Hates being swaddled

[BrendanB]

Baby Brendan is 8wks old and hates being swaddled. We swaddled for the first 2 weeks after that he would struggle violently to get his hands out. No matter how tightly I swaddled him he would escape and he refused to sleep till he escaped. That lead us to a new problem: he is able to sleep on his own but he has got a very violent startle reflex that wakes him. So we're in a bind: swaddle and we have a very upset baby or don't swaddle and he wakes up every 5 minutes.

Please help!!

Brendan's Mum and Dad

[Deb_in_oz]

i say swaddle very tight and stick with it.  i spent many months rewrapping when she got free but woudl do it as many times as necessary to get her to sleep - without it (and we tried) she woudl not let herself even go to sleep as her hands were such a distraction.  My Dh was better at it than me - is yours doing any swaddling - we just found he was less afraid of hurting her (he never did) and would just do it harder and tighter so she was like a little bundle - those were the times we got the longest naps from her.  i would practice on a big teddy bear if you have to in order to get a strong swaddle technique going.  or you could try some of those special wraps on the market - i know several people on here swear by them.

[chell]

HI, I agree with Debinoz. I used to think that my lo hated being swaddled, but in retrospect I think that the resistence he used to put up was because he was overtired. It took ages to 'perfect' the 'art' ! but once I got it right  it worked well and acted as a sleepy time que.
In Tracys last book, she says that flailing their arms and legs is not a conscious action, but  usually a sign that they are having trouble in settling themselves to sleep due to overstimulation or over tiredness.

Hope this helps a bit.

Cheryl

[BrendanB]

Thanks Debra, Cheryl. I suppose we'll have to keep persisting.

[Barbara]

Both of my son's didn't want to be swaddled after they were a few weeks old.  I found that both liked to sleep in their swing.  Now the swing didn't need to be moving but they liked the semi-upright seat of the swing and it helped with any refluex they would have.  Right now Lane is sleeping in the swing.  I was able to transition Carl to the crib when he was older but needed to warm the matress with a heating pad so that it was warm when we put him down.  We had to do this for a while and then he got to the point where he didn't need it and would go to sleep without it.

[BrendanB]

Thanks Barbara. Do you think 9 wks is too young to try the swing?

Brendan's Mum and Dad: Tanty and Ian

[Deb_in_oz]

BrendanB - i would avoid introducing the swing if you don't need it as you wil find it becomes a prop and will be hard to take away later.  i believe you can use a swing, stroller, etc as PART of your regimine but it does not solve your swaddle issue.  i do understand it as a solution for a reflux baby though who needs the different position.

you realy need to decide if you want to force the swaddle on him and make it tight or you leave him hands free (since he is able to sleep that way already) and let him get better at it - the startle reflex is just that - a reflex - that they are born with and it will go away eventually, so if you want to give him a while he might be fine without the swaddle - it will take a little while either way.  HTH