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6 month old still swaddled!

3 replies

amandanorgaard · 04/06/2023 10:37

Hi!

As title suggests my 6 month old DD is still swaddled to go to sleep. She works her arms out during the night and generally sleeps 7-5.30/6am ish with 1/2 wake ups for feeds and straight back down. Each time I put her back down I re swaddle her and she falls fast asleep.

Now if I don't swaddle and use a sleeping bag, her arms are everywhere!! She pulls out her dummy, scratches at herself, pulls her hair and generally messes and she can't fall asleep, ends up crying and I go up, put her dummy in, and cycle starts again! I tried scratch mits, she pulled them off. To actually get her to go asleep I was having to pin her arms down!! After a week of traumatising bedtimes I gave in and went back to the swaddle.

She doesn't roll yet, she can roll belly to back if doing tummy time but is yet to even try to roll back to belly, so I'm not panicking just yet, but it would be great to get her to sleep without it!

Any advice greatly appreciated!

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
ChilliHealer · 04/06/2023 10:45

I don't mean to be alarmist but one day soon she'll be able to roll over and that means being swaddled now is unsafe.

Have you tried one arm in, one arm out to start? We did that, and alternated it so db got used to it. Then both arms out and into a sleeping bag. I give my db something to play with and rub her face on (a cloth with a little toy head on it so she can grab/suck it) which helps.

Good luck, I hope some other useful advice comes up too

SushiSuave · 04/06/2023 10:53

Agree with above. I used the babygrows with built in scratch kittens so that they can't fall off/be pulled off. It's a stage every baby goes through at some point and you just have to work through it. They will only get used to it if you let them.

amandanorgaard · 04/06/2023 13:39

Oh my god!

I've just put DD down for her nap, in her cot, in her sleeping bag, and after 5 mins of protest and two dummy put back ins she's just... gone to sleep?!

Maybe she just wasn't quite ready the last time we tried? Maybe fluke? Who knows with these babies!

Thanks for your advice!x

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