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How long does the flailing arms/legs last?

Cassandra1028Cassandra1028
in Babies: 0 - 3 Months

DS will start to fall asleep and then wake up flailing his arms and breathing really fast. All I have to do is let him see me or put my hand on his chest and he calms down immediately...but if I don't do one or the other...the flailing turns into fussing, which turns into crying.

He HATES having his arms swaddled...so that's not going to work. I feel bad though because his arms wake him up. I have tried swaddling both arms and/or just one arm....but he gets VERY frustrated and will just wiggle/squirm until he breaks free.

Anyone got some advice? Does it go away as they get older?

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Re: How long does the flailing arms/legs last?

  • LilliesMommyLilliesMommy
    DD did this around the same age. She has stopped doing it in the last few weeks/month maybe. I actually didn't swaddle her until around that age b/c the flailing got so bad. She hated being swaddled too and would always break it, then I got the Sleep Sack Swaddle thing and that worked awesome. I think it worked better b/c it was just tight around her arms or something, and it has velcro so she couldn't break it. Anyway, just a thought if you have $20 to spare. If not, I guess just try to stick it out, it should only be another few weeks for you! GL!
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  • SolelleSolelle member
    I'd love to know too.  She has started flailing more than ever.  GL!
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  • ChefBritChefBrit
    DD went through a phase like this.. I would just nurse her.. rock her until she was really out of it.. then i would swaddle her in her sleep. About two weeks later she started to let me swaddle her before nursing and rocking to sleep.. she is getting too big for her miracle blankets now so i dont know what to do again.. But try this.. it worked great for us.. I would swaddle her then just scoop her from the bed directly to the bassinet.. she had to be really out of it though meaning 20plus minutes of rocking..
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  • LucyPevensieLucyPevensie member
    We had the same problem and couldn't swaddle because DS got overheated  VERY easily.  Finally - I found a sort of solution - I would swaddle with arms out - it still helped give him a sense of being secure but didn't overheat him - then I would put him down with two rolled up blankets on either side - pushed tightly against him - again for a feeling of being secure.  The wavy arms is a side effect of sleeping on their backs - which is important in terms of reducing risk of SIDS .. but unfortunately .. isn't entirely natural for babies (sleeping on tummy is but risk of SIDS is much greater that way.)  They don't feel as secure on their backs - so the arms start going.  On tummy - arms don't wave around.  It was important to me to keep him on his back though - so we did the best we could - and then just basically waited until he outgrew it - around 4 months old.  GL!!
    Wheee!
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    "When it comes to sleeping, whatever your baby does is normal. If one thing has damaged parents enjoyment of their babies, it's rigid expectations about how and when the baby should sleep." ~ James McKenna, Ph.D., Mother Baby Behavioral Sleep Center, University of Notre Dame

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