Swaddling

[Carryniccy]

Help! I've started following the gina ford routine. Everything was going like a dream but now day 4 things are starting to slide. He is being a right pain with his swaddle! He'll feed ok, get sleepy, I do nappy change and then swaddle him and the next part of the plan should be feed him again as he's woken up and then bed. But once changed he is awake and he gets angry that I swaddle him, thrashes around trying to push against it and then won't feed. I've thought about not swaddling but his reflexes wake I'm up after about 20 mins! I could try not changing him between feeds but he is so sleepy I need to wake him!
It's not just sticking to the plan that particularly bothers me but more he that he either falls asleep and doesn't finish his feed or gets so worked up he won't take his feed! Help! Want to nip this in the bud now!

How old is your baby?

I don't know anything about this GF routine, but can you just change him before you do the first feed? Changing a nappy is quite a stimulating experience for a baby and also if you change him after feeding and he has any reflux issues he'll be more likely to puke up because you'll be laying him flat on his back, so causing discomfort and even less likelihood that he'll want to go to sleep!

Oh wow thanks gretagrape, he does be sick sometimes when I change him, 2 birds with one stone thank you! He is 4 weeks old on Saturday. Should I continue swaddling?

I'm not really sure on timescales - we didn't really swaddle as such, but did wrap our son up quite tightly for around the first month I think, but that was in March/April so it was still pretty chilly then.

I wouldn't worry too much about the routine yet - 4 weeks is so tiny, he's still getting used to the world so EVERYTHING is stimulating, scary and generally a sensory overload. I didn't really see a semblance of a routine until around 10 weeks - by then he started to respond positively to small routines I put in place, eg bathtime = bedtime, comforter and sleeping bag = sleep, etc, etc.

In relation to the swaddling, my DD is 8 weeks and I've started putting her in a "half" swaddle because she was fighting it too. We have a swaddle that zips up at the front - I now zip it up almost to the top, so she has limited movement, but not enough to startle herself awake iykwim. Something like that might work for you?

I think too many people want to control what can't be controlled, the weather and a newborn you can't control either, let go and enjoy this precious time.

I did my own thing with my babies. I fed them when they were hungry, left them sleep when they wanted to sleep etc.

I used to put my children as babies in a blanket folded in a triangle, and a loose swaddle, to keep them warm and tidy.