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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Swaddling

46 replies

luath · 13/10/2006 21:09

Can't get DD to sleep or take a nap unless fully swaddled. Tried unswaddling/partial swaddling today and DD would not nap. Gave up this evening &Ended up swaddling tonight to get her to sleep. Any tips on how to go from swaddling to using a sleeping bag so arms are free?

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taylormama · 15/10/2006 09:00

i swaddled my LO until he was 13 weeks old as he had found his hands. It was the only way he would nap - he absolutely loved it. At 7 weeks babies love the security of the swaddle so i would carry on for a few more weeks and then gradually unswaddle, leaving one arm out, then another etc - i highly recommend grobags especially at night. When i stopped swaddling i went cold turkey LOL and the first couple of days he needed a lot of reassurance to go to sleep but by day 3 he was settling himself brilliantly. xxxx

stramash · 15/10/2006 09:34

I swaddled both dds until they went into bags ( so to speak ) at about 12 weeks or so. It took that long before their arms would stop flailing - sleeping bag wouldn't have worked any earlier for them.

7 weeks is still quite young . If it works I'd just keep doing it. DD1 was a nightmare to get to sleep for first 6 weeks or so until a friend who'd had a baby in Australia ( where they recommend swaddling apparently) immobilised her in full Australian swaddle and dd feel asleep within seconds. Anwswer to my prayers!

mrsratty · 15/10/2006 12:12

What do you use to saddle your babies. My sister in law, who was in Australia at the time, used a cotton cot sheet and to tightly swaddle her son. She did this until he was about 7 months old. I have only seen him a couple of times. The first when was was 5 months old, at that point her had no muscle tone whatsoever on his legs and the same was true when I met him at 10 months. If you held him on your lap to make him stand his legs would buckle and did so until about 13 months!(most can do this by a few weeks old) I assume it was due to her swaddling him so tightly, do you think I'm wrong?

TallulahTabbi · 15/10/2006 12:51

where do you get these grow bags?? what are they? Sleeping bags of some sort? I live in Australia, are they only available in the UK?

juuule · 15/10/2006 13:06

I swaddled mine tightly and had no problems with muscle tone. As they get older they are more active anyway and could generally free themselves or at least loosen a tight swaddle. I would still swaddle at night quite tightly when they were past 4 months because it would settle them. I can't remember what age they were when I stopped but it was past 6months with some.

mrsratty · 15/10/2006 13:08

grobagsau Hope this helps TallulahTabbi, thay are fantastic!

mrsratty · 15/10/2006 13:20

juuule - That's good to know, it must just have been the way my nephew was. She is doing the same with her new baby and I feel better knowing that it won't harm the baby.

ejt1764 · 15/10/2006 14:45

Hi, ds is 4 now, and swaddling was the answer to a lot of our problems when he was little ...

he was fully swaddled for sleeping until I put him into a sleeping bag, then I had a cotton drawer sheet, which was only about 18" wide, and I wrapped that around his arms when he was in the bag. I think he just needed the comfort. The swaddle gradually got looser and looser, until we did away with it completely when he was about 6 months old.

It didn't harm his development or muscle tone in the slightest (ds walking at 9 months!!!), but it really helped us calm a sucky, irritated baby.

Eirian

mummychitchat · 15/10/2006 19:27

DS was swaddled until >6m. To get him out of the habit and into a sleeping bag, a couple of nights with a rolled up towel at either side of him in the cot prevented too much flailing about and eased the transition

riab · 15/10/2006 19:33

I swaddled for about 4 months and i'm a terrible mother - once DS (who had a very strong moro relfex) could get out of the swaddle I used to tape the swaddle closed.

I didn't find the transition a problem, once he was geting out of the swaddle despite the tape we just shifted ihm into a sleeping bag.

twingirl · 15/10/2006 19:53

i swaddled both of mine, ds didnt need it after a couple of weeks - he was a still sleeper, dd needed it because she kept waving her arms around and banging herself on the head and waking herself up. swaddled tightly with a blanket initially then a muslin once the weather got hot then two muslins once she got a bit bigger. she gradually got stiller and now sucks her hands to go to sleep. but ds has learnt to roll - tried swaddling but he just got tangled up so bought grobags and tucked him in at the foot of the cot. dd used go all calm once she was swaddled and had this beautiful peaceful look on her face because she seemed to know she could go to sleep without bashing herself...

celticmama · 15/10/2006 20:28

i swaddled ds on advice of midwives both in hospital and until 2 weeks. when i changed over to the health visitor she said not to do it for risk of cot death. I felt the midwives trusted mums more to do the swaddling correctly - making sure baby doesn't overheat. The health visitor just seemed concerned i'd do it wrong. I carried on swaddling anyway and ds was very settled in his sleep. We did used to have a competition to see whose swaddle lasted the longest - even granny got in on the wager!

lrwg · 16/10/2006 09:29

DD loved swaddling until she figured out how to get her arms out - even DH's swaddling began to fail a month or so ago. She's now in a Grobag (5 months old) and loving it - she was obviously ready to give up the swaddling! She's so cute to see in her pink gingham Grobag with her bunny comforter held up to her face - bless!

fortyplus · 16/10/2006 17:49

I swaddled both mine and agree it's brilliant for newborns...

...but riab I'm a bit dubious about taping them in once they're old enough to want to get out!

Has anyone else used a straitjacket in this way?!

riab · 16/10/2006 20:31

I basically used to put masking tape across the end to hold it in place, it meant he couldn't thrash his arms in his sleep and inadvertantly wriggle out of the swaddle, but if he was awake he could get out of it. Maybe it was just my crap swaddling technique but I found it was the only way to keep the swaddle 'closed'.
Once he was getting out of the swaddle consistantly when eh was awake we did a half swaddle - one arm out then moved to a sleepbag.

MrsFish · 16/10/2006 20:55

I swaddled ds from birth until he was almost 6 months old, he wouldn't sleep otherwise. Once he was fighting himself out of it, then I moved him to a sleeping bag

Channa · 16/10/2006 20:56

I Swaddled my DS from 6 weeks and he slept through - till eventually he was managing to wriggle out of it regularly and now he's in a Grobag.

All the best

Piffy · 16/10/2006 21:09

Hi there

My DS is 6 months and still fully swaddled using a flannelette sheet or cotton sheet. Tried the one arm out thing for a few nights but he flailed himself awake hourly so went back to full swaddling. Naps during the day with swaddle - I wrap him up and within two minutes he's asleep. Without the swaddle - no nap, no way!

I used to worry about it, but I reckon if it works and he's happy then why worry. The muscle tone thing is funny as he's got the chunkiest legs but as I just twist the bottom of the sheet (it's quite big) to stop him kicking it off, he can still kick his legs pretty hard, and does! Perhaps all that exercise has helped the old muscles!

Read in a book that babes are used to being tightly confined in the womb so it makes them feel secure being tightly wrapped - when he was tiny I used to wrap him in a blanket that I had slept on so it smelt of me too, I am sure that helped him to sleep better and longer while he got used to his own room.

Dunnyjo · 18/10/2006 14:06

Hiya
I have swaddled my ds who is 5 onths nxt week since he was born. Apart from a few feeds in the night at the begining he has never woke up in the night! He loves it.
Saying that i did worry that maybe he neeeds to be free now and tried a few times with no luck. He did not sleep.
So just wait till you can see baby is not happy with it no more.
I just wish i had done it with ds1 many broken nights sleep lol

AnnaB444 · 03/02/2009 12:02

I've never swaddled my ds, but friends are advising that I could start now to encourage him to sleep through the night. He is now 4.5 months old. Is this too late to start swaddling? I just tried it today for a nap and he hated it. Any tips as to how I can wean him ON?!
Thanks.

Sullwah · 03/02/2009 14:34

I swaddled through to about 4.5 months. Mine loved it and have always been good sleepers.

It was the over the summer so when hot I cut the sqaure fabric along diagonally to make two triangles IFYSIM - and so it made the swaddle much cooler.

ButI guess you dont have that problem now!

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