Breaking 7 Mo Old from Sleeping Swaddled on a Wedge

He is fine that way. My friends child has the reflux problem and he slept in the carseat inside the crib until her was about a year old. It's safer if he has that problem.

I swaddled my son until he was 10 months (not on a wedge though), and he ended up with a cold- so one night I was brave (he couldn't breath and needed to be on his side or something other than stuck on his back swaddled!) and unwrapped him, and he did fine. So I guess he kind of broke himself. My doctor said to swaddle him as long as he liked it, and I always wondered how old he would be. He has always done great since then, so much easier now!!! good luck, don't rush it, he'll let you know when he's ready :)

Try slowing having him sleep with one arm out and when hes comfortable the 2nd arm out, if he's having trouble than you know he's not ready.

B.,

I think you have the best answer in your own post: If it ain't broke don't fix it. He finds comfort in being swaddled, be happy. Both of my kids (boy now 5 years and girl 17 months) hated being swaddled and would fight, scream and wiggle until they could get their hands free; my son more than my daughter.

Let him have what makes him happy all too soon it will all change. These precious angels don't come with instruction manuals and about the time we think we've got it all figured out they go and throw a monkey wrench into things and we have to start all over again.

Hope this helps,
Melissa

B.,

I know your pain! My son did not have acid reflux but he had to sleep on a wedge until he was 5 mo. Maybe he did have a slight degree of it, but whatever it was it went away on it's own. The swaddling thing I understand... My son was swaddled up until the middle of June he was 5 1/2 mo at the time. We did one arm out for about a week then two arms and just his body and then we moved to a sleep sack which he is still in today. It keeps him warm with out having to use a blanket.

Good luck! I hope all goes okay with it.

My grandson also had acid reflux. He wouldn't stay on a wedge and as a consequence up chucked often in his crib. He didn't and still doesn't, at 5, care much about his blankets.

My granddaughter who did not have reflux bad enough for us to notice preferred sleeping in her car seat. She had her favorite blankie and still does. Sometimes, when she's having a difficult day, she has difficulty falling asleep until she has a "throw" style blanket given to her by her other grandma.

She's 8 and stopped wanting her car seat when she outgrew it. I don't remember there being a difficult transition. She was able to have what she needed to be comfortable. Babies mature and outgrow various ways of doing things. It is very important to provide what a baby needs even when they can't verbalize it. We often instinctively know what it is they need. Sounds like you know but are unsure of what you're supposed to do. Pay attention to your feelings about what he needs.

There is no "right way" for a baby to be or a mother to mother. If your baby is happy with being swaddled and on a wedge let him be happy. Even tho he's a baby he knows what is right for his body.

I can think of no reason to change what is working. You're right on to continue with the practice.

Hi B., sounds like we have the same kid! Our daughter who is 7 almost 8 mos. also loves to be swaddled and she too is in a wedge. We have just recently weaned her from the swaddle though (thank God, those hot days were killers). She still is in the wedge though. Breaking her from the swaddle took some time...first we didn't have her legs swaddled, just her arms. Next we moved to just one arm. This is the nicer way to do it, I guess you could just go cold turkey. But I thought we'd first get her used to not being swaddled, then from there move to getting rid of the wedge. I have a 3 1/2 yr. old boy too, who also had to have the wedge. He never liked being swaddled, but the transition from the wedge to the crib for him wasn't a big deal. But one thing that I've learned is that no two kids are the same even if they are related. Let me know how it goes!
S.

B.,
I don't have any suggestions, but I have experienced that people don't really know what an "occupational therapist" is and so they are underutilized. I may not be doing their occupation justice but I'll try to explain as I think this may be the kind of person to consult. First, they don't help people with their career. Pediatric OT's help children with various kinds of neurological/sensory issues and my sense is that someone with this background might be able to guide you through the process at the different stages of your child's development.
I hope you find something that works. It will.
Mary
Married Mother PT counselor in a school with twin boys who just started Kindergarten TODAY!

I went through this exact same situation. My son would not fall asleep without being swaddled tightly and strapped to his wedge (looking like a tiny mental patient, yikes!). Even a hand wiggling out woke him up. After talking to his dr and agonizing over it, we "ripped off the bandaid" all at once and started putting him down flat in his crib and unswaddled and doing cry it out. It was awful those first few nights but it worked... he cried less every night and within a week was falling asleep peacefully and now sleeps through the night. He went through a couple of rough nights a week ago or so but for the most part we've now had months of great sleep. It was really terrible at the time to hear him cry, but he learned to fall asleep and I really believe it was the only way for him and the best choice for our family. I was originally opposed to cry it out but we had exhausted all other options (and I was exhausted!). I don't regret it. Good luck!

Dear B.,
We had to swaddle our son until he was over a year old. If it helps them to sleep, then keep doing it. It's more important for them to feel safe and secure than to not get enough sleep. Our son did eventually stop needing to be swaddled.
Take care and good luck,
J.

Hi B..

Let him keeping sleeping how he's comfortable. There is no doubt in my mind that you'll be happy with this decision. We force our babes to grow up too early, and when we push them it just makes us all miserable. 7 months is still very young, and he'll get out of that swaddle when he's ready. Honestly, who cares if he's a toddler doing it? Some people sleep on their backs, and others curled up in a ball...

Hi B.,

My first son had reflux and I guess after fighting and trying to do it "right" all of the time regarding his sleeping I finally just realized that I could let him do whatever helped him and when he grew out of the reflux, sure enough, he grew out of the sleep-time "habits" too. He does really well now. I think you should do what you KNOW inside you that he needs, whether it's letting him be swaddled or whatever. Don't let anyone pressure you about what he needs to do.
My second son was born and he has done so good at sleeping, it just confirms to me that my first's medical problems definitely affected his sleep and really his whole life!

D.

Our little girl had horrible reflux and the worst colic. We learned about double-swaddling (a process in itself) her when she was about 2 months old and it was a God send!! She was swaddled way longer than any baby I ever knew, and she went from the hardest to get to sleep baby to the easiest within a few months. If you want to know how to double-swaddle, let me know. I might have to make you a diagram (I did that for baby-sitters when our daughter was still a baby).

Anyways, it is perfectly healthy for babies to be swaddled up until they turn one. In fact, if I remember correctly, we did swaddle her until she was 11+ months old. She could get out of it by that time, so it was just an aid to get her to sleep. I know at 7 months you might worry that you'll have a swaddled toddler, but honestly, they change SO much between now and 1 year, that it will feel natural to progress out of the swaddle. We were worried about getting rid of the wonderful double-swaddle, but she was old enough and knew how to fall asleep on her own when we switched.

My biggest piece of advice is that she he is sleeping better (our girl couldn't even handle sleeping in the crib until 8 months, so you still have lots of time) and you are all ready to make the transition, go right to the sleep sack. It will feel similar and you can keep your same bedtime routine. Just, instead of swaddling, you'll zip him up. You're a great mommy for paying attention to what your baby still needs! :-)

Maybe you can get him use to a sleeping sack.

My daughter slept the same way for months, swaddled in a wedge. I thought it was a Godsend, loved how it made a little nest for her, she stayed on her back, and she felt so comfortable and protected. I let her sleep that way simply until she was too big for the wedge anymore. I think she was about 7 mths maybe even 9 mths. I transitioned her straight to the sleepsack. It worked well for her. But she also was a baby who needed to be held, and we did so until she fell asleep for longer then we should have. She now sleeps on her own (at 15 mths) and kicks off any blanket! So go figure. They will do what they need and just go with it. If your baby is sleeping well this way don't worry about it. I would keep it going until your baby is ready for change and you will know!

Sorry - can't help with the wedge, but the swaddle part I have a little experience with. We just started leaving one arm out for a few nights. Then we swaddled her loosely so that when we put her down, we could get it off once we put her to sleep in the crib. we used the Miracle Blanket (what we called the cheater swaddle) so it was easier to do the un-do part. I know you are supposed to let them soothe themselves to sleep, ect but we waited to put her down in the transition from the swaddle when she was asleep. However, we also did the transition at 4 months so it might have been easier then too. Hope that helps! T.

Hi B.!

My two-year-old daughter would not sleep anywhere but her carseat totally swaddled. Even in the middle of summer! Trying to transition her to a crib was impossible and I was totally frustrated. So I let her figure it out. I have two kiddos and my first didn't do this so I was stumped.

Someone told me to place her carseat in her crib so she could at least start sleeping in her own room so I did that. One day, for nap, I tried letting her nap in there and she went to sleep, but she did have to be swaddled to do it. So I let her have her night time carseat and for naptime I put her in the crib, swaddled.

She's two now and she eventually became self-aware and didn't want the carseat anymore, but she does like to have a blanket wrapped around her. She has an attachment to her blankets at night, but that seems to be the only leftover effect of her swaddled days.

This is your first so it is hard to imagine that that little guy will eventually be telling you what he wants. For now just let him have his carseat - you're actually lucky he sleeps there! Many people can't get there babies to sleep in carseats and it's very frustrating. But he will outgrow it and he will let you know.

I hope you have a great day!

We swaddle our 2 and half month old, and she sleeps in a boppy! I know that might sound wierd but she to has reflux and the doctors said to keep her from lying flat on her back. Well we didn't have a wedge and I really never felt it was that sturdy. So we swaddle her (with two recieving blankets) and lay her in the boppy with her head at the top and the two arms at her sides. This way we don't have to worry about her rolling over... (which she did at 2monts!) My first daughter not until she was 5 months. So if your boy rolls with the wedge maybe try the boppy. I have thought the same thing as you... "are we going to have to do this forever?!" but after reading all your comments... I think I agree.. "if it ain't broke; don't fix it" Thanks for you question it sure helped me feel a lot better about my situation. I hope the boppy idea helps.

Our son was the same way with swaddling. We swaddled him at night until he was 8 months old or so. To break the habit we started wrapping him looser and looser so that he could take his arms out as he wiggled. He never seemed to notice the transition and now at almost 13 months he sleeps through the night in a sleep sack. We also transitioned him from a bedside cosleeper to his own crib around this time and he almost seemed relieved to have his own quiet space each night where he could roll around if he wanted.

I worried about the same thing with my first. We swaddled him until he was 8 months. My second, I didn't worry about it and we swaddled her until she was 10 months. They both eventually weaned themselves from it. Do you use the Miracle Blanket? That's what we used and took them longest to break out of. Try not to worry, you won't be swaddling him as a toddler! I did stop using the wedge and just use the swaddle, but no experience with reflux.

My son also has reflux and likes to be swaddled. We stopped using the wedge when he was about 6 or 7 months because he started rolling over in his sleep. To help with the reflux, I make sure it has been at least 1/2 an hour since he ate before putting him down. If he falls asleep nursing, we just hold him upright for a while. Around that time we also stopped swaddling him, because he was rolling over so much. We had a terrible time with sleep there for a few months and recently starting wrapping him again. I say wrapping, because we don't swaddle him the way that you swaddle a newborn. Instead, we wrap the blanket around his body under his arms (he likes having his arms out anyway). His sleep is much improved. I think there are some babies that just need the swaddling.

We didn't use a wedge, but my 7 month old was swaddled until about 6 months (unless she was sleeping on her stomach on my husband or my chest), due both to reflux and general poor sleep patterns. She started resisting the swaddle about a month ago, but wouldn't sleep on her back. We found that she would sleep on her side, and if she's not swaddled her arms keep her there, rather than rolling on to her tummy. She still is not a steller sleeper (she nurses every 3-4hrs at night), but she's now in her co-sleeper or crib, unswaddled, 80% of the time at night and for all naps.

The other thing we did was introduce a lovey, which in her case is an entire blanket. We wrap it around her back, but loose across her body (away from her face) and it both triggers sleepiness and helps her go back to sleep (she pets the silky trim).

She's still refluxy, but that's much improved compared to her 3-4 month stage. Rarely does she spit up in bed anymore, but sleeping on her back is clearly not comfortable, so the side it is. Good luck!

I don't have a direct answer to your question but I thought I'd mention this in case your son is still suffering from reflux. You might be interested in looking into your little one wearing a hazelwood necklace.
My friend's son had BAD reflux and was on meds for it (as a newborn). Her mom told her about these necklaces so she gave it a try. She says it basically took away his painful reflux. She was able to take him off meds after 2 weeks of him wearing it.
Anyway, she told me about them because my daughter has had eczema since she was 3 months and nothing was really helping (these necklaces help with a variety of issues from teething pain, to eczema, to reflux). Since she has been wearing it (about 6 months now) she hardly has any breakouts at all. Supposedly they work by absorbing excess acid in the body (the wood has that natural property).
Anyway, you can find them at www.hazelaid.com
They're really cute too & safe for babies to wear because the clasp is made special.
Hope it helps.

You can always lower one end of the crib that way it is still at an angle for the reflux, and I dont know if this weird...but my husband and I still swaddle our one year old little girl!

Good luck!

Hello B.,

I would listen to that voice that says "it ain't broken, so do not fix it!".
Why would you disturb a bedtime routine that seems to work and risk bedtime mayhem? And even if you swaddle your toddler, I don't even see anything wrong with that!
He will let you know when he's done being swaddled.

Good nights!

I remember worrying about this! When our kid was sick, we started letting him sleep in his car seat (tucked into his crib), and then when he was well, he wouldn't let it go. His little head was starting to pop over the top of the seat and I knew it was only a matter of time before he wasn't going to fit in that seat. (Plus, I did not enjoy telling his grandparents, "oh, and at nap time, just put him in this undersized car seat.")

Then he just stopped needing it. And about a month after that, he started getting up at night and playing with his toys (waking me up, of course), and I was thinking, "argh, I wish he was strapped in a car seat!"

It will pass, don't worry about it.