My baby has started to roll over so I can't swaddle her, any tips?

[laura_w]

Hello,

My little girl is 17 weeks old and had just started to get the hang of the EASY routine and naps and bedtime were getting easier. But she has now started to roll from back to front in bed so we can no longer swaddle her. We are going to use sleeping bags as she is a real fidget but so far naps have been awful and I have ended up breastfeeding her to calm her down and get her to as point where she is almost asleep and then put  her down which isn't what I want to do but I've had little choice..

Has anyone been through this? What did you do instead of swaddling?

Many thanks in advance,

Laura

 

[jessmum46]

Hi Laura,

(((Hugs))) it's always tough when things change, but you are doing the right thing stopping the swaddling now she can roll.  Was she settling independently beforehand?  Have you used shh pat in the past with her?

Like all new things it will take her some time to get used to sleeping without the swaddle, but she will get used to it eventually and with time will enjoy having the freedom to move and find her comfiest sleeping position.  I know some mums here have tried tucking a light sheet firmly over LO and under the mattress at both edges to provide a bit of security - perhaps that might help?

I would try to avoid feeding to sleep, as much as it seems like that's the only option at times.  Probably better to use shh pat and try to stay consistent as that will be much easier to wean. 

Just wondering as well what her daytime routine is like at the moment?  Any chance UT or OT could be making it harder for her to settle?

[laura_w]

Thank you for your reply. She was getting to the point where we could put her down after a 3/4 minute cuddle and we weren't needing to shush pat, but we have shush patted her before we got to this point. I have another little girl who is 22 months so it was brilliant that my youngest was getting to a point where she was so easy to put down.

I daren't use a sheet as she is such a fidget but the problem I have is more getting her to sleep in the first place than when I put her down. She seems to be sleeping fine once I manage to get her to sleep. I am trying to "trap" her arms by her side with mine to create the feeling of being swaddled a little, which is uncomfortable for me and difficult to pat at times, but it seems to help.

Day time routines are a bit more hit and miss than I'd like but I try to put her down or make sure she is having 3 naps a day.

[<Catherine>]

Following as i can see us here in a few weeks time!! My 13 week old is a swaddle addict and sleeps wonderfully, but he's been unwell recently with a high temp so I was reluctant to swaddle and he really struggled without it.