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March 2015 Moms
mangomimosa
member
"Unsupervised swaddling" / SIDS risk
mangomimosa
member
I've found conflicting information on The Google -- is swaddling (correctly) ok overnight, or not? I've read that baby should be on back, on firm mattress, NOT swaddled except by some kind of secure sleep sack. This source said "unsupervised swaddling" was not ok. I've also read that (correct) swaddling REDUCES the risk of SIDS. What have you guys heard?? What are you comfortable with?
I'm an experienced swaddler, so I'm not worried about that, at least when he's a weak little newborn. STM's/babysitters etc -- do you think sleep sacks and/or Velcro swaddle wraps are necessary or safer than just a blanket? I plan on using 47" A&A blankets to keep him super secure, but can Ninja babies work out of those & wind up with blankets over their face?
I'm an experienced swaddler, so I'm not worried about that, at least when he's a weak little newborn. STM's/babysitters etc -- do you think sleep sacks and/or Velcro swaddle wraps are necessary or safer than just a blanket? I plan on using 47" A&A blankets to keep him super secure, but can Ninja babies work out of those & wind up with blankets over their face?
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Re: "Unsupervised swaddling" / SIDS risk
We had a ninja baby. The swaddleme's and sleep sacks didn't cut it for us and he would always escape, even in the A&A blankets with the "escape proof swaddle". I ended up buying some specialty stretch fabric at the store and making my own swaddle blankets and we swaddled for 6 1/2 months. That being said, he woke up screaming the minute his swaddle so much as loosened (and was up 10-15 times a night for 6 months), so "unsupervised swaddling" wasn't really a concern since we were in and out of there so many times during the night.
I get the danger though. If the blanket comes loose or covers the face I can see the concern. However, I still feel the chances of any piece of anything (clothing, arm, hand, mattress, whatever) hindering breathing seem like they would be decreased if your baby is properly swaddled.
So we plan on swaddling baby #2 for night time sleep unless he tells us otherwise!
For more on the "escape proof swaddle", see this video. It helped us tremendously when paired with the right blanket!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4VdZxwsu4
So glad to hear others have just used blankets. I freaking HATE the Velcro things!! I think we'll stick with plain blankets & switch to sleep sacks only when he's done with swaddling.
Mom to Carter (6), and Calianne (1).
Proud VBAC, natural birth, breastfeeding, cloth diapering momma!
Also, I have read up on these a bit and I definitely want one this go around. Its called an Ollie swaddle. Expensive, but with all the sleep/swaddle issues we had with baby#1, if a proper swaddle leads to more sleep those first several months, its priceless!
https://shop.theollieworld.com/
Yeah! I was just talking to my IBCLC friend about this. I was a postpartum nurse & strongly preferred hands down -- taught it to all my patients. My friend said hands up is important for self soothing & sensory exploration. Damn - can't find the link she posted. IDK how much I buy it, or care (bad mom?) -- I prefer hands down, might try hands up, but we'll see . This isn't going to break my baby.
We swaddled until she was able to roll (you have to stop then, or they could suffocate) and plan on doing the same if this LO is a ninja too.
@mangomimosa, I agree, if it's not for safety reasons and just for self-soothing and whatnot, I'll probably stick with arms down. How can they really still self soothe or gain any sensory benefits unless they are breaking out anyway??
That is really interesting though. It's amazing how much different research is out there!
With my public health nurse background, working in maternal child health- research is divided on this subject. We recommend the sleep sacks that arms are free, other documentation states that swaddling until the age of (approx.) 2 months is safe, but when they start to roll regularly, it is no longer safe. The AAP does not currently have an official stance on it, but recommend swaddling only to 8 weeks and allowing the legs to have movement.
FTR, my son was not a fan of being on his tummy and we did not see him roll back to tummy until 6 months. He rolled tummy to back at 5 weeks, however. He never once wound up on his tummy in his crib or we would have stopped swaddling immediately. In fact, we weaned from the swaddle before he learned to sleep on his tummy but once he started tummy sleeping, his sleep improved greatly!
I do wonder sometimes if being swaddled hindered him from learning to roll to his tummy to sleep and lengthened our duration of sleepless nights. I plan to try to wean baby#2 from the swaddle much earlier! You live, you learn.
Slightly off topic but the book Happiest Baby on the Block is great for the first few months (it's a lifesaver actually!) and talks about swaddling and why babies like to be super tightly swaddled.
For SuzyQ and all March 15 loss moms
Also, do you find the baby to get too hot in the summer when swaddled?