Tried not swaddng 5mo but 2 hour naps now 45min. not sure what to do

[pulapula]

We stopped swaddling DS at night a couple of weeks ago. now in the day, he has started wriggling his hands out when i swaddle him for naps. So i thought i would try him unswaddled today, but he woke after 45 min which didn't really surprise me. So he was very tired by bedtime tonight!

Do you think he will get used to it, and start having long naps again. I tried to get him back to sleep but to no avail. I don't want to continue if it means he drops his long naps! We both need them.

Bump

I was hoping that someone might say they get used to having their arms out and start sleeping through the light sleep phase!

I have put him down this morning swaddled (I had to wait til he was asleep before swaddling as he wanted his arms out), as he had a bad night last night, probably because he was tired.

Part of the reason I want to drop the swaddle is that I want to drop the dummy too but it seems a bit mean if he doesn't have access to his hands/fingers/lovey. Anyone any advice on whether to drop dummy at same time, or before/after dropping swaddling. With DD we did it at the same time and she found her thumb and cuddled her lovey- she was about 5 mo too.

You could try to loosen his swaddle after he has been asleep for an hour, or wrap him less tightly, or leave one arm unwrapped and gradually get both hands free and then half swaddle.

I think as long as you are consistent he will go back to sleeping for the longer stretches.

Thanks nannynz,

I think it probably needs a gradual approach. I swaddled for both naps today and had to wake him from them (2.25hrs and 1.5 hours) so he was much easier to get to bed tonight. I won't do anything drastic yet, and will just keep using the dummy (I am trying a gradual withdrawal of that too!).

i think gradual unswaddling is right....first one arm, then the other. once their moro reflex goes i seem to remember its no longer the same problem (ie they stop hitting themselves in the face and waking up)

also, isnt it inevitable that unswaddling will also lead to dropping the dummy ie hands loose always knock the dummy out of the mouth anyway?

My 5 month old (who I tried swaddling with when younger but she didn't seem to like it) often wakes after the first 45 mins of her long nap of the day. If i leave her to gently fuss a bit, she nods off again. If she sounds like she's working up a bit, I'll pop up and shush pat a bit and she usually goes off again, so you could try that too

HTH

I kept swaddling ds for his naps until he was 9mo. He had such a strong moro reflex for a long time that it was the only way that he would stay asleep.

If your lo is still happy enough to be swaddled, carry on. If he is freeing an arm or two, but is still sleeping for long enough then that is ok isn't it?

I just adore swaddled babies

my ds hated being swaddled or should i persevere,he doesnt sleep well anyway and anything might be worth a try...but he screamed and went red in the face with anger and desperately tried to get out of it.. he also hates anything constrictive..car seat/bouncy chair/snowsuit.. birth trauma?

Thanks for your help.

I've decided to keep DS swaddled for naps and he has stopped trying to free his hands. I think he's just not ready. He is still unswaddled at night, which he seems to cope ok with. We still use the dummy to help him settle, but we take it out to try and wean him off needing it every time.

Pulapula