No swaddle + cold turkey = success!

Lisa Frank · August 2011

I've been waiting a few days to post this but....

My baby is officially swaddle/miracle blanket-free!!

I had been testing it out with her at naps since about 10 weeks and it was always a fail. She started daycare a few weeks ago and they are huge on swaddling, but my gut (and her ability to almost roll) was telling me to stop. So, on Monday night, I did. No swaddle. She woke at 9:30, took the paci and then woke again at 3 to eat. Up for the day at 7. A couple of nights ago, we got a 9 hour stretch out of her.

If you are on the fence about it, and trying to quit during naps (but have a good night sleeper) I would try at night.

Success! I think she's sleeping better than she ever has (could be weight/age related, but I'm thinking that she just needed her hands!)

kacelle · August 2011

Hmm...every time we've tried to put her down swaddle-free, it's been a nightmare. She wakes herself up constantly, and she hasn't found her thumb so she just munches on her whole hand and that wakes her up too. She sleeps 8-10 hour stretches most nights, and I'm really not ready to mess that up!

Lisa Frank · August 2011

kacelle:
Hmm...every time we've tried to put her down swaddle-free, it's been a nightmare. She wakes herself up constantly, and she hasn't found her thumb so she just munches on her whole hand and that wakes her up too. She sleeps 8-10 hour stretches most nights, and I'm really not ready to mess that up!

Yeah, I wouldn't mess with that either!!

eawebster · August 2011

kacelle:
Hmm...every time we've tried to put her down swaddle-free, it's been a nightmare. She wakes herself up constantly, and she hasn't found her thumb so she just munches on her whole hand and that wakes her up too. She sleeps 8-10 hour stretches most nights, and I'm really not ready to mess that up!

I could have written this myself. I wish our Ceci didn't have to be swaddled, and I'm terrified of the day that comes.

Lisa Frank · August 2011

You know....I was scared of the day as well. Watching her almost roll on her mat made me realize we were closer than I thought to the de-swaddle. I was pleasantly surprised, though. You might be too!

happybride14 · August 2011

DD gets out of her swaddle every night and continues to sleep. i've gotten up to use the restroom at 3 am and she's spread out with her arms above her head and the blanket is in a ball below her feet. she'll eventually wake up around 7am. maybe i could try putting her down without swaddling her.....? i'm afraid! LOL.

Lisa Frank · August 2011

happybride14:
DD gets out of her swaddle every night and continues to sleep. i've gotten up to use the restroom at 3 am and she's spread out with her arms above her head and the blanket is in a ball below her feet. she'll eventually wake up around 7am. maybe i could try putting her down without swaddling her.....? i'm afraid! LOL.

She's so ready! Try it!!

pinkflipflops44 · August 2011

we very rarely swaddle at naps, only when she cant be calmed or is overtired, but i dont see us ditching it at night yet because while she loves sucking on her hands it wakes her up every single time. maybe when she has a bit better control over it ha.

Lisa Frank · August 2011

pinkflipflops44:
we very rarely swaddle at naps, only when she cant be calmed or is overtired, but i dont see us ditching it at night yet because while she loves sucking on her hands it wakes her up every single time. maybe when she has a bit better control over it ha.

I thought the same thing. Those hands are always in the way. But I think that trying at nighttime was the key.

mellydawn84 · August 2011

I don't swaddle for naps but still do for nights. He does well at night with the swaddle, 5-7hrs the first stretch.

I still have him in the bassinet though in our room so his little hands hit the sides if his arms are set free. Are you in the crib now? I'm wondering if I should just wait until he's in the crib, or if I could make it work now. He's not ready to roll yet (so I think, now that I've said it he'll roll tomorrow...) I should just suck it up and try... it has to happen one day

CanuckFan03 · August 2011

Yayyyy!!!! Congrats! I tried this this week with our nap debacle... No luck. Are you using sleep sacs now?

LiluBee · August 2011

My first was swaddled for what seemed like forever. He didn't even really need it, but as soon as we crossed those pieces of fabric in the swaddle blanket he would yawn and close his eyes. So we know it helped soothe him. We would leave one arm out to help wean him from it and I wanted to say this was between 6 and 9 months. Now my 3 month old is the same way. It's like he thanks us for tucking him in the blanket but as SOON as it is time to eat, he pulls a hulk move and just breaks right through the velcro. So moral of my story..take their cues and help them. Maybe they want to be "tucked in" and warm and cozy to help them sleep but just like us, they want the freedom to change positions and stretch out during the night.

Lisa Frank · August 2011

CanuckFan03:
Yayyyy!!!! Congrats! I tried this this week with our nap debacle... No luck. Are you using sleep sacs now?

Yep.

I never really used them with my DS, but like Lilubee said, I think it's a sleep cue for her to go in the sleep sack/swaddle.

Last night she got a hold of her hands twice and soothed herself back to sleep. Neither one of my kids liked the paci much and my DS is a thumb sucker so I won't be surprised if she does the same

Aniegbuna · August 2011

We did it cold turkey too and it took sometime for her to get used to sleeping without being swaddled (we only swaddled at night). I wanted to make sure that she was used to not being swaddled before I had to go back to work in September. What really helped her was laying her on her side using a rolled up small towel. I don't know why but it did. After a couple of weeks she has finally started to give me 8 hours of sleep which she never did when swaddled.

JuJuBe3 · August 2011

kacelle:
Hmm...every time we've tried to put her down swaddle-free, it's been a nightmare. She wakes herself up constantly, and she hasn't found her thumb so she just munches on her whole hand and that wakes her up too. She sleeps 8-10 hour stretches most nights, and I'm really not ready to mess that up!

This was us, but he started breaking out of the swaddle (Halo sleepsack with swaddle) every night and we took that as a sign he was ready, so now we one arm it. He still gets the other one out of the swaddle and then the hands are the issue. I just can't go backwards, so I'm trying to push on. My sleep has sucked for about a week, but it WILL get better. It.Will.

And congrats Lisa!

Want a personalized experience?

No swaddle + cold turkey = success!

Re: No swaddle + cold turkey = success!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards