Merlin - or other suits to transition out of swaddling?

teaismCAgal

Anyone have any suggestions on suits to transition LOs out of swaddling? We have a sleep sack but he's not sleeping soundly in that so we're sticking with the swaddler. I'm considering buying a Merlin sleep suit, although since they are pricey ($40), I'm wondering if others have liked them? Or if there are other options that anyone has liked? 

moking2

Best $40 you will spend!  Really - worth every penny.  We have used with all 4 of our babies and it has been awesome!  Its the only swaddle transition product that has the fabric weight to help with the startle reflex and keep the baby cozy like when swaddled.   

damerida

Would the Merlin be too hot in warm climates? We are still swaddling but I'm already thinking about the transition.

Anyone try this? https://zipadeezip.com/faq/
It's awful cute!

somewhatbohemian

Would babies that did NOT like swaddling still like the Merlin?

moking2

The sleepsuit is remarkably cool because the open hands and feet allow baby's heat to escape - unlike swaddles and sleepsacks that can actually be warmer.  Our baby is very comfy and we used for our other three during the summer with no problems.  Now, that being said we have a/c and used ceiling fans if really warm in the nursery.  Really depends on temp in nursery- not time of year or temp outside.  Some babies I have heard that do not like swaddling because its so confining like the merlin sleepsuit better.  Mine liked being swaddled for a period, then wanted out and transitioned to the sleepsuit really nicely. 

kathrynmrice

We got the SwaddleUp 50/50 by Love to Dream about 10 days ago and my LO loves it! He sleeps with the "wings" on right now, but it is designed for the transition out of swaddling. I would warn that they seem to run small - he is about 13 lbs and about 24" long and his arms are snug in the "wings" of the Large (though by his weight, they say he should be in a Medium). He can rub his eyes and chew on his hands while still feeling swaddled and he doesn't startle himself awake like he does if he isn't in it.

https://smile.amazon.com/Love-Dream-Swaddle-Stripe--18-7-24-3/dp/B0081GIYTE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426109290&sr=8-2&keywords=swaddle+up+50/50

ashlaberge

Worth every penny! Moved my son at 10 weeks into the magic suit and the crib and he's slept amazing ever since! He is now 14 weeks and sleeps from 7-7 every night and I feed him once at 4am. He also naps in the suit in the crib and his naps are anywhere between 1.5 hrs to 3.5hrs every day. I'm obsessed with the baby Merlin magic sleep suit! I tell all my friends about it and they have seen sleep improvements, too!

missj2008

Love the Merlin!! My baby HATED being swaddled and would wake himself up with the startle reflex when on his back...the Merlin stops his startles and he feels cozy in it! It is the perfect solution! Would recommend to anyone!

Jeark1004

Has anyone try zipadeezip? I heard great things about this and it was suggested by a sleep consultant, so I was getting ready to try it on our LO...

Jeark1004

Here's a link: https://zipadeezip.com

damerida

I'm curious about the zipadeezip too... But I bought a Merlin and will try it tonight! He took a one hour and a two hour nap in it today so I am optimistic! Seems so cozy, but kinda a pain for diaper changes!

lilly&rose

I used a baby deedee sleep nest and transition was really smooth. We do pajamas and zip up my LO in his sleep sack. He slept straight 7 hours one day 1. It wasn’t instant, but I could tell you that something about the sleep sack comforted my baby. An extra layer of warmth or may having his legs covered(it has quite a leg space for a baby to grow), sleep sack quickly became a part our bedtime. He sleeps so much better!! Here's the link www.babydeedee.com

damerida

Well night one in the Merlin didn't go so well. He was up twenty minutes after going to bed. Then he was up for an hour before husband gave up and put him in his Halo swaddle, which he broke out of at 1:30 am, and then again at 6:30 when he decided he was up for the day. Took him really long to settle after feeding at 1:30 too, so I'm not sure the problem was the Merlin. He napped in it so well yesterday I will try again.

skbaum01

Our first night in the Merlin suit (last night), he still woke a lot. Those who have had success with it, does it take a few days or weeks for baby to get used to it or did you see improvement the first night?

somewhatbohemian

My baby sleeps 4 hours stretches in Zipadee zip. Before that it was 3 hours. This is third night trying it out. Regardless she's just so darn cute in it. Looks like a little starfish. It's useful in germs environments like doctor office or airplanes since its covers her hands.

NJThistle

We transitioned LO from miracle blanket to zipadeezip 3 nights ago and it went okay, last night was definitely the worst though he was up every 45 minutes after his feeding at 2am. He was sleeping 7-9 hour stretches in the miracle blanket before that. DH wants to go back to miracle blanket until LO is rolling from back to front, I am on the fence and thinking maybe we should just wait a few more days to see if it gets better with just the zipadeezip. Has anyone had success with the zipadeezip? If so did it take a while for the transition?

damerida

Well, we've had three nights in the Merlin now, and the last two nights were better but not a miracle! He slept a good stretch, around six hours both nights, then was up twice again before sunrise. This was kind of his usual sleep pattern, with one extra waking, in the swaddle, so I guess that's good... Would like to reduce one of those wakings, that's for sure!

annehylee

For my LO who is now 13 weeks old, he had already unswaddled his legs at like 4th week. So starting two weeks ago, I started to unswaddled just one arm and leave the other one in. Now he pulls his other arm out from the swaddle and sleeps soundly without jerking awake. We didn't transition into one of those suits but it worked really well.

teaismCAgal

So our LO has been a fairly good sleeper, so we (including our doctor!) naively thought we could drop swaddling cold turkey now that he's 4 months. Big mistake. We spent most of the night awake trying to LO back to sleep. So per the American Academy of Pediatrics, we tried to swaddle him with just one arm — that was better.  We're  planning to try that for a few days and then go back to no arms swaddled. We've also ordered the Merlin sleepsuit as a backup.

In the meantime, this is me today...

diz1313

We had good luck with the swaddleups. No difference in sleep the first week. Then we did a few nights with one arm out, then undid the other arm. We kept them in the armless swaddleup for another week (so they still had slight compression on their chest). Then we tried a regular sleep sack, again without much difference in sleep.
They are now waking an extra time in the night that they hadn't been since their first month.... but I don't think it has anything to do with not being swaddled. I am thinking it's just the usual 4 month sleep regression.

teaismCAgal

Question - how do you keep your LO's hands warm when taking them out of the swaddle? We've been doing the one-hand swaddle for a few nights but I notice his unswaddled hand get pretty cold. 

MissChanandlerBong622

I use the zipadee-zip! I wouldn't call it a miracle but it's better than nothing that's for sure! We had to get something that LO could safely roll in since he started rolling back to belly at just shy of 3.5mos.

Also @teaismCAgal I would put the thick newborn socks on LOs hands when we tried unswaddling cold turkey. Bigger than those stupid scratch mittens and kept his hands toasty