Author Topic: Swaddling addict?  (Read 2193 times)

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Offline rutlym

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Swaddling addict?
« on: September 14, 2005, 18:12:43 pm »
Hi there,
I have been lurking for quite awhile but am finally ready to make my first post.  Everyone seems so helpful and supportive on this site.  I have learned so much already!
So, I think I have a swaddle addict on my hands.  DD is 14 weeks old and has been swaddled since birth.  We use the miracle blanket (truly a miracle!) at night, and for naps I use a looser swaddle (the kiddopotamus wrap).  She WILL NOT sleep without being swaddled.  She does manage to get her arms out by the end of her sleep, especially from the looser swaddle, but she can't fall asleep without first being totally swaddled, arms and everything.  I did try once to put her down at night without it, but she only fell asleep after nursing her ( :oops: ) and lasted about 3 hours, waking every 30 minutes or so following.  Am I creating a monster?  Will she just one day be able to sleep without it?  Should I just keep trying, maybe once a week to get her to sleep without it?  I just feel so bad because clearly she needs sleep and this is the one way she can get a really good rest.
Any insight anyone can offer would be gratefully accepted!  Thanks in advance.

Offline tylersmommy

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Swaddling addict?
« Reply #1 on: September 14, 2005, 18:32:27 pm »
Welcome to the boards!

I'm a mom of a swaddling addict, and I don't see anything wrong with it. Tyler was swaddled for naps only since birth (don't know why we didn't do night too). That's just how he liked to sleep, and wrapping him up became part of his nap routine that helped cue him that it was time to sleep. We moved to the Aussie swaddle with a bedsheet around 4 mo (instructions are at the top of this forum) and weaned him down to a loose arms-free wrap with a light blanket at 8 mo. At that point, he'd break out of it as soon as we laid him down, but being restrained really helped him settle during wind down. We still do it that way to this day...and he's 20 mo!

If she still needs it, then by all means, stick with it! When you decide to wean the swaddle is purely up to you, but for now, it sounds like it isn't time just yet. HTH!
Melissa
Mommy to Tyler, 12/30/03 and Mackenzie, 10/17/06
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Offline NKmommy

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Swaddling addict?
« Reply #2 on: September 14, 2005, 18:56:37 pm »
I had a swaddling addict too.  Nathan NEEDED to be swaddled until about 7 mos.  (I actually joked with DH that I saw myself having to go to Nathan's  college to swaddle him before bedtime.)  Before that time, if an arm came out, he couldn 't get back to sleep until I re-swaddled. I also see nothing wrong with it.  Some spirited or touchy babies just need it to calm and sleep....
Sheila
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Offline JWB's Mom

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Swaddling addict?
« Reply #3 on: September 15, 2005, 16:58:26 pm »
I have a 4 month old who still needs to be swaddled - same exact story as yours. We use the Miracle Blanket and the Kiddopotomas swaddles - and if he gets and arm out, he is awake until he's re-swaddled. I posted "Time to Unswaddle?" a few weeks ago and got some good responses and encouragement like you did here. I'm going to try the Aussie swaddle, but I keep waiting for a time when I know that I won't get much sleep since I'm farily certain he'll be awake most of the time! His latest adventure is that he moves to the end of the crib in his swaddle and then cries when he gets to the corner - I may post to see if anyone else has that situation. It makes me nervous that he moves like that while he's swaddled. He can't roll over yet, but he's close.

Good luck!
Julie

Offline Katw

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Swaddling addict?
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2005, 12:07:42 pm »
Hi there,
My DD is 18weeks and has been swaddled since she was 5weeks, which at the time helped so much with getting her to sleep on her own.
However now I think she is ' addicted' to her swaddle too!!
Since she was 10 weeks I have not needed to night feed her but I do have to get up to re-swaddle her.
When I put her to sleep after the DF I put her on her back but sometime during the night she will wake me because her arms have got out and are pulling on her hair or her ears and she can't go back to sleep.
So I get up, re-swaddle and put her down on her side and she's back to sleep straight away, but I'm concerned that I may be becoming a prop and she won't ever learn to sleep without her swaddle!!!????
So , should I be leaving her once she wakes to get her to put herself back to sleep or is it ok to re-swaddle and one day will her hands stop bothering her in her sleep????
I really don't know what to do for the best at the moment!!
Thanks

Offline Erin M

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Swaddling addict?
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2005, 14:09:12 pm »
I swaddled until my DD was about 4 months old at which point she was somehow "done" with it and didn't need it.  It was literally an overnight thing, which makes me think that your daughter will need to be swaddled for as long as she needs to be (make sense?).  I honestly think they drop it when they're ready to.  If you've ever read The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp he's also a proponent of long-term swaddling if the baby needs it.  At any rate, I know it made Katie happier.
Good luck!
-Erin

Offline Adamsmum

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Swaddling addict?
« Reply #6 on: September 19, 2005, 02:45:02 am »
I don't know if I have a swaddle addict or not because he is really starting to resist it, however he sleeps best when swaddled.  I've been really struggling with how to help him get to sleep because he is a spirited baby who fights it.  Tonight we are trying the Aussie swaddle and so far so good. He didn't initially like his arms being pinned but it's so much better than pinned to the side.  He is sleeping very soundly right now so everyone keep your fingers crossed.  ;)

Offline JWB's Mom

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Swaddling addict?
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2005, 14:32:21 pm »
Well, we tried the Aussie swaddle yesterday for his naps, and it worked wonderfully! He settled right down in just a few minutes. I was too chicken to try it for his overnight sleep, but might try it tonight. Does anyone use wedges or rolled up towels with the Aussie swaddle to keep him on his side? My son seems to work himself sideways in the crib.

Thank you!
Julie

Offline JKHH

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Swaddling addict?
« Reply #8 on: September 21, 2005, 03:17:11 am »
Rutlym,

I feel your pain! My advice is to wait and try again in a month or so. I tried to start weaning my daughter when she was 14 weeks and she was not ready. If she did fall asleep it was not for long. I started again just this week - she is 4.5 months - and she is doing much better. I am doing naps first - one arm at the moment. It is amazing to see what a difference a month makes.

FYI...I knew she was ready because at night she was fighting out of her kiddopotamus swaddle...it was waking her up. She started to go back to sleep with an arm out. It was like she was trying to show us she was ready to move on. Having said that we still have to take it slow since like you...the swaddle is part of her routine.
Janet

Mom to (Kay) Kathleen Elizabeth
Born May 4, 2005 - a Textbook/Spirited Baby

(Abby) Abigail Christina
Born November 4, 2007 - a Textbook Baby

Offline butterfly524

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Swaddling addict?
« Reply #9 on: September 21, 2005, 03:29:09 am »
my daughter is only 5wks but i have started swaddling her only at night (therefore no sleep loss as she is learning to  sleep without it).  it works well so she can figure it out during the day.  her naps are a little shorter but i figure timre will help. also, she goes to sleep so well on her tummy that i let her fall asleep on her tummy. if i wait about 10 minutes she is in a deep enough sleep that i can roll her over and she stays alseep.  good luck with your LO.
rebecca,
mom to juliet rose
born august 12, 2005

Offline Jamom

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Swaddling addict?
« Reply #10 on: September 21, 2005, 04:01:10 am »
I too have a swaddling addict.  DS is 4 1/2 months old.  At night he can be swaddled with arms out but at naptime, if I even leave one hand out or don't get the swaddle just right, he wakes up at either the 25 or 45 minute point and  can't go back to sleep.  :?  Asked doc about it at my 4 mo. appointment and he reassured me that some babies just need it and it's Ok.  He also mentioned that the sleeping jolts may decrease in the next couple of months which would help ds stay asleep and might decrease need to be swaddled.  Who knows, he may just need it until he grows out of his Kiddopotamus large size swaddle.  At that point, I may need to try weaning or use a sheet for the Aussie swaddle.  Glad to know ds is not the only one who needs it.  :)
Erin

Mom to Jacob 05/02/05 and Sophia 8/12/07

Offline mommynow

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Swaddling addict?
« Reply #11 on: September 25, 2005, 16:42:47 pm »
My daughter is an addict but only because she sleeps so much better with it.  When I start to wrap her in the MB she fights it but once we do our windown and I lay her in the crib she sleeps so much better.  She is breaking free more and more though and is starting to fall back to sleep sometimes with her arm out so I am considering switching to the Aussie swaddle.  When I don't swaddle her initially she won't settle (she is spirited) and will rub her eyes and scratch her face.
Abigail born May 26, 2005

Offline nate's mom rachel

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« Reply #12 on: September 28, 2005, 00:53:20 am »
I wasn't planning on posting yet (I just joined today) but couldn't help myself when I started reading about people being addicted to swaddling.  I also haven't read the book yet  :oops: because I just ordered it, and so do not know what kind of baby I have.  I'm guessing spirited because when he is sleepy he rubs his face/eyes with such force that he sometimes scratches himself and always knocks the paci out of his mouth.  I have swaddled him since he was 3 months old to keep this from happening.  He is now 6 months old.  I only have to go in to replace the paci 1-3 times early in the morning.  This doesn't really bother me because he goes right back to sleep, so I kind of sleepwalk to his room and then back to bed. 

I use the Kiddopotomus FLANNEL swaddle because it is not stretchy so he can't wiggle his arms out.  But as he got bigger and stonger, he would BUST of the swaddle like SuperBaby.  Here's how I solved our little Houdini problem:   I bought this two-inch wide industrial strength velcro from a craft store and my mother-in-law sewed it on top of the existing velcro on the body of the swaddle.  She sewed 3 side-by-side strips so it is a total of 6 inches wide.  The existing little velcro tabs stick very well to the industrial strength velcro.  So my little man rarely busts out any more.  Also, I haven't used the little foot bag portion in months because it is not his legs that are the problem, and it frustrates him to have his legs swaddled (he's too long now to fit in that part anyway).

Now that I've said this, this super strength swaddle helps me get a good night sleep, but am I just making him the first one who truly will need to be swaddled in college?

I am thinking that when he learns to put the paci in his mouth on his own in a few months that I will try to unswaddle him then.
Rachel
Mom to Nate, born April 1, 2005