goes to sleep. When she was little I swaddled her with her arms inside the blanket, but now that she's bigger, she sleeps with her arms out. Sometimes she falls asleep unswaddled and I just cover her with a blanket, but most of the time, especially if she's having a hard time going down for a nap, if I swaddle her it seems to help her calm right down. I wouldn't worry about your baby being too old or too big to swaddle, eventually he'll grow out of it on his own.

Also, I keep a little boy who is now 14 mos. old. For a long, long time he would ONLY sleep in his swing or bouncy seat. I started letting him sleep buckled into his bouncy in his crib with the rail up so that he was still getting the vibration/boucing that he wanted but was also getting accustomed to being in his crib in his own room. Every room in a house has different sounds and smells. Now he goes down for his naps (without the bouncy seat of course)no problem in his crib.

I hope this helps, and I'm sorry if I rambled on too much!

He'll let you know when he doesn't want to be swaddled anymore. My newest granddaughter is 7 months old now and she liked being swaddled until she was almost 4 months old. She started squirming and fussing and would "kick" the blanket she was wrapped in right off. It was funny to watch, and my daughter knew that she was ready to be "free" of the swaddling!!

I also read that Happiest Baby on the Block book and his theories on the '4th trimester' make sense and work with my baby at least. My 1 month old daughter loves swaddling and I plan on doing it as long as she likes. I swaddle her at night when I want her to sleep for longer, but don't during the day. My daughter does the same thing as your son during the day and short of swaddling her i don't really know what to do either, so you're not alone! In fact a lot of what you said sounds just like what I'm going through with my daughter! :) The sleep sacks with the velcro for swaddling work great and she can't get her arms loose to wake herself up. I just work with her as best I can during the day because i know she'll sleep good at night.

Mine was the same way as far as sleeping goes. I think when she made her natural movements during sleep she felt unslabe and it would wake her up. One of those sleep wedges helped her, and I also would lay her on her side with the wedge, or a blanket rolled up at her back. It helped her sleep. I don't know of any reason swaddling would be hurtful to him, at least not at 2 1/2 mo.

I wouldn't worry about easing him out of the swaddle blanket. My son was colicky and I swaddled him at night until he was 4 mos old. It was the only way to get him to sleep! He got a lot of workouts during the day with his arms, and he was reaching his milestones just fine, so I didn't worry about it.
If he feels more secure with swaddling, just stay with it. You will know when it is time to stop. Just make sure he is getting plenty of exercise and tummy time during the time he is awake and all will be well!