swaddling = creating future problems?

[dandycandyjellybean]

just read a post where baby was used to being swaddled and when this was stopped about 20 wks baby then woke every hour because it was batting itself in the face. having swaddled ds since newborn (now nearly 9 weeks) am panicking that I have started something that will come back to bite me in the bum later on. Has anyone else had any problems? When did you discontinue the swaddling?

Everything you do as a parent, particularly when they are tiny, will come back to bite you in the bum later. Count on it.

Sorry, I'm sure someone will be along with more helpful information soon.

cubby, my dd is currently 8 months old and I swaddle her every night and every naptime. I will continue to swaddle her for as long as she will tolerate it - but hopefully that's before she goes off to college.

We swaddled for a few weeks until one of the community midwives said we shouldn't swaddle all night. I was quite cross because another midwife had shown us how to swaddle and said it would be fine and ds slept like a dream when swaddled - although I do think there is a tendency to get obsessed with all this little things that supposedly help the baby sleep better. They probably sleep just as well being left alone!!

Cubby - both my ds's were swaddled until 3 months old. I gradually removed the swaddling i.e. moved from a full swaddle to looser swaddling, then not covering the arms and finally moved them into a sleeping bag at 6 months old.

I never had any problems.

Thanks everyone. Dejangles, the gradual removal of swaddle sounds good, will try it once he gets over his jabs.

sorry dejinglejags, couldn't remember your name properly when it came to post!!!

I had the same experience as dejingle. I think something else that is important is to let baby try and settle him/herself and not rush in if possible. It's hard as it can be easier to settle them when they are still half asleep rather than when they have fully woken up. Ah, one of the many judgement calls....!

DS is now 6mo. I used to swaddle and have only recently (about a month ago) stopped. I was worried too about him flailing his arms around, which he did do for a few days/week. I started by doing a loose swaddle then by leaving one arm out and eventually just swaddling his body. He used a sleeping bag now, but seems to be ok about his arms being out.
Good luck!

If it works for you, then keep going. Swaddling doesn't need to be an all-or-nothing affair, as dejinglejags shows.

And in any case, why stop, unless the baby doesn't want it, in which case they'll be perfectly happy without.

Nope, swaddling worked for us for months and we only stopped when dd got too mobile in the cot.

Seems a bit weird to me. If swaddling is what your baby likes then why stop? Our ds loved to be swaddled, you could just see him relax when he was wrapped up. He graduated into a sleeping bag as he learned how to relax on his own - can't remember at what age, but it certainly didn't cause us any grief.

We had the same experience as dejingles. Swaddling worked really well when ds was tiny but then as he got bigger, he would throw the blanket off, or end up with it round his neck or whatever. We gradually removed the swaddling, so it was looser, then he one arm out, then introduced a sleeping bag at about four months, without any problem at all.

As NQC says, everything you do will come back to bite you at some point. Ds is currently in the habit of only going to sleep when rocked on a shoulder. He hasn't always been like that, I doubt he will always be like that, it's just what we're dealing with currently. I say just relax and see what happens - we really haven't struggled so far with things like this, they tend to just evolve out of use.

I swaddled both my children from birth. I put my son in a grow bag at 5months when he kept rolling around in bed and was getting all wrapped up in the blanket. I really panicked about the switch but it was fine. He had taken hims arms out himself gradually over the previous weeks so he was really only swaddled round his body.
My daughter is 20wks and she is still swaddled. She always gets hers hands out straight away so she can suck her thumb and I think I will switch her to a growbag when she starts getting tangled up in her covers like her brother. She may never do that tho! Im more worried about taking her out of her moses basket. She's in the basket, in her cot and still fits ok. I think she'll find the space of the big open cot unsettling. She'll prob be fine tho and I'm worrying for nothing as usual!

We swaddled our DS from one week old and have recently started to let him sleep in a sleeping bag. We were terrified that he wouldn't be able to sleep as he had a strong morrow reflex, but he's been absolutely fine in the bag. Takes a bit longer for him to settle for daytime naps but does sleep all night with no problem in the bag. HTH.

Why try to solve a problem that you only might have later at the expense of solving a problem you know you have now?

I swaddled DD from the day she was born and she felt really secure with that. I went to 'half swaddling' (leaving her arms free) when she began to struggle in the full swaddle and I worried about her strangling herself in the blanket !!! I think she was about 4 months then.
At 6 months she went into a Grobag and we haven't looked back ....

I found that swaddling only helped dd for a short time from 4 months, when she developed the moro or "startle" reflex - whereby their little hands start to swat their face rather inconveniently when I was trying to lower her to sleep in the cot. But the moro reflext usually disappears by 6 months, after which swaddling is no longer necessary unless baby got used to that cosy snuggly feel to got to sleep.

If swaddling worked for dd, I would have continued it for as long as it possible. As it is, I ran through the whole gamut of sleep strategies with my sleep-shy dd, as her needs changed due to teething, weaning from nursing, separation anxiety, over-excitement, nightmares, fear of the dark. There is nothing wrong with swaddling - if it works, lucky you. Cubby, your ds will move on eventually