How and when do you stop swaddling?

[marsup]

DS is now 6 months and he sleeps swaddled, for naps and nighttime - also with 2 curtains, one with black-out lining; plus dummy. We went through some pretty awful times sorting out the sleeping and the whole family, including I think poor ds! is very relieved and happy that ds is now sleeping in his own bed and not waking up more than 2 or 3 times at night. But presumably at some point we'll have to stop swaddling him (or what will his girlfriends think when he is 18? ;-) ) We tried two nights ago and he waved his arms around wildly, hit the side of the cot, and cried. We resettled him 5 times to get him to sleep and then he woke so often in the night I ended up half-swaddling him at 3.00 - he had got out of it by 5.00 and was unhappy again. How long should/can one go on swaddling a baby? I'm worried that I'm babying him too much - a friend's daughter, only 3 weeks older, seems so much more 'grown-up'!

We stopped swaddling when dd was still very young. I'm afraid I don't remember when, but it must have been when she was still only a few weeks old. If you do want to stop now, your ds may find a grobag gives him a similar feeling of security.

WE did use a grobag the night we tried, Oldiemum...

I stopped swaddling ds at about 6 months - I was dreading it but, just like you, dreading the idea of swaddling him until he was 18 more! I put him into a fairly heavy grobag (this was December tho) and was amazed at how well he took to it. But since your ds is also used to being swaddled for naps (mine wasn't) maybe it would be better to wean him off it slowly? Perhaps just swaddle at night now, then swaddle with one arm out, etc? I would definitely recommend a grobag though - I think that's what made the transition a lot easier for us. HTH

Posts crossed! Have you just tried the once? You may find it takes a couple of nights for him to get used to it.

I'm working on the daytime naps now (mainly for my own sanity - I can't handle more nighttime wakings than he does already (usually 2-3 times between 11 pm and 5 am). Today and yesterday I've tried putting him down unswaddled, leaving him to grumble a little, then when he starts crying half-swaddling him (by that time he is tired out so he falls asleep as soon as his arms are wrapped up). But I'd love to know if any other mumsnetters have gone on swaddling after 6 months!

Short of a straitjacket I don't think you can swaddle much longer - even with a tightly-woven sheet older babies are so big and strong they can get their arms out.

As he is used to being swaddled he will be surprised that he can wave his arms and bump things, but should get used to that quite rapidly.

An alternative would be to put him on his tummy (much less waving that way) but would that worry you too?

My 3 week old little girl doesn't get swaddled. It's the middle of summer, and it seems far to hot to do so. She seems quite happy with a blanket lightly over her though.

I'm the same DD never been swaddled (7 weeks) she has always slept like a starfish

I used to swaddle my babies by wrapping them in a cot sheet when they were tiny. I didn't realise mum's still do it. It seemed at the time the most obvious thing, to mimic the crowded contitions of the womb and provide the comforting feeling of being held. However, it didn't last long - my son was kicking the sheet off by 6 weeks and pulling himself up on the cot rails by 6 months! Your little one will feel exposed and strange for a while when you stop swaddling him but, as with any change, he will get used to it. Don't worry, it'll all turn out OK in the end; you won't be swaddling him when he's 18 - but you might wistfully look back at the time when you were!

The only reason I used to swaddle my little darlings was to keep the dummy in!!! Is that very cruel? But it worked (for a little while anyway) Not that I swaddled them right over their faces you understand, just over their dummies. Maybe they could have choked to death tho, but they didnt.

I never swaddled dd1 and I've only ever swaddled dd2 once and that was at 5am one morning when she just wouldn't settle, thought I'd give it a try and it worked and she went to sleep but didn't do it at any other time.

Dd2 was always put to bed with her blanket over her, I worried about her getting to hot if she was swaddled. She went to bed in her grobag for the first time the other night same night that she went into her cot of the first time ( she's 16 weeks) Now I spend all my time worrying that she's cold.

Can you half swaddle your ds during day time naps and once he gets used to his arms being free gradually stop swaddling him at nights?

That's another thing that's changed from when mine were small. We were told to keep babies warm at all costs. My first was born in January and he slept in vest, babygo, cardigan & swaddling sheet, with a cot duvet on top!! We had no central heating in the house and used an electric heater in his room. Sometimes I'd turn the thermostat up while I was feeding him and forget to turn it down; next feed (2 hours later, typically) it'd be 90 degrees in there! By the way, I know I'm past it but what's a "grobag"? I thought it was what you grow tomatoes in!!!

marsup I swaddled my dd till 6 months too - I was terrified of stopping it. She ended up in a tablecloth poor little thing!

Anyway, I bought a grobag and stopped swaddling her, prepared for a nightmare and....nothing! She was absolutely fine. I think for a couple of nights she woke a little more than usual. It was such a relief. Just try again.

I know it is a complete no-no, but there is something in the dressing-them-up-in-everything-and-leaving-them-in-a-90-degree-room theory like my mother had. They only ever slept all night when they stayed over at my mothers house and she did this to them. Must have been heat exhaustion.

I finally got past the swaddling cos DS was ill and feverish, so we just put him down in pjs and he slept like a lamb - now we are using a grobag (tomatoes, 80smum!! - it's really a sleeping bag with arm holes) and that seems fine. The advantages are he can find his dummy at night and his teddybear in the morning. He has even slept through occasionally!!!