Ladies! My baby girl is 15 weeks and doing great. She is smiley, happy, and in love with her daddy. During the day, we can hardly get her to sleep in her crib. Don't get me wrong - she naps very well, but she has to be snuggled up with one of us if she is to get out her whole nap. At night, she is swaddled from about mid-stomach down (she has always hated her arms being wrapped up), and lays down around 7:30, then gets back up around 11:00 for one last bottle (until about 6). Our problem is that she won't sleep for more than an hour at night without being wrapped up. We have experimented, especially in the early morning (she usually goes back to sleep for a while after her 6 am bottle), but she doesn't feel comforted and startles easily without her swaddle, then kicks around until she wakes herself up. Considering we can't get her to sleep in her crib much during the day, we can't try unwrapping then, either. Any advise about either problem. Pretty soon it's going to get "dangerous" when she starts rolling around because her legs won't be free! I'm a little worried about the swaddle issue (I have a feeling we are in for some sleepless nights to u train her) and I know my hubby, who watches her 2-3 days a week would love to get more done during the day than snuggle with our baby all day (not that I mind at all!!), especially since he works from home. Thanks for any advice!
Re: Baby won't sleep unswaddled!
We used the Merlin Sleepsuit as well and it was a lifesaver!
You can't "train her out" of a neurological reflex. The startle reflex is actually beyond her control, dear. Developmentally they do outgrow it, but swaddle until she starts rolling. Then she will be able to find a position that is comfortable after you put her to sleep on her back. Until then, if it isn't broken then don't attempt to fix it, IMHO.
Generally, I don't believe in Sleep Training before 6 months. I didn't sleep train at all. My Method is the Wait it Out and Meet their Needs method. The rest really does pass. Both of mine pretty much trained themselves and I didn't have to do much of anything. I still bed share with both, but that is because its a family preference.
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