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Original poster

Weaning off swaddling...

13 replies

ShinySarah · 15/02/2009 06:45

Hi all, my lo (20 weeks) loves to be swaddled and will not sleep when he isn't however, now he's a little stronger, he can pull his arms out and consequently, he wakes up! We're now at the point where he's waking through the night because off it so we've decided to bite the bullet and try to get him out of his swaddle.
Is anybody weaning their lo off swaddling?? If so, how's it going?? And, any tips!!!

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paddingtonbore · 15/02/2009 07:40

my DD was similar, and we got fed up with getting up to reswaddle her. I'm afraid I've no miracle cure. We weaned her off the swaddle using CC at around 7mo.

good luck.

ghosty · 15/02/2009 08:00

Once they pulled their arms out I swaddled them in a 'half swaddle' - so they still felt safe and wrapped up but they had their arms free.
With DD at around 6 months she went into a grobag and I ditched the swaddle completely.

Original poster

ShinySarah · 15/02/2009 08:09

Paddingtonbore, how did you do it?

Ghostly, How long it it take to get them into a half swaddle?

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Original poster

ShinySarah · 15/02/2009 08:15

Sorry, I should have written, half swaddle, and sleeping!!!!

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pollywollywoowah · 15/02/2009 16:33

Just been through this with 17wk DD.

At first I left just one arm out of swaddle. Did this for a few nights. A few times after night feeds she needed fully swaddling again as she couldn't settle. Then I left the other arm out and she took to it fine.

Took about a week from full swaddle to arms out. I tried her in a grobag but she wasn't keen for some reason so she is now loosely swaddled under the arms and I put a cardi on her as she was waking up with very cold arms and shoulders!

GirlWithTheMouseyHair · 15/02/2009 16:47

I'm in the process too with DS who's 15weeks, he needs to be swaddled to settle but will resettle himself in the night if he can suck his fists (also needs his dummy to get to sleep initially)...I've been gently undoing the swaddle once he's absolutely asleep for the moment which seems to help, not really sure what the next step is though!

Hopefully · 15/02/2009 18:58

We did similar to Polly - left one arm out for a while for daytime naps, then into a grobag for daytime naps, still swaddled at night.

Instead of going half swaddled at night, we just bit the bullet and put him into a low tog grobag, with a blanket tucked over the top to keep his arms in. For about 2 nights we were up every hour or two tucking his arms back in and resettling, then a couple of nights of being up every 3 hours, and now after about 2 weeks he usually still needs resettling once (this is alongside the time he wakes and demands a feed!) Once or twice he has got through without needing to be tucked back in, and I'm hoping that as his arm control improves (he has very flaily arms and has really only just lost his moro reflex in the past few weeks)

LaTrucha · 15/02/2009 19:04

We just stopped too. We were moving her to her big bed and we just decided it would be easier to change evrything.

It was fine. She was a lousy sleeper before and after. It didn't make things any worse or any better.

I'd go for a grobag too.

annatee · 15/02/2009 19:16

After months of my babe waking up in the late evening and generally being quite unsettled an hour or so after she goes to sleep, have decided to start swaddling her again! She seems to wake up with erratic arm flailing, has previously been in sleeping bag and is far too strong to be swaddled in a sheet. so what seems to have worked ok so far is putting her in the Grobag as normal, but instead of putting her arms out of the holes, just leaving them by her sidea and doing the zip up. Doesn't work with all sleeping bags, but she seems to find it hard to settle if she can move! Not a long term solution I know, but might be worth trying...?

annatee · 15/02/2009 19:17

She is 25 weeks now btw. And fine without swaddling in the daytime oddly!

mololoko · 15/02/2009 19:18

dd had really strong moro reflex so we always swaddled. we were getting v. worried how hard it would be to stop and were expecting some terrible nights whilst she got used to it.

she always thrashed around wildly and cried if not swaddled, we tried without from about 12 weeks, once a week, but she was having none of it so we carried on.

we used the advice here but left her feet out and just wrapped the blanket round her rather than tucking her arms into the flaps.

one night (she was about 20/22 weeks) when she wouldn't go down, i unswaddled her to re-do the swaddle and she calmed down instantly and went to sleep and slept fine.

from that point onwards she was only swaddled a few more times (for daytime naps if she was overtired)..

i'm sure it's a developmental thing that they decide when they don't need it anymore so i wouldn't rush it if i were you (easy for me to say now that we've done it and it was no problem - i was really worried before that she's still be swaddled as a teenager!)

hth

LeonieSoSleepy · 15/02/2009 21:51

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Original poster

ShinySarah · 16/02/2009 14:33

A massive thank you to you all!! I will keep you posted as to how the great swaddle adventure goes, we start this weekend!!! x

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