Swaddling
scootRN
member
I posted a couple weeks ago about our nap time sleep issues. I've found that if I pretend we're going to bed, and do our whole nighttime sleep routine, and stay with him the whole time, DS will sleep for a couple of hours once a day with a few other 40 minute naps. That is a huge success for my little man who was maybe getting 2 hours the whole day before.
The issue is that he must be swaddled in order to sleep any length of time. In the No Cry Nap Solution she talks about when to begin to wean from swaddling, some of which are starting to roll onto their side, fighting being swaddled, etc. DS is starting to do all the things on her list...but he absolutely cannot sleep with even one arm out. He uses it to wake himself up. He is usually a fantastic night sleeper, but the one night I tried one arm out, none of us got any sleep.
How do they learn not to wake themselves up? Do we just have to have some sleepless nights while he learns it? I am concerned that he is going to be able to roll himself onto his tummy, and get his face buried into the bed. And what about nap time? He definitely won't nap without being swaddled.
Re: Swaddling
Do you have a video for the swaddle you used? I've looked at the escape proof swaddle, but DS is so warm-natured, we already swaddle him diaper and the lightweight Swaddleme only, I think the double layer would make him too hot.
Here's a video for the escape proof swaddle that we used until 16 months, and no that's not a typo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4VdZxwsu4
We used Aiden and Anais muslin swaddling blankets for the outer burrito part and an old undershirt instead of a smaller blanket, so the layers were both light and breathable.
Couldn't get a video with DD (massive fail!), but it's similar to what you see above, only just one layer.
1) Lay out swaddle blanket (love those A+A ones) in a square.
2) Place baby in the center with the top of the blanket *just* above her shoulders.
3) Take one top corner of the swaddle blanket and wrap the blanket up and around the top of the shoulder and around the arm, pulling the side of the blanket fully underneath the baby. (You will have to pick her up by the feet and lift her butt off the ground to get the blanket ALL the way under.) One arm is now essentially pinned down alongside her body.
4) With the first side of the swaddle blanket, wrapped under the baby, lay it out on top of the second side. (This is just for neatness, but it makes the swaddle a little more stable.) Then, repeat step three on the second side, wrapping the blanket up and over the shoulder and around the arm and then passing it underneath the baby. Now both arm are pinned alongside her body.
5) Take the (now somewhat tri-folded) bottom half of the blanket that is sticking out underneath her butt and twist it (I like to twist in the direction of the second side folded towards the first). There will now be a twist just below baby's butt, which will end up in the crotch once the fold is done.
6) Draw the whole thing up between baby's legs, and over her front. Unfold the bottom half of the blanket (maintaining that twist - so now the what started as the right side of the swaddle blanket is on the left, and vice versa).
7) Wrap one side of the now-upside down triangle of a swaddle blanket underneath the baby's back (on the same side), then do the other, leaving a little bit of fabric out to tuck in to keep it close. Now the legs are completely unswaddled, but the arms are well pinned.