Babies: 3 - 6 Months
rsheehan10
member
Weaning from swaddle.
rsheehan10
member
How did you all wean from the swaddle with success and how long did it take? I have a feeling he's ready to be weaned as he wiggles out of it every day. This am both arms were out and he was just swaddled around the waist. Thanks ladies.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Weaning from swaddle.
Violet Mae born 1/15/13
FWIW: he isn't rolling back to belly yet so I felt no rush.
We tried doing the one-arm-out thing, and that just made DD mad. So we went back to full swaddle and decided to wait until she rolled.
While we were out of state visiting family, DD decided to start rolling back to tummy in her swaddle. When we got home we just went cold turkey.
The first few nights involved multiple wake-ups, but we did a little CIO with that (didn't take more than 15 minutes) and now we're back to our "wake up at 4:00 and drink 4 oz" thing like we did in the swaddle. I think she likes it because she can wiggle all over in her crib. The only problem we have is when she rolls onto her tummy-she'll sleep like that for a bit, but won't roll herself back over like she does when she's fully awake.
She's been in her crib since 8 weeks though, so I don't have any advice on that front.
Our DS kept wiggling out of his swaddle too, which was when we decided to stop swaddling. The big issue for us was that he would start to get his arms out, but sometimes they would get stuck in the blanket and he'd either get mad and wake himself up or he'd end up with the blanket over his face, which terrified me. Finally one night I could see he was struggling with it in his sleep after I put him down, so I pulled it off of his arms and he was very happy. I suppose it's not so much a weaning story as much as that being the cue that he was ready to go without. After he slept so well that way I tried having him go completely without and he started sleeping great.
For those asking about switching to a crib, I discovered he was actually happier unswaddled in the crib than his bassinet (I tried it once or twice for a daytime nap in his bassinet). I think it's because he likes to sleep with his arms flung out to the side, and when he was in the bassinet that meant his arms were hitting the sides and he would wake himself.
Anyway, I would say for any change, start by trying it out during the day (assuming that's your awake-time schedule), because if the change causes them to not sleep quite as well/wake up a little earlier, it's less of a hardship on you than it would be if it were happening at night.
We are currently weaning because he is going to daycare and they don't swaddle. He is 11 weeks tomorrow and he's doing okay with it.
we started with one arm out and the other arm half swaddled on his chest so he can suck his hand and while sleeping that one will slowly become unswaddled. His naps are to as long but still 45 minutes.