Babies: 9 - 12 Months
LisaLisa1980
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Still swaddle??
LisaLisa1980
member
Does anyone have a baby who is still swaddled at night? Or had a baby who was still swaddled past 6 months old?? How do I end it? I'm not sure if I'm dealing with startle reflex still or if its a case of "he can't put himself back to sleep." He'll be 6 months in a few days. He doesn't sleep well because he wants to sleep on his tummy but I don't allow him too since he's still swaddled. He will purple cry if I just leave him w/o it
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Re: Still swaddle??
But the issue is that he can't sleep w/0 the swaddle
He can't roll in his Moses basket so there is no danger there. He only rolls in his crib which he does not use at night. The thing about just going cold turkey is that DS has no problem screaming his head off until he gets his way & my H has to get up at 6am. There's no way he can function with no sleep. There must be an easier way.
Do you use a sleep sack with the swaddle arms? Or just a swaddle blanket?
If sleep sack, secure with one arm out of swaddle. Try for a few nights. Then take both but keep swaddle "arms" wrapped around body so he still feels cuddled.
If you're using a swaddle blanket or pod, then maybe try sleep sack with the arms so he gets used to his legs being free. Then try above slow steps. HTH!
In my opinion, 6 months is a good time to transition out of the swaddle and out of the moses basket. He needs to be able to roll in his sleep and he's probably ready to be done with the swaddle. We transitioned out of swaddle at 5.5 months and to crib (from rock n play) at 6 months and then to her own room at 6.5 months. It was a busy month!
We went cold turkey from a swaddle (miracle blanket) to the sleep sack. There was some protesting - we rocked her, nursed, whatever, but she actually ended up sleeping much better.
Once you're LO isn't swaddled, there's no "danger" from rolling anyway (especially at 6 months) and it'll be better for him to be in the crib (or at least a larger sleeping space - e.g. a shared bed or whatever). I'm amazed at how much LO rolls all over her crib at night!!
I do know people who have sworn by the merlin's magic suit and/or the zipadeezip suit, so those are transitional options. Like I said though, we went straight to a sleep sack (we use Halo and Aiden & Anais sleep sacks) and plan to keep her in a sleep sack as long as possible. 6 months is also a good time to introduce a "lovey" or transitional object. Make sure it is small and has no dangerous/removable parts that could pose choking risks. Those little 12x12 inch security blankets are a good option.
ETA: I would not want an unswaddled 6 month old in a moses basket - the rolling there probably *could* be dangerous because I'm assuming the sides are solid/padded (similar to a bumper). The crib (with no bumper or a mesh bumper) is a safer option.
We went cold turkey at 4.5 months. We were going to do it at 4 months but we waited til she recovered from her 4 month immunization and then did it. The first night was rough, the second night was better and she was good on the third night. To be honest we got the magic sleep suit, I even washed it and intended to use it but we decided to go cold turkey so that she doesn't have to go through the transition twice and honestly it really does work if you're willing to put up with a couple of rough nights.
As far as your husband's sleep, if you have a bigger house, maybe he could sleep in a guest room or basement, somewhere farther from the baby. We don't have a big house. DD's room is right next to ours, so like 10 feet. My DH gets up at 5 am and he has a job where he needs to be alert and functional. He's never complained though. Treat it as LO is sick or teething and I'd suggest starting it on a friday if your DH has the weekend off.
Also my DD used to sleep in the RnP, once transitioned to a crib without the swaddle (we did it the same night), she's been doing 360 moves in the crib but she doesn't wake herself up and sleeps much much better now that she can use her hands and is not restricted.
Good luck!
I switched my daughter to sleep sacks at night around 6 months BUT I continued to swaddle her with her arms out until about 81/2 months! If she wasn't swaddled, she slept for like 20 minutes. If she was really cranky, the second I started to swaddle her, she would calm down. Now, at 91/2 months, I put her in her sleep sack for naps.
Ps both my husband and I work crazy stressful jobs so the 6 AM wake time just makes me laugh. We are all sleep deprived bc we are parents!