I am a first time mom and have a 2 month old baby boy and ever since birth he has only slept while being swaddled. Recently however, he has been kicking the swaddling blanket off him and pulling his arms out. My question is, is this a sign that he no longer needs to be swaddled. Has anyone else ever gone through this. I was going to attemt some of his naps today without swaddling him, but if anyone has gone through this and has suggestions I would love to hear them.
Thanks!
R.
My daughter did the same thing. I just swaddled her a little more loosely and eventually not at all.
My daughter, who is now 2, went through that same thing. I hope the not swaddeling thing is working for you. My daughter would just use her hand to rub her face to keep herself awake. Hahaha!!!
My daughter was the same way. For the first 6 weeks or so, she insisted on being swaddled as tightly as possible. But after that, she really preferred to be completely naked. LOL She kicked off all her blankets and would pull at her clothes and would only sleep if there was nothing touching her but the mattress. Obviously, they do outgrow it at some point... and 2 months is probably about right. If you can get him to sleep without being all wrapped up, there's nothing wrong with that. They like to be swaddled when they are newborns cause it's all they know... that tight, warm feeling. But as they get bigger, they realize they can move and that they have the ability to move their limbs. When that happens, it's hard to keep anything on them. I found that "bag sleepers" are wonderful for kiddos that refuse to wear sleepers because they are too tight or feel to restricting... and if you can't keep blankets on them either, then bag sleepers work well. They can kick their feet around freely, but it still keeps them warm.
Hi R....my son did the same thing around that age. Unfortunately, he would only sleep well when swaddled. I finally got something called a "miracle blanket". You can find them online. Basically, it's a little straight jacket that's really hard to break out of. By 4 months, even that didn't work, but it might be something you'd find useful for a while. Hope this helps! B.
My daughter loved to be swaddled until she was 10 months old, she is now 15 months old and just likes to hold her blanket! When she was being swaddled, she would kick to try and fight her sleep, but I found that if I swaddled her, and let her arms out, she would fall right asleep! Just remember every child is different, and after you try a few different things, I am sure you will figure out exactly what your son really wants!
Hi R.,
I had a similar problem with my little boy. I just swaddled him without his arms being tucked and he was happy for another 4 weeks then he did not want to be swaddled at all.
Good Luck, E.
I would suggest the amazing product called The Miracle Blanket - it is a specially-designed swaddling blanket guaranteed to help babies sleep longer, be less fussy, etc. Babies can't get out of it. Go to: www.miracleblanket.com If you live in Tucson, Desert Doulas carries them locally and you'd save on shipping. Desert Doulas # ###-###-#### or ____@____.com
I used the blanket with my last two babies, and it is a LIFESAVER!
R., this could mean he no longer needs to be swaddled, he may just want to snuggle with a blanket rather than be wrapped in the blanket. both my kids never wanted to be swaddled, they just like to roll the blanket up and hold it while they sleep. good luck and don't worry about it, just do what your instinct tell you!! I'm also looking for a stamp' up demonstrator, i'd like to get a catalog and order some things and maybe even have a party. thanks A.
Keep swaddling! Get a bigger blanket if you have to, so you can really crank it down tight. He will sleep much better if you can keep swaddling until his startle reflex diminishes at around 4 months. When you lay him down on the blanket with the one corner tucked under, slide his whole body sideways to tighten the swaddle before pulling the bottom up and last corner over. Good luck!
Hi R.-I am a new mommy too, to a little 3 1/2 month old boy, and I found that he didn't need to be swaddled as much in the 2nd month...and he would also get his hands out to move them...he never really liked his hands swaddled.....enjoy your little guy!!!
R.,
Your little guy may have decided that he doesn't want to be swaddled. Some babys don't ever want to be swaddled. Mine, unfortunately needed to be swaddled for months. While he would pull his arms out, he wouldn't sleep unless you tucked them back in and he was tight. If you find your guy won't sleep without being swaddled, but is still wiggly and pulls out, I would suggest the Miracle Blanket. He would have a hard time getting his arms out of this if he still needed a swaddle. They are a bit expensive, but really are worth it. I had one for my little boy. You can find them at www.miracleblanket.com or eBay or such. Hope that helps.
M. :)
Hi-
He's most likely just becoming more active during his sleep. My daughter is 7 months and I still swaddle her. Try using a "miracle blanket"- they work great and they're hard to squirm out of. Especially with the cold weather coming up, it's best to swaddle him to keep him warm. :-)
At 2 months definately he does not need to be swaddled. He wants to move and explore! Have fun!
Hi R.,
My son did the same thing. For a while I just started swaddling him with his arms free and soon after that just didn't swaddle him at all. Doing that seemed to hep the transition from swaddled to not swaddled easier. Hope this helps.
Being swaddled helps calm a child so is a good thing to do. However, having your hands to suck and touch also helps calm a child. It is better that he has his hands then a bottle were he could get bottle teeth (cavities in his forming teeth from the sugar in milk, etc.)I think your child is letting you know that you can swaddle him, but with his hands/arms out of the blankets so he can self calm. Having a child who can self calm is a gift, you will get more sleep and be rested mommmy.
Good luck.
R., my son also did that and we just put him in one of those sleeping "sacs" just so he wouldn't get cold....he still is kicking covers off and is all over his crib at 11 months. Or maybe he's just getting too warm??
I think you should try swaddling him with his arms out and see how that works. Two out of three of my children did not like the swaddling at all. Right after birth they would pull their arms out. It's fine to not swaddle him. I would try it with out his arms in and see how he does. They grow up so fast!!
