swaddling

[mum of three]

Hi my baby is 15 weeks old (thats gone fast). Just wondering when you can stop swaddling.

She has been going thru what i thought could be teething (red cheeks, dribbling a bit of a temp and a little white mark looking like atooth starting but nothing more appearing for the last 4 days). She seems to want to suck on her hand alot and just wondered if i could help her restless sleep at the moment by unwrapping her. She gets rest less at night and alot of the time gets her arms loose but still covered which seems to annoy her. First thing she does in the morn after been swaddled is put her arms out wide and stretches.

Also off the topic she is having a bit of trouble with her bottles sometimes feeds 3 hourly sometimes 4, drinks nearly all in the first 2 feeds and then leaves just under half in the arvo. I'm not sure if she is changing from 3 hour feedings to 4 hour feedings or because of been a bit out of sorts. Any suggestions?

Thanks

[Jaime]

hi there,

i waited until my kids could break out of the swaddle without caring to stop - it was around 6-7 months for both.

there is a form of the Aussie swaddle where you can get their hands up by their face so they can suck on them.  instructions are posted at the top of this forum.

she could be starting to transition to a 4-hr feeding schedule.  you could try and drop a bottle, and then put more in each of her other bottles and see if that helps.  at this age, though, she will likely still need at least 3 naps a day, so you'll have to watch her sleeping cues more carefully.

HTH 

[jswerczek]

Hello Mum of Three! I also have a 15 week old, he was born a day before your little one. I am having the same problem with the swaddle as he wants to suck on his fist all the time too. I don't believe he is teething yet, I'm not sure I am ready for it  I want to stop swaddling because he seems to fight it so much and he also gets him arms loose but not all the way out and that just seems to make him mad! I have purchased special swaddle blankets, first the miracle blanket which was awesome but he has grown too big for it, and now the kiddopotomus swaddle but he busts out of it. I have tried to leave an arm out because he wants to suck on his fist so bad but then he doesn't sleep worth a darn. So I have a baby who resists being swaddled but can't seem to settle without it. I am going to give the aussie swaddle a try because it seems he won't be able to get out if it and I can position his fists up by his face. Hopefully it will be a good compromise. I think the days of me keeping his arms down by his sides are over  :oops: The minute I unswaddle him in the morning, just like your little one, he stretches so big and it's almost like there is a magnet in his hands and they are drawn right to his mouth!

As for the feeding, I am now feeding my ds every four hours. I offer him 8 oz. at each feed. He usually eats it all in the morning, but the amount varies with the other bottles. Usually, he ends up with about 25-32 ounces a day. He gets four bottles and a dreamfeed. I only offer 4 oz. at the dreamfeed because I want to phase it out at some point. He was eating every three hours but then started to not finish bottles. So I began to offer more and spread out the time period, and it seems like just overnight he transitioned to the 4-hour easy. We are still working on naps, but that is another story.... :?

Hope this helps. I am going to try and figure out the aussie swaddle tonight, so I will let you know if it helps the situation!