I have to stop swaddling our little one at 7 weeks old -- help!

lemonie89

My daughter is 7 weeks and 3 days old and last night managed to flip herself onto her tummy in her swaddle (she uses the Ollie swaddle and LOVES it). She has only managed to roll onto her side -- very rarely -- when she is unswaddled so I thought we'd have a long time until I had to worry about this but my pediatrician said she needs to be swaddled, arms out, or not swaddled at all now. Today was a NIGHTMARE. I feel so horrible for her because her startle reflexes are still SO strong. She's only 9.8 lbs so is too small for the Merlin's Magic suit and I have tried the Love to Dream swaddle already and she hated it so don't think the Zipadee will work for her either. Has anyone else had to go through this so early before and if so what did you do and how long did this nightmare last??

hinotes

Our baby was fighting and breaking out of his swaddle and rolling to the side.  He can also roll from tummy to back (but not back to tummy).  So we recently started using a Halo sleep sack with one arm out.  It seems to be okay most of the time, because it's still wrapped tight on the chest, although he doesn't settle down quite as easily as with a fully swaddled wrap.   

mamanbebe

Maybe try a weighted swaddler?

https://www.nestedbean.com/products/zen-swaddle-classic

hinotes

@mamanbebe what a great idea, never knew this existed!

mamanbebe

@hinotes I only stumbled across it when I was searching for solutions for my swaddle escape artist. I’m so tempted to order one!

lemonie89

Thanks for all your comments, ladies! We unfortunately couldn't do one arm out because our pediatrician said if she's rolled, both arms have to be free. We did try the nested bean and she was not a huge fan of it. I ended up still using my Ollie Swaddle just wrapped under her arms and she still managed to sleep her normal 7-8 hour stretches at night but naps were still a challenge. I just bought the Magic Merlin's sleepsuit and used it for a nap today and she's been down for 2 hours! So if anyone is in the same boat as me, I'd try that!

colleenm82

@lemonie89, how many weeks was your little one when you started with Magic Merlin's? How's it going? Thanks!