Swaddling at Night

Updated on February 05, 2009
J.D. asks from Erie, PA
13 answers

Hi there! I've been swaddling my little girl since we came home from the hospital becasue it is the only way she'll sleep a length of time. She is a mover and a shaker and unless she's swaddled she wakes herself up at night. My question is that she is now 6 months old and I know I should get her to sleep on her own without being swaddled, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I've thought about loosening the swaddle blanket gradually, but I worry about her pulling the sides of the blanket up over her head. Any suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated.:)

1 mom found this helpful

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

So What Happened?

Thanks to everybody's responses... it's nice to know how many swaddling moms are out there:) I like the idea of waiting for her to show me she's ready to sleep on her own... thanks again!

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.J.

answers from Harrisburg on

Keep her swaddled until she can get out on her own.LOL Nothing wrond with her and staying swaddled. It is a comfort thing, for both of you, and I say, "stay comfortable". My daughter at the age of 3 still likes her blankets wrapped like a caterpilliar around her....lol

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.S.

answers from Pittsburgh on

My daughter was also the same way...a mover and a shaker. We ended up swaddling until that just wasn't cutting it, and then we moved on to the Swaddlers (from babies R US). This has velcro on the blanket that wraps around them. You can wrap it around the baby with or without their arms in. My daughter started wiggling her arms out, so we eventually just used it around her body. It was very easy for us to use. Now that she is 10 months old, we use the sleep sacks. I thinks it's very comforting to her...and when she sees me get the sleep sack, she knows it's time for nap/bed.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

P.S.

answers from Philadelphia on

Swaddle until she can get out on her own. It's very comforting for them. don't worry about it. Target had something called Swaddlers, and I think Babies-r-us had them too - like little pouches with wraps at the top. Worked well for my little guy, and they don't get tangled up like blankets :)

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.K.

answers from Erie on

I whole heartedly agree! swaddle as long as you can!

Aren't they adorable all wrapped up cozy like that!!!

T.E.

answers from Reading on

I went through the same thing with my youngest. I swaddled her until she was 7 months old. I see no problem with keeping them comfortable and allowing yourself to get a few zzzz's at the same time. I knew she didn't need to be swaddled anymore when she wiggled herself out of it immediately after I did it.
Good luck to you. Just follow her lead!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.L.

answers from Pittsburgh on

My daughter loved being swaddled too! We kept her swaddled as long as we could because she loved it!!! Around 6 months she was getting out of her swaddle but not sleeping without it. I was also afraid about her having a loose blanket in there (also the wraps never worked for us -she liked the blanket wrapped arond her) so we started swaddleing her with her arms out. We just wrapped the blanket under her arm pits instead of around them. She loved this and slept great. She would roll on her belly and sleep too. Finally when she wanted to start to knell and stand in the crib she was done with the swaddle (around 9 months) and we just stopped swaddleing her. It was completely when she was ready. Good luck!
By the way, when we started swaddleing her with her arms out I used 2 diaper pins in the side to secure the blanket. It kept it on all night - the blanket was starting to get too small and it wasn't wrapping tightly without them.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

I would keep that little princess wrapped up til she gets out on her own! :) That way you all get to sleep! There is nothing wrong with swaddling, some people's kids stay swaddled til they are old enough to doo it themselves (like 2yrs old!).

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I agree that there's no harm in waiting. When you are ready to stop, this is how I did it that seemed to work with little disruption to everyone's sleep:
First I swaddled with 1 arm in, and 1 arm out. After a week or so, then I just swaddled the blanket around the torso, then gradually loosened it, until he was just sleeping under the blanket. I don't mention the feet, because my little one kicked the bottom of the swaddle out long before he was ready to sleep without his arms swaddled, so that was never an issue :)

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.G.

answers from York on

both of my children slept in blanket sleepers kinda like a sleeping bag with arm holes. then you won't have to worry about the blankets coming up over her head and she stays nice and warm.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

H.W.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hi J.,
I have a tendency to question peoples presuppositions.
1st - why does she HAVE to learn to sleep unswaddled. If it is a system that works, why change it?

2nd - at 6 months old if she is rolling - a blanket that is baby friendly (not a down comforter) wouldn't bring any harm to the baby. Babies have an instinct to kick and turn until any covering of their face is off. Especially at her age, I wouldn't worry at all about a swaddled blanket coming in contact with her face.
For what it's worth...
best of luck,
-H.
mom of 3 great kiddos.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.M.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Hi J.,

I recommend keeping your baby swaddled as long as she is still sleeping well that way. There is no need to take her out of the swaddle until she expresses a need to be out of it. For my son it was at 5 months - but some babies can sleep their whole first year swaddled.

J.

A Mother's Boutique
Maternity & Breastfeeding clothing, Nursing Bras, Breast Pumps, Slings and Accessories.
MamaSource members save 10% off their first order with coupon MAMASOURCE
http://www.mothersboutique.com

Check us out on facebook: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/A-Mothers-Boutique/2932...
Visit our new blog: http://mommynewsblog.com
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MommyNews

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

R.N.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I'm glad to see that I was not the only one who swaddled for 6 months. With my first, I was so afraid that if I stopped she would not sleep well for me. With my second, she was such a Houdini that swaddling was just a joke to her. Within seconds she would have both her arms out and a thumb in her mouth smiling at me. With baby number three we didn't even try to swaddle him. He is 7 month old and puts himself to sleep for bed and naps and is sleeping all night long just fine. When we did finally choose to stop the swaddling for my first we just stopped cold turkey. We did it over a weekend so we could support each other through the lack of sleep that we expected. By Monday it was as if she was never swaddled and she was sleeping fine. I also like the sleep sack to keep them cozy at night. Take a weekend and just take the swaddle away and see what happens. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Good luck!!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

H.R.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I can't remember exactly, but we swaddled our daughter (now 3) until we ran out of receiving blankets big enough. Then we switched to Halo Sleepsacks and she slept in one (cotton in summer, fleece in winter) until this past summer, when she was about 2.5. She still felt 'confined' in the sleep sack, which I think she liked.

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions

Related Searches