I've been using a Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe (made of cotton knit) on my daughter (now 4 months old) for the past few months. I love it except that now she's strong enough to wriggle her arms out. She's close to outgrowing this one and I'd like to find another one that she may not be able to wriggle out of. Does anyone know of one that will hold her arms down better? (When she's not swaddled, she takes her pacifier out of her mouth and then cries because she can't put it back in!)
We stopped swaddling her and she seems to have done okay. She has found her thumb and now uses that when she loses her pacifier. Thanks for all the advice!
If she is getting out - she is ready to be done swaddling. I would not keep swaddling a 4 month old.
Buy a wubbanub - a pacifier/beanie baby combo. The Nesting Place or e-bay sells these. Mine can find it herself to replace in her mouth.
The Miracle Blanket is excellent. My daughter was swaddled using this blanket until she was 9 months old. We all loved it.
She might be too old now to be swaddled. Try the Halo sleep sacks to keep the blanket on her. I loved those, they were so great. Get 2, one to wear, one to wash.
My daughter stopped liked being swaddled at age 2 days. I saw her put her arms out like she was doing the YMCA dance, and screamed her head off if I ever tried to cover up her arms. To this day, her arms have to be out of the covers.
The fleece Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe blankets hold them significantly tighter than the cotton ones do. But, these only come in small & large (and there is a gap in between the sizes). We used the Halo Sleepsack (fleece) also. It has a longer length and will carry us through until she is big enough for the next size.
Hi H.,
It sounds like your daughter is developmentally ready to stop swaddling. I know it's hard to think about sleepless nights and fussy babies, but in the long run, letting her develop new skills like the coordination of replacing her pacifier and rolling/repositioning, you'll be setting her up for better sleep habits and overall development in the future. Before buying another swaddling blanket, I'd give her a week on her own and see how she does.
Of course, this all assumes that you are happy and rested. If you just need some sleep at night so you can function, and a swaddling blanket will get that for you, then I completely understand! But if you're doing okay, then give her a chance without the swaddling and see how it goes.
It's time to stop swaddling!
I'm pretty sure you are supposed to stop swaddling them at this age. It can cause developmental problems. Just let her cry when she takes out her pacifier, and she will learn to fall back asleep.
Buy a miracle blanket, its the only one out there that REALLY works and it's worth every scent! www.miracleblanket.com
When my son was about that age we had the same problem. What we did is we took 2 large receiving blankets and wrapped him in one and then rewrapped him in number two. This did the trick for us. He stayed in them until he was about 6 months old!
It sounds like you may be at an inbetween stage. Check out www.lunalullaby.com and their soothing blankets. They come in a set of 3 that are great for swaddling newborn to older/bigger babies. Plus reading some of the responses you've already received with the concern of spending $$ on an item you may be close to not needing, with these blankets you can continue to use them for a long time. Not just for swaddling but as a nursing cover, blankie, playmat, sunshade, the list goes on and on. Check it out. All 3 of my kids have a different set. Good Luck.
The MIRACLE BLANKET is the best! It keeps the babies arms down to their sides and they usually stay swaddled all night. I used it until 5 months when my DD started rolling over the positioner while swaddled. You can find the blanket at www.miracleblanket.com or try checking out Craigslist or Ebay to save some money. WELL worth the $$$! Good luck!
My neighbor swears by the miracle blanket brand blanket for swaddling.
At Babies R Us, they have swaddle me blankets in various sizes. I think we used one with my daughter up to 7 months. After that, she has been in the zip up blankets with the arm holes. She is not 15 months and 33 inches tall and she still wears a zip up blanket to bed. I feel it may keep her in her crib longer without her trying to climb out.
GL!
I bought some light weight soft material & made my own. It's so easy & all you have to do is sew a shirt-tail hem all the way around to keep it from fraying. And it doesn't really matter how well you sew, no one will see it!
I used the miracle blanket and it worked great. If you are interested, I still have mine and would be willing to sell it to you cheaper than you could buy it in the stores or online.
H., the Miracle Blanket is the ONLY way to go. Don't waste your money on anything else. It's worth EVERY PENNY when it comes to getting your baby to sleep (so you can also sleep!)
Kay Willis at The Nesting Place in Grapevine is very knowledgeable and helpful, you can also buy it online or in other stores around town. (Use store locater on the website at www.MiracleBlanket.com.)
Nothing else worked for my little girl.
Best wishes!
At about this age, we stopped swaddling our daughter and sewed the arms shut on a sleep sack. We put her arms inside the sack. It doesn't hold them as tight but it still gives them that secure feeling. We did that for about 2 months and then I took the stitches out and she is still using her sleep sack at night. Sometimes she would get one arm out at the neck and used that to manipulate her pacifier.
Miracle Blanket you can get it @ The Nesting Place in Grapevine and they will show you how it works. www.thenestingplace.biz
Miracle Blankets are AWESOME - they are the only thing that can contain my little Houdini (almost 4 months)! I also leave his legs out so he can kick (or else he gets mad). This is a great blanket because you don't have to worry about it riding up and covering their face when their feet are out like the Swaddle Me blankets and if you wrap them tight enough, there is no getting out!
Most babies don't need to be swaddled after 6 weeks. Mine hated it from day two. It may be frustrating for mom, but this is the right age for her to begin developing the motor skills to put her pacifier back in her mouth. Swaddling may hinder this.
This is also getting to the right age to start learning to self soothe. By five or six months both my kids could put a pacifier in their mouths and get back to sleep in the middle of the night on their own.
Good luck!
Hi H.:
If she is 4 months old, and can take her paci out on her own, she is probably ready to graduate the wrap. She will be turning over soon, and needs to be able to comfort herself to sleep. AFter a while, she will be able to put the paci back herself. She will figure it out, if you allow her to, give her some time, and in the meantime, be patient with yourself and her. I know how much we depend on Paci's, my son and daughter both used pacifiers. My son is 16 months old, and uses the paci only for sleeping, hopefully by age 2, I can wean him off of it. Hope this helps! N.
Halo makes a sleep sack with a swaddle feature that worked great for my son. He was swaddled until he was almost 9 months old. Some kids just need that extra something to stay asleep! He also used a pacifier and when he would startle he would dislodge his paci too. They make them in cotton and in fleece. Babies r us carries them and you can order them online. Google "Halo Sleep sack swaddle". they are about $30 just make sure you order the one with the swaddle feature. Another blanket that worked well for when my son was 6-7 months old was the Miracle Blanket. It is more labor intensive to put on than the sleep sack, but it really held him in snug and he couldn't get his arms out. good luck.
As soon as I quit swaddling my twins, they starting rolling over on their own (4 months) This is also when they began sleeping through the night as I believe they could get comfortable without the swaddle blanket hampering their movement. I'd stop swaddling.
The miracle blanket is a bit expensive but works great. I wouldn't recommend swaddling past about 5 or 6 months. Since she is four months you may want to try unswaddled and see what happens, but if she is sleeping through now and stops without the swaddling then she may need it awhile longer.
Hi H.,
I know you've heard this already, but oh my...the Miracle Blanket is just that...a Miracle!! :-) It is a bit pricey ($30 - 40 if memory serves) and you'll probably stop swaddling at around 5 months old (that's around the time I stopped swaddling my son, who is now 17 months old). So, you'll have to decide if you want to pay that much money for only another month of swaddling.
If you decide to, it is soooo worth the $$. I got ours on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Db...
Good luck!!
I love swaddling =) We had to swaddle my daughter in a regular blanket and then velcro her up tight in the Miracle Blanket. She looked like she had a stray jacket on but she just loved it. She would grin from ear to ear when you brought out her blankets
We loved the Miracle Blanket (http://www.miracleblanket.com/) but stopped using it when he started rolling over on his own (about 4 months).
You might check out Kid to Kid, or one of the other nice resale shops. They usually have various styles and sizes of swaddlers, and some are not even used (many babies don't care for it). That way, you don't spend a lot of money while you're testing brands. Good luck. J.
