Too Strong for Swaddling!!!

My little girl hated to be swaddled and was into a sleep bag before three months, her twin brother loved it and stayed swaddled till he was closer to a year! We found some swaddles with velcro attachments which worked well. I guess if you can't find something with a do-up system, you could consider moving to the sleep bags. Try the online target and walmarts as they have much better stock for this than the actual stores.
Good luck
D.

We have had the same issue! The miracle blanket rocks! Both of my children have been able to escape every swaddle blanket on the market except for the miracle blanket. I swaddled my son in it, eventually cutting out the feet, until he was 10 months old. My daughter, however, at 5 months started getting loose and rolling over. She is a baby who has to be swaddled or she can't fall back asleep. We have been putting her in a sleepsack for the past couple of weeks. I have also been putting her down on her tummy, which I have always been afraid to do because I am such a rule follower. She seems to like her tummy because she can't flail her arms as much. Things are getting better, it is just a transition like anything else. Good luck!

I swaddled my twin boys until they were about 4 1/2 months old. Swaddling worked great for me. My boys wouldn't sleep without being swaddled. If even one arm got out, they cried. I had to use only very large, square swaddling blankets. I had to use two blankets to keep them swaddled. I didn't want them to get hot, so they only wore a diaper and a short sleeved onesy. After they were too big to be swaddled, I switched to sleep sacks. Now my boys are 2 and they still sleep in sacks. They wear long sleeved pjs to keep their arms warm and they sleep like princes.

we use the swaddle blankets (not just receiving blankets) for our 7 week old son that was pushing out of regular blankets. they work great and come in different sizes and different materials. he sleeps 5-6 hours at a time, at night. i bought them at babies R us.

B.-
I found this great product with my 3rd child that I love! The website is : http://www.cozycocoon.com/
You put it over your baby like a sock, and they stay swaddled and snugggled all night long. I literally had to wake my baby up to nurse him! He loved it! I now give it as a gift at all the baby showers I attend! They have large ones that your baby can grow into. Good luck!

My baby never liked to be swaddled. She hastes being confined. I wouldn't bother with the swaddling just dress your baby in pj's with the footys if you are worried about warmth. Good luck mine hated the car seat too. She couldn't stand the pads that kept her head secure.

Best Wishes,
Mel

Hello B., My name is R.. I am a stay at home mother of two wonderful children. My experience with this is that both of my children were done with the swaddling thing by the time they were 3 months old. The swaddling is recomended for when the baby is newborn because it helps remind them of being in the womb. But by the time they are 3 months old, yes, they because strong little boogers. If I was you, I would try not wrapping her up during the day to try to get her used to not being swaddled up. Gradually, she will prefer being all sprawled out. But if you work on it during the day, it won't effect your sleep pattern, only hers. And she will get used to it. You will find as time goes by that breaking the kids from something, like the breasts, bottle, blanket, thumbs, etc. will be easier to do it on their time during the day and not at night whe you will be effected too. Good luck. Enjoy that baby girl. They grow up so fast.
R.

When my son stared that, I put him in one of those things that is supposed to keep them from rolling over onto their tummy's while they sleep. I can't remember what they are called, but it is adjustable, so I made sure that is was close enough around him, that it would hopefully simulate some of the coziness of the swaddling. I also keep him in a sleep sack. They don't swaddle, but help keep them warm since they can't have blankets. It's not a perfect solution, but might help transition. She should adjust soon.

As a mother of four (very close together) a grandmother of six and great-grandmother of three. My advice is go with your instincts. You know your baby better than anyone. If she is not sleeping all night as she was, maybe she is ready for more to eat and she gets hungry.

Have you tried swadding her without her arms in the blanket? DS is only 3 weeks old, but at 2 weeks he got very irritated with the swaddling, though his arms coming out irritated him as well. So now I swaddle him below his armpits and he likes it so much. Maybe if she goes to bed without her arms bundled it won't be such a shock to her as much as her arms coming out suddenly.

If she needs to eat to comfort herself at that age, I would suggest doing it. But maybe another form of swaddling, or a bigger blanket to swaddle in would help save you from that situation entirely.

If she was sleeping through the night before three months you were very, very lucky. That is unusual. At her age, she gets hungry in the middle of the night. Remember, her tummy is small and doesn't hold that much food yet. She might need a middle of the night feeding for a while. When she is a couple of months older, you can put a little bit of powdered rice cereal in the bedtime bottle and that will help her feel full. You cut a small x in the nipple to allow for the thicker formula. Right now she is still to young for that. Hang in there.

Hi B.,
I know exactly what you mean! This happened to me also with my son. I ended up using the 'Swaddle Me' swaddles that you can get at BabiesRUs. The reason they work is b/c they actually have velcro that help to keep the arms in place. I did find that sometimes even his arms would come up the front...but if you make sure to wrap the long side tight and tuck it under his back...that keeps one arm really in place. We would do it relatively tight so he couldn't get out. He slept great and is still a great sleeper now that we've moved to the SleepSak. One other hint on them is that when you wash them, make sure to reattach the velcro b/c overtime...they velcro can get worn out. But they are only $10 and worth another buy.

I'd also recommend the greatest book - Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It was written by a Dr. who specializes in sleep and it truly has been great. I started reading it around 3 months and it has gotten my son to sleep 6pm - 6am and sometimes even 7am without a peep.

Good luck!!
- C.

My baby girl was swaddled until she was about 4.5 months old. I had the Swaddle Me blanket that she could not get out of. My suggestion to you is to get rid of the swaddling. My sister and I both used Richard Ferber's book, "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" and it worked WONDERS!!! They learn how to sleep on their own and sooth themselves and it just takes a few nights to work it's magic!

The way I swaddled mine was to tuck the blanket around the arm and then tuck it under his back...incredibly difficult to get loose that way since he's lying on his back.
As for feeding and sleeping thru the night: there is a 12wk growth spurt that happens, perhaps this is part of why she has begun waking up? Very little in our babies stays the same throughout that first year...especially sleep :-) Have you heard the Bible verse "This too shall pass" ? Well, it certainly holds true with our kids. If things are not going well in a particular area, hold on and keep doing your best b/c things will get better. The converse is also true: if things are going really well in a particular area - Enjoy! b/c it's bound to change. I'm of the firm opinion that babies this young do not know how to put themselves to sleep. IMO none do this naturally. The only ones that I know personally were left to CIO. Crying is her only way to communicate right now. I strongly disagree with using CIO with a limited or non-verbal child (however vocal they may be). Their chief form of communication is crying. I am of the firm belief that babies do not manipulate. I believe they simply don't know how. They know what they want and how they feel, even if they can't label it yet.
What I did with mine was nurse them to sleep. If they didn't want to nurse, then wearing them in a sling and just walking seems to do the trick. Some may argue that if you do that now that he will learn to only sleep that way. What rubbish. I myself did this and have many friends all over the US, not just in "hippie Austin", who have done this too. There are many ways to get your child to fall asleep without having to leave them to cry. This may sound outrageous to some, but my response is 'so what' - they grow up so fast. Why speed up the process? Mothers go with their gut on various issues, but for some reason leave a crying baby alone when it comes to sleep. If you feel the need/desire to pick up and hold your baby, why fight that? If you're nursing, then your baby's cries trigger a hormonal response in your body.
So, I'd say Trust your Gut in this too.

hth, and sweet dreams

K. H

When they are tired of swaddling they let you know. Looks like it is time to put her in a nice warm pajama and no blanket with a comfortable room temperature.

I've never been able to keep a homeade swaddle. But the swaddle blankets (there are several brands) are fantastic. I've seen them at consignment shops several times and they make them in different sizes. Also Target and some baby stores sell them (and everything can be purcahsed online!)

I used one of those sleepers that is a blanket. It wraps them up and they cannot get out of it. It isn't real tight like actual swaddling but it does keep them warm. You might try one of those. There are a lot of different kinds out there so you might look on-line for different types. Some are actual blankets that velcro and some are sleepers. Some might be tighter than others. I loved it though. I did not have to worry about my baby getting cold or coming out of the blanket.

B.,
Both my son and daughter never wanted to be swaddled. They both would put themselves to sleep when I layed them in their bassonets on their bellies. I know the doctor says they should sleep on their backs and never on their bellies, but my two babies could never sleep good in any other position. When they were 2 months to 3 months, I would just peek in on them through the night to make sure they were alright. You could try it and see what happens. Then I would just cover them up with a blanket or two so they stay warm through the night.

My husband and I were worried because our daughter was the same way, she loved being swaddled and we knew it wouldn't last forever. We started to swaddle her from under her arms down (leaving her arms out). I don't think she even noticed the difference. Good luck!

Let that baby grow. You are smothering her. The swaddling is only supposed to last a few days until the baby gets used to being in the real world. Babies can't gain strength and grow if you keep them wrapped up. The stretching of arms and legs is how they get their muscles developed. I know you love your baby and want to keep her a baby but that's not how God designed 'em. My baby is 24 years old and still growing into a beautiful young woman. Good luck with yours.

you can always get a sleep sack...they are great...my 3 month old daughter wouldn't stand to be wrapped up since birth and the sleep sack was the only thing that has always worked!

I never could get down the swaddling. Have you tried a Miracle Blanket. That has saved me, it is like a super swaddle. Miracleblanket.com

My oldest son hated to be swaddled, he would kick his arms and legs out (around that age), so i just didnt do it,my thinking was i wouldnt want to be forced to sleep a certain way if i didnt like it, so why should i make him. Now my baby (well i guess hes not a baby so much anymore), he loved it, until he got around 4 month then he was just too big to swaddle. I would try the under the arm thing, that is what i did with my baby when he started to get too big. Or just try with out the blanket for a night or two and see how see does. I do agree with the others though if you have already "broke" the habbit of not eating at night i would stay with it, if not then that is just going to be one more battle when she gets older. Good Luck!!

I had the same issue with my daughter when she was a month old. She is a big baby and would bust out of any blanket we used. Then we found the Miracle Blanket. She cannot get out of this no matter how hard she tries. She is 4 months and still needs to be swaddled to keep from waking herself at night. You can make it as tight or as loose as you want and the arm flaps keep her from getting out. http://www.miracleblanket.com/index.htm

You can buy this through other websites at a few dollars less, but this site has a video so you can see how it works before you buy. Hope this helps!

Dress her warmer and loosen her blankets.. She needs to spread her little wings.. she is growing!!:)

We had a similar issue with our daughter when she was that age, as she was very strong from the get go. (actually we swaddled her until about 8-9 months. I wouldn't recommend that though as that created its own issues when we had sitters, etc.)
As an alternative to using blankets, they do make a thing called a swaddler. It is somewhat like a papoose, but uses velcro to keep the the wrap closed around them. (you do have to make sure the velcro stays free of lint though or it doesn't work as well.) They run about $10 at babiesRus, and come in flannel, cotton knit, and fleece. That way depending on where you are and what time of year it is, you won't overheat the baby.

i think we all have that same problem with each of our kids at one time or another. i'm a swaddler, however, with my grandson who at one point was too big and strong for swaddling, i use to get a towel and wrap him with it. my husband, on the other hand is not a swaddler, and he just holds him and rubs his back, once the boy was asleep, he'd put him in his stomach and rub his back until he settles down. i've never been too keen on putting a baby on their stomachs out of fear he might suffocate, but it seems to work wonders for my grandson. hope this helps.

My infant girl did the exact same thing. She had very "active" arms that she was not very good at controling and would hit herslef in the face and wake herself up constantly. I know they say this is a BIG no-no, but the cure = tummy sleeping. At about 3 months is when began tummy sleeping and she would sleep at night for about 6 hours before waking to be fed. She is now 6 and half months old and sleeps 10 - 11 hours a night. Good luck!

It is a stage that she is going through. Be patient, it will pass. My only advice to you is to try keeping her busy in the late afternoon, this way she will be tired and spleep a little heavier. When she does wake up at night, hug her firmly, this will give her a sense of swaddling.

Have you tried the actual swaddle blankets? The one I use is the Kiddopotamus brand from Babies R Us. They have velcro and stay on better. My little man is almost 5 months & loves to be swaddled. Sometimes he does manage to still get his arms out but it never fails when he's in a blanket. Hope this helps :)

Don't start feeding her if she used to sleep through the night. geive her a blottle of water or just rub her back for a while. She will start making a habit of that middle of the night feeding. It may take many crying nights before she gets the reality of no food. Good luck.

At three months of age she doesn't need to be swaddled anymore. Give her some space and freedom. She's ready to move around.

Have you tried a double swaddle? With our first one we swaddled her with just one blanket (but she was premature - pretty little). With our second one, who is almost 10 weeks, the hospital swaddled her with 2 blankets. One folded in thirds and then wrapped around her arms and torso and then one wrapped burrito style. This is the only way to keep her wrapped up. She immediately gets out otherwise.

good luck

I vote for the Miracle Blanket, too. If she still wakes up, then she must be hungry!

Let me just chime in and say that the miracle blanket worked wonders with my daughter! She slept in it until she could roll over (4 months), then we stopped swaddling her. After she could roll on her own we put her on her back, but she would roll to her stomach after we left the room, and slept great!

Are you nursing? She needs to eat, even if she was STTN before. They start noticing the world at this age, and don't take in as much nutrition during the day. Then they make up for it at night. PLEASE don't give her a bottle of water...esp. if she's nursing, she doesn't need it.

As for swaddling, a lot of babies seem to resist it, until they are actually swaddled. Then they just drop off to sleep! I used the swaddleme blanket (at Babies R Us) and it worked like a dream. Around 4 or 5 months I had to upgrade to the large, but we just stopped swaddling at 7 months!

I think your baby is probably experiencing her 12 week growth spurt, which is hard on mama. She shouldn't be expected to sleep through the night, especially without eating. If she wakes and needs you, I say feed her. Rock her. Babies this young only know how to tell you that they need you.

BTW, I agree with Kelly H 100%. It's hard to wake during the night, but it's necessary for her. And she's still learning to trust that mama will come when she needs mama. you want to foster that trust.

Our pediatrician said that most babies stop liking swaddling after about a month. We gradually stopped swaddling our daughter between 1-2 months and she kept sleeping great. My advice is just to stop swaddling :-) Good luck!

Honestly (and I'm probably gonna get clobbered for saying this), but we stopped swaddling by the time our daughter was 3 months. She would get loose and it just didn't feel right to confine her in it anymore. Anyway, the point I wanted to make is that she developed considerable neck strength early on and was then able to sit up SUPER early (like at 5 months). I tend to think that keeping an infant too constrained interferes with their mobility and muscular development and their brain's recognition/control of arms and legs. Just my 2 cents.

I can't remember when we stopped swaddling, but I tried to swaddle as long as I could. It was a life saver! I would recommend getting a larger blanket, if you haven't already. Not sure where you are, but here is the link of the BEST swaddle blanket ever.
http://www.swaddledesigns.com/
They are 42" xs 42" which is very large and works great.
Good luck, but I agree with the other post. Don't start feeding her now or you'll have to start all over on the sleep training.

I hate to say this, but my son is in occupational therapy and I have learned that swaddling is good for a few weeks, but according to him movement is very important for an infants development. when we first started OT at 2 my son had lack of reflexes. He didn't craw correctly. BUT I feel your pain, my son went through something simular, try very soft classical music when sleeping. I did the somewhat cruel thing "baby wise-cry it out" hard, but work fast a couple of days.

Hi B.,

I think it's a great idea to not feed her at night after you've already broken the habit and a good rub on the back usually works very well. My daughter resisted swaddling constantly, since the very beginning, she is to this day a very STRONG little girl and she did NOT like to be swaddled. Of course she woke herself up though. To be honest, I just gave up on the swaddling and she was fine. But the suggestions below about swaddling from the underarms down sounds like it's worth a good try. If not, maybe whoever said it is right, that she is ready to be dressed warmer and let to flail around as she's exploring and growing. Not all babies HAVE to be swaddled, like I said, mine never was, and she's a great sleeper and eater. So be creative and find what works for her and you!

Best of luck,

S.

My daughter is only 6 weeks old and doesn't like being swaddled with her arms in the blanket. I wrap her up from the chest down. She likes to suck on her hands and hates not being able to get to them at night to comfort herself.

She might be going through a growth spurt and needs to nurse in the night still.

I went through the same thing with both of my babies. At three months, they are dreaming pretty much every night and so move around. When their position changes enough to make them feel different, they wake up because something is not the same as when they went to sleep. It has been proven that if something changes after they have fallen asleep, they can tell and they wake up disoriented and it confuses and scares them. So, when you put them to sleep, it needs to be in the exact situation they will be in all night. I stopped swaddling mine when they started pulling out at night and just laid them on their back, let them find thier comfortable spot and they would fall asleep on their own after a little playing and cooing and a warm bottle. It worked wonders. Because they weren't wrapped up tight in a swaddling blanket, when they moved at night it didn't make them feel strange so they didn't wake up. Good luck with your baby and your sleep.

I know what you mean! My son is now 7 months and he started breaking free at about 8 weeks. What I did is I got some warm pjs with the feet in them and I put socks on him under his pjs so his feet would stay warm enough. In fact this is what I still do. It works great and we are blessed that he is a great little sleeper. I never put a blanket over him because I was concerned about him getting tangled up in it and not being able to breathe well. Hope this helps!

Get a miracle blanket! They are amazing and your daughter will not be able to get out of it. My sons both would smile as I was wrapping them up. They loved it! They sell them at Tulips and Tutus in the Heights, but I always order them online at miracleblanket.com . Good luck!

PS the company says to use the blanket until 14 weeks but I used mine until my boys were 6 months (or could roll over)

Do you breast feed your child? Are you on a very strict schedule of feedings? Have you considered feeding her "on demand? " Also, we had a family bed when my kids were little and this helped immensely with problems in the night. I would also suggest baby massage. There are boks and classes offered on this. My son was ADHD- he still is and baby massage helped calm him down and increased his sleep time. However, once he woke up, he would not go back to sleep. Best of luck. J. K.

My son never let me swaddle him with his arms in. He'd bust out every time - since birth! I still swaddled him, but left his arms out. Give this a try and see if it helps!

I agree with the tummy sleeping, it is more natural for babies. It should be ok if she is old enough to lift her head by herself. One of the major risk factors for SIDS (which is why they say to put them on their backs) are parents who smoke. If there is no smoking in your home, that cuts the risk way back.

If you are not comfortable with that, try to swaddle her backwards. Make sure you use a bit bigger blanket, fold it into a triangle-ish shape by folding the short corners in. Put the middle of the triangle on the baby's chest and bring the ends around back. If it is long enough, wrap it a few times and then lay the baby on the ends...her weight will help prevent her arms from pulling the ends out.

My son (now 10 months) had the same problem by the time he was 3 months old. He went to a sitter in her home two days a week and never had a problem sleeping there. When I finally asked what she did this is what she said. I let him sleep in the bouncy seat (inclined slighty) laying on his side. THen I wrap a fluffy blanket around him (like a little caccoon except his face is outside the blanket). He loves the position and the snuggly but is not confined. I saw him sleeping like this and he would sleep for hours. He slept like that until he was 8 months old.

Hi! I had the exact same problem a few months ago. Have you tried a swing? When my daughter Lucy (7 months) outgrew being swaddled, we put her in her cradle swing and she slept more soundly than ever. It was as if the swing was so calming, she forgot about wanting to be swaddled and stayed asleep. She still loves her swing, and we use it for her naps.

Buy a SwaddleMe blanket. They fasten with velcro. They now have a large size for older babies. I bought mine on Colichelp.com.

About me: I am the mother of an 18 year old daughter and a 5 month old son. I am a stay at home mom this time and enjoying it!

I swaddled my daughter until she was 9-10 months old. (Side note: at around 5-6 months I would swaddler her with her arms out. I started with one arm out then we went with both arms out- she was ready for this when she wouldn't wake herself up by swinging an arm around. I knew that when I would go to wake her up she would have an extra arm out; she's now in a sleep sac) I swear by swaddling. Everyone in my family (my sister's and my in laws) thought I was nuts for swaddling her at 'such and older age'. I found a great little gadget at babies r us that has velcro and she VERY rarely got out if it! You still have to put the swaddler on tight (hence the whole purpose of swaddling) to get it to 'work' properly. Much more tightly than the picture shows on the website.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp

I used both the fleece and cotton swaddlers, both worked well depending on the weather, of course!
Be careful not to overheat her by putting too many layers on her ie - full pj's, socks, swaddler and blankets. I would use a short sleeve onsie during the summer or when both arms were in and a long sleeve onsie during the winter with the fleece swaddler. It had to be a super cold night for me to add a blanket. I don't think a sleep sac is what she would do the best with right now since she needs the restriction to feel comfortable.

Congrats on you new baby AND getting to stay at home with her!!!

I had the same prob w/ my son. He ended up staying (because he liked it) swaddled until he was 8 months old!! I had to get a bigger baby blanket that had some stretch to it. It actually was easier that the hospital types. And your baby can slightly move w/out the blanket getting undone.

Both of mine were getting her arms out at 1 week! So we just swaddled with arms out and they still felt comforted.

My son (who is now 5) hated to be swaddled! I tried every swaddling technique I could find, and none worked - he always broke free. I finally just gave up, and everyone was happier. He actually wouldn't sleep with a blanket covering him until about a year ago! He's a pretty hot sleeper, so I think the extra blankets actually made him uncomfortable.