Sleep Advice Needed

autumnmichele · August 2013

About 3 weeks ago DD (now 18 weeks old) who had always been swaddled began struggling to get out of the swaddle (and sometimes actually getting out) and would wake up 8-10 times every night. Sometimes I would feed her but mostly, we would just rock her back to sleep. This went on for 2.5-3 weeks. I tried taking her out of the swaddle completely and transitioning her out (with one arm) but neither worked. This past weekend, I bought another swaddle that is a non-stretchy material. It worked for 3 nights, and we all slept great, just waking up around 4 am to nurse. Then, she began to get her arms out and started rolling to her side. Mostly because of the rolling, I have decided to discontinue the swaddle. I now have a sleep sack and have tried using that for the past 2 days for naps and night time and it has been horrible. Last night she slept ok for a 2-3 hours but then began waking every 30 mins. Ultimately, she ended up in bed with me. Today, naps have been bad too. I tried propping her up on her side so she would not roll back and wake but that didn't work. She has ended up napping in her swing which is not a habit I want her to get into.

So, any suggestions? Part of me says just to let her sleep in bed with me so we can all get some sleep but I certainly don't want to create a habit of doing that. Although she is not able to fully roll over yet, I have tried getting her to sleep on her tummy but she doesn't want anything to do with it. I just don't think what I am doing is working and am pretty exhausted! DD1 was a great sleeper so I really have no experience in this area. Any advice would be appreciated!

bibby32714 · August 2013

When the swaddle no longer worked for us for many of the same reasons we went with the Baby Merlin's Magic Sleep suit. It has worked for the past 2 nights. Keeping my fingers crossed that it continues to work.

autumnmichele · August 2013

So, with the Magic Sleepsuit when and how do you transition them out of that?

HML5382 · August 2013

Have you tried propping her mattress up? When DD1 stopped using the swaddle, we used the sleep sack and angled her mattress. We just rolled up a towel and stuck it under the one end, then gradually flattened it back down over the next few weeks. I think it cut down on the arm flailing enough that she wouldn't wake herself up.

bibby32714 · August 2013

The magic sleepsuit is designed to last until 9 months. Hopeuflly at some point between now and then she will develop some good sleep habits and it won't be such a struggle.

MISHIMISH3 · August 2013

It blew my mind to read this! My LO did this exact same thing, at this exact same thing. Her own movement would ultimately wake her. I agree also with the "bad habits" of falling asleep in swing and your bed. I would use the Bobby. I placed the U part under her bottom and the arms of it would lay on either side of her body. I would make sure if was snug. I also used rolled towels/blankets. Once she started completely rolling by herself, this issue stopped. LO is 6.5months now. All is good! Hope this helps?

lana22 · August 2013

i would ditch the swaddle. keep trying to put DD down awake. rock her till she's drowsy, let her fuss for a bit. if she starts wailing go back in, rock, repeat, etc.. my guess is after a couple rough nights she will get it, but like your first, both of mine are good sleepers so this has always worked for us. when my son started getting out of the swaddle he was waking up a few times a night, and the couple nights after we stopped using it were harder, but he got used to it and learned to fall back asleep on his own even with his hands smacking himself in the face

not sure if it's a full blown cry when she wakes every half hour, but i'd def leave her to try and fall back asleep and not rush right in to pick her up.

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