With my first baby, I think I made the mistake of waiting to stop swaddling too late. I think it helped him fall asleep but then it hindered him to be able to self soothe and find a good position and he awoke a lot through the night. Now with my newborn (2 mo.), I want to find the right time to stop swaddling... even if it means GOING to sleep is harder for her - maybe she'll stay asleep if she can soothe herself with her little hands or move around? Should I wait until she starts breaking through it regularly? Should I wait until she's sleeping through the night? Anyone know the average age of babies that don't need to be swaddled anymore?
I think I swaddled my son much longer than necessary....I around 7-8 months. We had the miracle blanket and I believe they say to stop swaddling around 5 months. At daycare, the provider recommended stopping at 5 months too.
HI N.,
We were worried about the same issue with our son until our MD-a pediatric gastroenterologist told us not to worry at all. He said that in other cultures they swaddle until 9 months. And we actually did it until ten months. For the longest time, it was the only way he would stay asleep!
Best of luck,
S.
Just make sure you do it before she can roll over... maybe 5 months ish.
Congratulations on that new baby! I don't think there is a right age to stop swaddling. Everyone is different and has different needs, so your child will let you know when they don't want to be bundled any longer. If you feel it is necessary, I would make it a weaning process and stop swaddling from time to time.
I stopped swaddling my little girl when she was about 3-3 1/2 months old. At that point, she was breaking her arms free every night, and was on the verge of learning how to roll from back to belly. I knew her arms needed to be free once that happened, in case she rolled herself onto her belly during the night, so she could push herself up off of her face. Good luck!
I am probably the wrong person to ask, I would have swaddled my little one until she was 16 years old if I could have! LOL She slepts so peacefully. I just let her decide, once she was strong enough she broke free, first arms, then eventually after she was down to her waist I took it away. It kept her warm and I was so much more comfortable with that as opposed to a blanket at a young age. I think she was 6 1/2 months old or so when she broke free. I say wait a while, they still have that startle reflex when they are that young. It is comforting to them and that is all that was important to me. Congrats by the way! Girls are sooo fun!
*Had to edit, got me thinking so I checked her baby book, she was 6 1/2 months old when we stopped. : )
We were told to stop swaddling as soon as she could get herself out of it (I think she was 4 months). The doc also told us to keep her arms free at night in case she needed to get something off her face.
I don't remember what age I completely stopped now with my first, which was the only of my 3 who liked being swaddled. As time went on I would swaddle him but covering less and less, under his armpits leaving his hands and arms free and it would get looser and he'd kick it off more. I stopped completely when he was rolling around in his crib of his own accord so maybe by 5 months is when I totally stopped. Didn't want him getting tangled in the blanket obviously. I did it gradually as he showed signs of being comfortable with less and less restriction.
I swaddled my 2nd until she was about 8 mos. It may have been a little long. I am guessing a good time is probably btw 6-8mos.
I stopped swaddling my son's arms by about 10 weeks since he was ALWAYS squirming out of the swaddler (I used a velcro one) and still managed to sleep well with an arm or two unswaddled. I did however continue to use the velcro swaddler to wrap him up under his arms, just to keep some warmth on him. Then used one of the halo blankets when he got a bit bigger.
Good luck!
I stopped swaddling when my daughter started to get herself completely out of the swaddle blanket. She was about 8 months old. At that point she was going to bed at 7pm and waking up at 7am. She is now 5 and still going to bed at 7pm and waking up when I get her up for school.
It started with her getting her arms out and then she started getting her legs out.
N.
We swaddled until she was 8 months old. We followed her cues and continued as long as the needed it. Remember, babies at this age don't have wants, they have NEEDS. There's really no such thing as a bad habit when it comes to infant sleep. This is a myth put out by people trying to sell you books/materials about their various "methods".
This article on sleeping through the night might help give you information that you need:
I stopped with both my boys when they were able to break their arms free, after that we switched to sleep sack jammies. It was a small adjustment but they both slept through the night fine shortly after. I have always had good sleepers though, both my kids have slept through the night since about 6 months.
