To deswaddle or not?

eturp · June 2011

DS will be 15 weeks tomorrow and we are still swaddling him in a swaddle pod at night. I've tried twice to put him to sleep without swaddling and he always wakes up 30 mins later screaming. I don't mind swaddling but the only swaddler he likes and that isn't too hot (we also have a woombie but the fabric is too heavy for how hot it is here) is sized up to 12lbs. DS is about 16lbs now and has stretched this swaddler to its max. For the past week or so when I go in his room in the morning he has either one or both arms out and the neck is squeezing him around his chest. So any suggestions for what to do? Should we cut him off cold turkey? I think I'm going to try swaddling him tonight with his arms out of his pod and not fully zipped up but he is so squirmy in his sleep I bet he'll be fully out of it by morning (if he doesn't wake up upset before then). TIA!

ilovechubbycheeks · June 2011

I was trying cold turkey tonight actually, but he kept waking up, so I caved and swaddled him. He hasn't made a peep since. He always winds up getting out of it but he needs it to sleep. I would love to stop swaddling but I don't want to go through the pain!

eturp · June 2011

We are totally in the same boat! Swaddling seems to be the only thing to help him STTN so I'm so nervous that this darn thing doesn't fit anymore!

RumbleLina · June 2011

We tried to deswaddled around 3.5 months and it was an epic fail. He wouldn't sleep longer then 15 minutes. We had to deswaddle him cold turkey this past week due to turning over and he was totally fine with it. No clue when he made the transition but if it doesn't work out this time around I would try in a couple of weeks.

butterfly8199 · June 2011

Ugg I feel you. We have a 22week old and I have been trying to unswaddle for a week now. She has figured out how to break out of the swaddle and then she rolls over and gets angry. She was sleeping 8-8 with one feed at 4am and now she is up every 1-2 hours. I am at a loss of what to do. We have bought a new swaddleme that goes up to 22lbs but she can just break out.

ilovechubbycheeks · June 2011

I know! Ugh! I might try just swaddling one arm and then swaddle with both arms out...........Good luck.

juliane2004 · June 2011

Try the escape proof swaddle. I like it because it uses regular blankets of any size!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4VdZxwsu4

eturp · June 2011

juliane2004:
Try the escape proof swaddle. I like it because it uses regular blankets of any size!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4VdZxwsu4

This won't work for us. DS likes to have his hands by his face.Thanks though

j_luvs_r · June 2011

I bought the next size up Halo Sleep Sack Swaddle. DS is showing no signs of being ready to deswaddle so I just sucked it up. I figure if he suddenly doesn't need to be swaddled, at least I can use it for the sleep sack. You should be able to do the hands by the face with that too.

wannja01 · June 2011

j_luvs_r:
I bought the next size up Halo Sleep Sack Swaddle. DS is showing no signs of being ready to deswaddle so I just sucked it up. I figure if he suddenly doesn't need to be swaddled, at least I can use it for the sleep sack. You should be able to do the hands by the face with that too.

I looked everywhere for a Med size swaddle sleepsack and failed so I decided to try to deswaddle. He was breaking out of the miracle blanket it was small for him. He's about 18 lbs. I also noticed he slept in my bed on his back swaddle free while I got ready for work. He's been swaddle free at home almost a week though DC uses it for naps for now.

AggieBeth06 · June 2011

We were using a SwaddleMe (comes in large) but it's shrunk and doesn't fit. So I took a flannel receiving blanket and sewed my own little sleep sack. It's looser than a swaddle but it prevents the arm flailing that wakes him up.

GL! I say keep at it until he's ready. Squirming out doesn't mean he's ready.

jmelynnmarie · June 2011

The Woombie comes in bigger sizes! Big Baby is 14-19 pounds and Mega Baby is 20-25 pounds!! You can order big baby from BRU, but Mega has to be ordered through the company!! We also used the swaddle pod, tried to deswaddle, and failed!!! The Woombie is a bit more expensive but worth it in my opinion!! Good Luck!

eturp · June 2011

eturp:
DS will be 15 weeks tomorrow and we are still swaddling him in a swaddle pod at night. I've tried twice to put him to sleep without swaddling and he always wakes up 30 mins later screaming. I don't mind swaddling but the only swaddler he likes and that isn't too hot (we also have a woombie but the fabric is too heavy for how hot it is here) is sized up to 12lbs. DS is about 16lbs now and has stretched this swaddler to its max. For the past week or so when I go in his room in the morning he has either one or both arms out and the neck is squeezing him around his chest. So any suggestions for what to do? Should we cut him off cold turkey? I think I'm going to try swaddling him tonight with his arms out of his pod and not fully zipped up but he is so squirmy in his sleep I bet he'll be fully out of it by morning (if he doesn't wake up upset before then). TIA!
JmeLyn12: size isn't the issue for our woombie

erbear · June 2011

I tried for the past 3 nights and it was horrible, so I'm back to swaddling. We'll try again in a few weeks...

sbuxsweetie · June 2011

We went through the exact same thing you're going through around 4 months, and tried de-swaddling.. that was a fail. Now we're doing the escape proof swaddle to keep DS's arms still, and then a sleep sack over that. He's STTN now, and I'm afraid of de-swaddling again once he starts rolling.. yikes!

Dreamsicle23 · June 2011

Do it now! The longer you do it, the harder the habit is to break. It will be horrible for a few nights but after that life will be drastically better. Once DS didn't "need" anything special to sleep, he started sleeping 9+ hours straight each night and we've never looked back.

Jaylea · June 2011

DS is outgrowing his last SwaddleMe right now - the rest are all too small. but his hands wake him if he's not swaddled.

I'm going to get the Halo Sleep Sack with swaddle today if I can. It goes up to 18 lbs (DS is almost 15) and we can use it as a sleep sack once he's ready to be done.

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