Merlin sleep suit users

ekscopp

What do you guys put on baby under the sleep suit? I got the cotton one, but it's still heavy and I don't want her to be too hot, but her arms/hands and feet are still exposed. 

mamadcb

I just put him in a short sleeve onesie. It's been warm here lately but when it was cooler I made sure he had socks on too. 

JanuarysBaby1

I'm so glad you asked this! I just ordered one from Amazon and should be getting it tomorrow. @mamadcb have you noticed a difference when using it? 

ekscopp

@JanuarysBaby1 mine is literally in the dryer right now! I could totally use some solid sleep tonight. I'll let you know how it goes! 

ctmamaoftwo

Are your babies still able to self sooth in it?

JanuarysBaby1

Yes, please do! I'm with you on the solid sleep lol 

mamadcb

@JanuarysBaby1I have been putting him in it for naps to start, and while he doesn't love getting in it he seems to sleep as well as he did with the swaddle. He's a generally good sleeper with it, but he was in the swaddle too, so I can't say it's worked major miracles, but I like it. I put him in it, then I nurse him a few minutes till he's drowsy, then I put him down awake. 

SDaniels19

I just ordered this as well! He's been fighting his swaddle and waking up alot recently, so I'm hoping maybe this will allow him to settle himself a little better.. We'll see!

ekscopp

Ok well it was not magic for us is there a magical trick I am missing? We even had a later bedtime and we were still up around 2 wanting to est. I was able to get a few more hours out if her by using the pacifier but in total it was the same amount of time with the swaddle and I had to work harder for it. I wonder if she is used to waking up around 2 and has her internal clock set at 2 as feeding time? Is that ridiculous? How do I break that? It seems no matter what time I put her down its usually around then that she is waking up again. 

Becky012016

ekscopp said:

Ok well it was not magic for us is there a magical trick I am missing? We even had a later bedtime and we were still up around 2 wanting to est. I was able to get a few more hours out if her by using the pacifier but in total it was the same amount of time with the swaddle and I had to work harder for it. I wonder if she is used to waking up around 2 and has her internal clock set at 2 as feeding time? Is that ridiculous? How do I break that? It seems no matter what time I put her down its usually around then that she is waking up again. 

This might be complete rubbish but do you have a water softener? I only say that because they usually cycle through at the same time every night usually between midnight and 2am. She might be hearing something in your house that's waking her up every night at the same time. 
Littles can become accustomed to eating at a certain time during the night. You get rid of that feeding by slowly cutting back on the amount of ounces you offer until she sleeps through that feeding. Obviously, ask your pedi if your LO is ready for that first. Best of luck!

ekscopp

@012016 we live in a condo, so I don't think there is anything she can hear. Thanks for the suggestion though! She is EBF so I am not sure how to decrease what she eats, take her off the breast sooner? As it is, she doesn't sleep well at all after that feed. The pedi think she should be sleeping through the night and recommended I put her in her crib, but I'm not ready bc she is only 2 1/2 months old. I'm so disappointed in the suit!!  

JanuarysBaby1

@ekscopp that really is disappointing that you didn't see a difference. Maybe if you're consistent with it you'll see a change. What is she sleeping in at night? My LO is sleeping in the rock n play and she's basically had enough of it. She's so fussy in it! I ordered a bassinet because I'm also not ready for her to be in her crib. She'll be 12 weeks Saturday. I'm hoping I get a longer stretch at night as the pediatrician also told me she should be sleeping for at  least 6 hours during the night. Im hoping the combo of the bassinet and sleep suit works lol  Good luck! 

Becky012016

@ekscoppI ff but everywhere I've read about bf said to just decrease the amount of time on the breast. Hopefully you get good long stretches of sleep soon! 

ekscopp

@JanuarysBaby1 she is in a Halo bassinest. My husband would be so ready to move her to the crib, but it's so much easier for me to just reach over and grab her to feed her instead of having to get up to get her. I'm going to keep trying the suit to see if it works eventually. She is such a spoiled sleeper though bc during the day she usually sleeps on me bc she won't stay asleep if I put her down somewhere and won't fall asleep anywhere else and if she goes too long with out sleep she is a cranky, crying mess. I hope in time this gets better! 

mamadcb

@ekscopp I have had the sleep suit for a while but he has only napped in it because I wanted him to get used to it before going a whole night. Maybe try it for naps for a week? Just a thought! Good luck. 

Ljohn43

We tried the sleep suit last night, wasn't as magical as I was hoping; he slept ab an hour less (4h40m) than his normal sleep (swaddled in swing). However it was the first time he slept in his crib more than a 40 min nap though. Will try again tonight and hoping for a longer stretch!

thoughtfulmommy

With my son we used it to transition to his crib from his bassinet. It helped. It was winter, so we had him in a cotton sleeper.

ChrissyD1203

Not sure if it is true but I've read putting baby to bed later than normal usually results in them waking up earlier and more frequently than normal - the opposite of what you would expect @ekscopp

ekscopp

@ChrissyD1203 I would totally believe that. Her normal bedtime is around 8ish give or take and one night she didn't get down until 10 and was up by 1 again. 

So night 2 went better! She slept almost 7 hours in her suit and went 9 inbetween feedings! I am worried it was only bc she didn't sleep well at all during the day yesterday and was a crying cranky mess when I was putting her down so maybe she just wore herself out. Crossing my fingers it wasn't a fluke! 

SDaniels19

@ekscopp I'm glad night two was better! I saw some other reviews of the suit that saw consistent improvement after the first night, so hopefully this isn't a fluke for you!

ekscopp

@SDaniels19 thanks, me too!! After she ate, she slept another 3 1/2 hours quietly which is so unlike her, but so nice! 

grkgdss00

Depending on the temp, I put her in a onesie (warm) or PJS (cold). It's not magical for us either, she still wakes up every 3 hours (4max) but it was good as a swaddle transitioner to the crib. She still has a bad startle reflex so it's necessary for now. It also helps with naps cause she's a bad napper.

CMDirks

I'm looking at buying one of these, can anyone tell me if the small is going to fit my 16 1/2 pound baby? She is almost four months but big for her age. Thanks!

Ljohn43

The small fits my baby (15.5lb @ 2.5 mo). He looks like he still has some room in it too. The website says the small fits up to 18lbs. @CMDirks

kwentela

Just purchased one of these and Hoping it helps bc just trying to swaddle one arm out and he's been awake every hour by his startle, he loves his swaddle and was sleeping a 6-7 hour stretch at night but with him rolling now I can't and this waking every hour thing is worse than the newborn days!

mamadcb

@ekscopp How are things with the suit? I only just used mine at night for the first time (he had been doing well with the swaddle, but then he rolled over) and it was his (and my!) best night of sleep since he was born! I wish I'd tried it sooner because he's already getting too big for it. 

teachmegs817

I just ordered mine. It'll be here Tuesday. I am hoping it makes the transition from the swaddle a good one. I don't even care if it doesn't necessarily make him sleep through the night. I just want to finally put these darn swaddle blankets away. Well, who am I kidding, if he sleeps through the night in it, I'll be right there with some of you ladies in thinking I should have invested in one sooner.

nackie

I just ordered mine and paid extra for it to get here tomorrow.  It's been over a week of DS waking up every 1.5-2 hours and Momma is getting desperate.  Hope this helps! 

kwentela

He wore it two weeks and can already roll over in it so he can't wear it anymore wishing my happy sleeping baby would come back but can't swaddle can't wear magic Merlin suit, so sad ... Maybe he'll sleep again one day 

teachmegs817

nackie said:

I just ordered mine and paid extra for it to get here tomorrow.  It's been over a week of DS waking up every 1.5-2 hours and Momma is getting desperate.  Hope this helps! 

We are in the same boat. Last night, I had to put him in bed with us by 3 AM.  I saw every hour from 9-2 at some point yesterday. =/ I felt like we were back in the infant stages.  Until it comes, we are swaddling him with 1 arm out.  So far, it hasn't been that bad.  However, we just switched to his crib full time last Saturday.  I put 2 receiving blankets underneath his fitted sheet to create a little "boat" if you will.  That way, he is in between those and can't squirm all over the place, and he can remain swaddled with 1 arm out safely. 

ekscopp

@mamadcb she actually does pretty good in it! Still wakes up once to eat, she is EBF so i don't see her going without at least 1 feed in 12 hours. I am worried though, like @kwentela that she may be able to roll over soon. She hasn't at all by herself yet, from either way. But she recently started using her feet to arch her back and look like is is almost going to go from back to belly. I dread that day! Esp bc I want to get her in her crib at night soon! 

mamadcb

@ekscopp We transitioned to the crib just last weekend. He has been waking up twice/night to eat, with the second time at 4:30 or 5 which makes it hard for me to get back to sleep. But with his sleep suit he woke up once halfway through 12 hours of sleep!!! It was amazing. My current concern is that he'll grow out of it, I'll buy a larger one, and then he'll roll in it before we get any use out of it. We'll see...

nackie

OMG, I wish I bought this weeks ago!  DS has been waking up every 1.5-2 hours the past two weeks.  It's been almost 7 hours now and I finally had to get up and go pump.

mamadcb

nackie said:

OMG, I wish I bought this weeks ago!  DS has been waking up every 1.5-2 hours the past two weeks.  It's been almost 7 hours now and I finally had to get up and go pump.

Yay! Was this his very first night in it?

nackie

@mamadcb it was.  He slept for 7.5 hours and then another 2.  Hopefully it wasn't a fluke!

kwentela

So jealous of the magical powers this suit had for most people! I hoped for the magic powers and the longest stretch of sleep I got was 5 hours but that was a one time thing and at 18 weeks my sons persistent self could already roll over in the suit so unfortunately we can't use it anymore! Congrats everyone on the awesome sleep! Hoping my son figures it out again soon and isn't one of the kids who gets up 2-3 times a night...forever