Dear Mamas,
My son is three months old and he's recently discovered his thumb. I want to encourage this behavior and also transition him away from swaddling so I've been partially swaddling him keeping one arm out. The thing about this method is that he wakes up when he realizes he's no longer sucking his thumb. I want to tuck his arm back and fully swaddle him since he still startles easily. Any suggestions? When did you stop swaddling and how?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Hello Mamas,
Thank you so much for all your thoughts, stories and advice. I really appreciate it. I've been swaddling him with one arm free during the day and "trying" to fully swaddle him at night. Sometimes I'll keep one arm out and when he's asleep I'll tuck his arm back into a full swaddle and pray that he won't wake up when I do. He does seem to be ready to transition out of being swaddled. He kicks and kicks, but I think that's because he doesn't want to go to bed, but I could be projecting.
As for sucking his thumb, he finds it very soothing and comforting and he's going to do it anyway. He doesn't like the pacifier. He just spits it out.
Thanks again for everything. I love this forum!!
I think I stopped swaddling my daughter around 3 months, when she started "breaking" out of the swaddle. That is also when she also discovered her thumb (18 mos later, it is still her favorite pasttime). I moved my daughter into a Halo sleepsack (as blankets would be dangerous and impossible to keep on her), and still have her in that (just moved into an XL).
I stopped swaddling and switched to a sleep sack without arms around four months. My son also startled really easily. I started doing it with naps only first. I should admit (hanging head in shame) that I also put him to sleep on his belly at the same time. He sleeps sooooo much better that way. I didn't make that decision lightly. I waited till I was sure he could push himself up really well and then spent several days watching him during naps to see how he would do.
Did you read Baby Whisperer? I read it, and tried to unswaddle one arm so he could sooth himself with his thumb. It never worked! He would be swinging his arm around wildly waking himself up. The only time sucking was successful for him was right at the start of the night... But after that, he just woke himself up with his constant movement!
There is no right or wrong, you need to do what works best for you. I have 3 kiddos. The first one was swaddled until she was 6 months old. I was afraid that if I stopped she would not sleep well. (That was not the case. One night I didn't do it and she sleep like every other night). The second child I tried my hardest every night to swaddle her as tight as I could but she was a Houdini and wanted her thumb. She got out of it and I finally gave up at around 2 months (maybe sooner?) My third didn't seem to like it so I stopped within the first few weeks. They all adjust and sleep fine. At most it might take a few nights. Try it over a weekend when you don’t need as much sleep yourself.
The first and third used a "soothie" pacifier and my second used her thumb. Keep in mind you can take a pacifier away.
Good luck with your choice. Take all the advice with a grain of salt and then do what you feel is right for you and your baby.
You can tell if your baby likes being swaddled or not, right? If he likes it, keep swaddling! It won't do any harm. I'd keep the thumb IN at night. He has all day to explore his thumb! LOL
I don't recall swaddling for that long, as my kids came out of their swaddling. They were not thumb or finger suckers, thankfully, and I never used a pacifier. (They nursed, so they did have that sucking outlet.) My niece and my nephew, not related to one another (different sides of the family), both had to have major orthodontic work at an early age because my niece sucked her thumb and my nephew sucked his fingers. They had to go through behavior modification as well, per the dentist's insistence, re the stuffed animals/blankets they slept with at night, as it was all so Pavlovian...have stuffed animals, put fingers in mouth, etc. A friend's daughter had to do this as well with her child. If your child does this naturally, oh well. I don't know that you would want to encourage this, though. It could be a real mess down the road.
Hi, Holly:
Why do you want your baby to suck his thumb?
Stop swaddling your baby now.
Good luck. D.
We swaddled our babies til 8-9 months. Your baby will let you know when he's ready. He'll break out of the swaddle and not be affected/wake up... that's when you know he's ready to go without.
I didn't stop swaddling my girl until she was 4 months old. At that point I started slow- one arm out, then after a week or two I took the other one out. It was a slow transition. We actually had to sleep train her at 4 1/2 months(she went on a sleep strike) and that is when she found her thumb and she's been an excellent sleeper ever since.
If your child is sleeping well while swaddled and he still startles easily there is no harm in continuing to swaddle him.
Best of luck. :-)
