Swaddling - six month old

[Smillar2020]

My six month old sleeps like an absolute dream when swaddled. Goes down within 5 minutes at night and sleeps 8-7. Occasionally breaks out the swaddle but goes straight back to sleep once arm is slotted back in. Moved to a love to dream transition bag a few weeks ago as was worried about rolling in a swaddle. Bag seemed okay, needed to wrap up legs as too much kicking and slamming all night. Last few nights hasn’t settled at all in bag but as soon as swaddled again - straight to sleep. I feel like I’m going to be doing this till he is a teenager. Is it okay to continue swaddle for now?

Any advice....?

Not if your baby has started rolling

I think swaddling becomes unsafe once they can roll, which most 6m old can. Maybe swaddling with their arms out is ok, I’m not sure. I think the danger is that they may roll on to their front and then be stuck with their arms in and unable to free their head if pressed up against something, and suffocate.

Is he rolling? My DD didn’t roll until about 8 months, so I carried on until then. There were a couple of unsettled nights but she soon adjusted.

It’s horrible when you have to stop doing something that works!

I swaddled with one arm out for a while to transition to a sleeping bag. Has your LO lost the startle reflex?

No the startle reflex is very much real! He flaps his arms non stop and swiped and scratches the side of his cot. It drives me nuts. The legs slam up and down all night too. In the swaddle he’s an actual angel, so peaceful and sound and sleeps without stirring. He can roll but in the swaddle I’ve got it packed quite well so he physically can’t roll. I checked during the day when he was wide awake and put him on his playmat to see what he was capable of. I am worried about the rolling though even though it seems he can’t, I don’t want to take any chances. The love to dream transition bag seemed okay for a few weeks but was still really unsettled sleep most of the time. I did give it almost a month of trying

Do you have a cot sheet?

We transitioned out of the swaddled by using a tightly tucked in cot sheet. You need to slightly adjust clothing or dog rating but we used a sleeping bag with a cot sheet over the top (and baby feet to foot in cot).

We used the cot sheet with the long side across the cot so could tuck in all the way under the cot mattress making it nice and tight across baby's legs.

That sorts legs but arms can easily flap about. For that I started holding baby's hands (both hands in one of mine on baby's chest) as they went to sleep. Over time this can become a nice reassurance thing- my hand on baby's chest becomes a "Mummys here, settle down" thing when crying instead of needing to pick baby up. So a useful thing to start doing anyway even without the swaddle.

I swaddle my 6mo. Both arms in. he sleeps in a safe bed and has always slept on his tummy. Even if he rolls, he moves his head freely, and there is nothing he can push his nose into. Swaddling works for us.

Good grief!

I would not swaddle a 6mo at all whether they can roll yet or not. His first ever roll could be in the middle of the night while he's tucked into his swaddle and it doesn't bear thinking about what could/would happen if that was the case.

We swaddled DD until 7 months. We tried various of the gentler methods of stopping including a love to dream swaddle, one arm out etc etc. She would manage a couple of nights and then get to the point where she wouldn't sleep more than a few hours until she was put back in the swaddle. She was a leg banger too!

In the end we went cold turkey and put her in a sleeping bag and her own room at the same time. We did controlled crying which I accept isn't for everyone, but it worked for us. A couple of bad evenings and then she was fine and has been a pretty good sleeper on the whole ever since. From the first evening onwards she then only ever woke once for a feed and then went straight back down.

Expecting number 2 in 4 and a half weeks and hoping this one is one of those magical sleepers!

I was planning on moving him to his own room a few weeks ago, however, we were about to begin decorating and had to pause with lockdown (professionals, not DIY). Perhaps I will just move him anyway now and see how it goes...

Given we dont know how long lockdown is going to go on I'd just make the move tbh. As others have said, the swaddling needs to stop im afraid! Theyll adjust eventually, might just mean a lot of bad nights for a while.

Just to add - I definitely wouldn’t put him in his own room until out of the swaddle!

We went cold turkey on the swaddle around 5 months as my DS started rolling. One thing which helped was giving him a muslin with a large knot in it. It gave him something to hold and helped calm the arm flailing while he was awake and settling (can’t help with reflexes while asleep, sadly just have to ride those out). We tried the tightly tucked sheet too which helped a little bit. The muslin has the bonus of then naturally becoming a sleep comforter too, which was very handy when transitioning him to his own room. I agree with dropping the swaddled and getting your baby comfortable in whatever else you’ll use (grobag?) before moving them?

It really isn't safe to swaddle them when they're rolling. It'll take some time for them to get used to sleeping without, and it requires patience from you if they're unsettled because of it but you should do this now before they become more mobile.