Won't sleep without the swaddle now!

DS never liked to be swaddled in the beginning but when he as 10 weeks old I tried the Swaddle Me to see if it would help him sleep through the night. He will be 4 months old on the 13th and he has been sleeping through the night ever since...with the Swaddle Me. But, I'm trying to get him to sleep without the Swaddle Me and I have been unsuccessful thus far. Last night he went in his crib and slept for 2 hours but then woke up. I ended up having to swaddle him. How can I get him to sleep without the Swaddle Me? I've read a slow transition like one arm out one night, 2 arms out the next but I haven't tried it yet. Any other suggestions?

Message edited 1/5/2009 9:49:10 AM.

Re: Won't sleep without the swaddle now!

My DD HATED the gradual transition, so we did it cold turkey. It s*cked I would say for about a week. Now she wakes still, but she is hungry or drops the paci.

Re: Won't sleep without the swaddle now!

it's hard. We stopped swaddling at 4 months and it took a long time. he was up every 2 hours and he didn't stop over time. He started waking out of habit. So it was fun for a month.

Honestly it wasn't until about 5 months that he got better because that's when they have full control over their hands.

But for many, it only took a few days so i hope that's the case for you.

Re: Won't sleep without the swaddle now!

We went cold turkey from the swaddle me to the sleep sack. It took 2 tries.

Re: Won't sleep without the swaddle now!

My DD loves to be swaddled also! At her 6 month appt I asked her doctor about it because I felt she was too old to be swaddled. The Dr said that the only downside to swaddling at this age was that there would be a set back for a few days or a week when she gets adjusted to not swaddling. She said that I could keep swaddling her but that when I come in for the 9 month appt I shouldn't be doing it anymore.

We have stopped swaddling at night about three weeks ago (DD is a little over 7 months now) but we still swaddle for her naps. I'm not sure if this confuses her, but its the only way we can get her to nap right now. I'm going to stop that this week I think.

Re: Won't sleep without the swaddle now!

Is your DC rolling over? It's dangerous to keep them swaddled when they can roll - they can get trapped face down without their arms to help push up.

We went from the swaddle to belly sleeping since DS was rolling fine and lifting his head very well actually since he was born.

Re: Won't sleep without the swaddle now!

Why not try swaddling with a rec blanket, its much looser so it might be a good transistion.

We swaddled with a rec blanket until DS was 7 months, and had no transistion because DS was ready. Basically we used the rec blanket and by about 6 months DS would break out almost right away. Then by 7 months it was obvious that he didnt need it, and we never looked back.

If DS isnt ready to be un swaddled I would say wait another few weeks. I know for my DS it was what signified bedtime for him.

Oh and we stopped swaddling for bedtime months before nap time, I think DS was swaddled for naps (3 days a week when at my ILs only) until 9 months. Still not issues!

GL

Re: Won't sleep without the swaddle now!

We did the gradual swaddle, but I was doing it in April and May, so he didn't really need a heavy blanket every night.

I started by leaving his arms out during naps, then after a few days, I left his arms out at night. Then, I let him nap without the swaddle, and then finally we did no swaddle at night. I didn't use a blanket or a sleep sack, I just put him in warmer PJs. My DS busted out of receiving blankets in the hospital, so I never really used them at home after the first week.

Re: Won't sleep without the swaddle now!

Oh, this was my post last month!! We tried cold turkey and it was a nightmare! So we did the one arm out at a time thing and I think he is fine now. He is waking up still, but I think for teething b/c I swaddled him on one night and he still woke up. It's so tough, but I hear it gets better