Swaddling with cellular blankets – small ones too small and large ones too thick/heavy?

[zoobaby]

DS is 14wo and is currently sleeping quite nicely at night. This past week he?s taken to lifting and kicking his legs so much that the swaddling eventually succumbs. As a result he ends up scooting down the mattress... legs bent up, whacking the base of his crib, while the blankets tend to end up over his face and he wakes himself fighting them off. Alternatively he gets his arms out and his hands wake him.

He wears a bodysuit and a sleepsuit. I?m using two crib-sized cellular blankets so I guess you'd say they create 4 layers over the top and 2 layers underneath him.

As he?s become stronger, I?ve had to make the triangle folded bit larger to increase the width to accommodate his wriggling, but this takes away from the length. I?ve considered moving him to a grobag, but he truly does NEED to be swaddled (daytime snoozes are short due to arms and legs).

The larger cotbed-sized cellular blankets are the next logical step, but they seem to be so much thicker and heavier.

Could I use one cotbed-sized cellular blanket that?s folded in half and then wrapped around? Would that provide appropriate warmth? But I think it might be a little difficult to get him wrapped up without totally re-waking him.

Or possibly one crib-sized blanket around the torso with a single layer of cotbed-sized blanket tucked into the mattress? Surely that wouldn?t be too hot, would it?

Or any other suggestions?

The room tends to hover between 16-18 degrees, but occasionally gets up (no higher than 20C).

You can get very large muslins www.muslincloths.co.uk/new-designs-for-giant-muslins-and-large-muslins/. Would a grobag act as a looser type of containment?

Muslins and a blanket on top tucked in.

But be wary around this age I went into ds to check on him one night and he had wiggled so much the whole muslin was on his head. He was asleep and thankfully fine but I've never been so scared in my life for a second.. it looked like he'd been strangled and I thought I'd swaddled him tightly enough and safely.

After that he went straight into a grobag. He soon got used to it. I couldn't feel relaxed swaddling him again.

You can buy actual swaddle blankets: www.babycalm.co.uk/product/Moby-Square-Swaddle-Sheet

However, I think at 14 weeks you have got to the point where swaddling is not appropriate.

I have a swaddling advice card that says:
Ensure your baby does not overheat.
Ensure the swaddle does not become loose and cover the face
Stop as soon as baby can roll.

I think a Grobag type thing might work well - can kick to his heart's content. Obviously his hands won't be restricted but this is for the best once a baby is more mobile.

HTH!

Thanks for the replies. We have a couple of grobags and attempted to use the other night. DS hated it, so I think it's something we need to work up to. He's still only 14wks old so the moro reflex is still strong. He seems to need swaddling (during day he's unswaddled and naps aren't very long as a result).

I tried to stop swaddling at this age with no luck. All the advice is to start de-swaddling at 12ish weeks. We've just stopped at 23 weeks with no issues. DS is still a very still sleeper and doesn't roll so I felt ok about still swaddling him. Obviously the overheating factor is important so watch out for too many layers.

A very good tip I received was to swaddle with one arm out to start with, then both arms out (swaddle just round waist) rather than going cold turkey.

Thanks guys. Giant muslins it'll be and woombies do look interesting, though they don't seem to have any in stock. I never thought about getting something so light as a swaddle cos my mind is in warmth mode right now. He started with two cellular blankets at hospital and I've just maintained it so automatically started looking for similar. I feel happy that it won't be an issue to continue swaddling if the material is long enough to be held in place by his own body weight. It's pretty much the leg lifting/kicking that destroys the swaddle right now. Maybe he'll be ready to graduate in time for warmer weather.

I think we'll try grobag again in a couple of weeks and also practice sleeping in his crib for daytime naps since the Moses basket obviously offers a more contained space. Also, I suspect he didn't particularly like the sensation of bare legs in the bag. Fussy or what? :)