how do you stop swaddling?

[cazza92]

Hello i am worried my swaddling is becoming a prop, as my five month old will not sleep unless swaddled and wakes up if it some undone at night. I have tried leaving her arms out but she just pulls her dummy out sucks her fingers and starts to winge which then works up to crying. Or she just plays! rolling over on her side and putting her hangs between the bars so eventually i  go back in and swaddle!

I get comments from my mother along the lines of " does she really want to be so constricted" etc..

So i am worried now am i doing the wrong thing?

[LŠuren]

I have the same problem, can anyone help!!!!!!!

[annas mum]

Hi Guys
   I feel your pain as we have just gone through this!! - HOWEVER we are coming out the other side! There are 2 ways 2 approach this - Change the way you swaddle  - try the Aussie swaddle - link at the top of the forum I think, or wean. I ended up weaning as when I was looking to do the aussie swaddle the forums were down so I couldn't get the instructions!! To wean we went with one arm out first. I started on DS's first nap and it took me over an hour to get him to sleep (as oppose to the previous, swaddle, leave and he was asleep on his own within 10 mins ) For Nathan, if he ever had trouble getting to sleep I would stroke his head, down over his eyes to promote them closing! So this is what I  did  - for others it may be pat/shh or pick up/put down. He did evntually go to sleep and for the next 2 naps it was easier. For the night time sleep we were up about the same amount of times as I would've been if I had been reswaddling - 3-4  - with one of those being a feed. After 48 hours we were down to just the one waking at night for a feed. He then decided to self wean the other arm so we've had another few unsettled days/nights but were down to one feed and an early waking at 5am! Not quite where we were but heading back in the right direction!!

BTW DS is 22 weeks - we started weaning at 21 weeks!

HTH

Clare
Mum to my spirited angel Anna 2yrs and DS Nathan my smiling insomniac!

[tylersmommy]

I highly recommend the Aussie swaddle. We used a twin size bedsheet...the larger the fabric, the more secure the swaddle is. It swaddles her hands near her face so she can suck her fingers through the sheet if she wants. We used it until Tyler was 8 mo. It takes some practice to master, you might try practicing on a teddy bear until you get the hang of it! At 8 mo, Tyler seemed ready to have his arms free, so we took one arm out. He spent a few days frantically flapping it around, and once he got used to it, we took the other arm out. We stopped there and started wrapping his legs with a blanket. The act of swaddling had become a strong sleep cue for him, so we kept that part of it up. That's how he naps to this day, and he's 2! HTH!

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

Hi there! Boy we sure had probs with this about a month ago, knock on wood! Gage was so sick of the miracle blanket and was escaping it all of the time We tried the Aussie swaddle and he was getting out of it too However, we put a stitch in the fold of the sheet under where his neck will be, and then pulled the sheet over as far as it would go around both hands, and it stayed put through the night. Oh, we also folded it a bit different. We covered the hands first and tucked the excess fabric underneath his bottom and crossed over to the other side of his body ( hope that makes sense), and then folded the sheet across his body. Although this new way helped so much, he still manages to get out sometimes, but doesn't wake up! I think he is getting used to not being wrapped because the Aussie Swaddle has so much flexibility. I think this is a great way to wean from the swaddle and thank goodness for that!