When and How to Wean My Baby off the Swaddle

My oldest was swaddled til 4 months, but my youngest (now 9 months) was swaddled until she was 7 months! Busting out of the swaddle may just be a sign you need a better blanket, or it may be a sign that he doesn't need it anymore. What are you swaddling with? I found the Miracle Blanket to be the best swaddling blanket on the market.

You could try gradually weaning from the swaddle. Legs out, then one arm. I use sleep slacks to transition my kids from swaddle to blanket.

Good luck!

I had the same experience with my now 7 month old daughter. becasue she needed that tightness to fall asleep, we just got a bigger blanket to swaddle at least her upper body. You might want to try a sleeper (a pj with a bag) maybe this will keep him warm what he needs to fall and stay asleep. You can sew 2 swaddle blankets together.....or you can wean off by progressively leaving the swaddle little loose each time.

Good Luck

barbara

My son was the perfect baby and only slept comfy when swaddled. He slept this way until he was a year old. I suggest a light weight cotton blanket with some stretch.

Without this method he would have sudden movements which would wake him & keep him from a deep comfortable sleep.

He is now a beautiful 11 year old kid...:):)

Hi A.,

Your son is probably weaning himself from the swaddle blanket. How does he do going to sleep on his own without it? If you need some sort of "security" blanket like a swaddle, try the Halo Sleepsacks, you can find them at Babies R Us and they make several that are similar. It will keep him warm and cozy. My best friend used one forher daughter until she was only 1. It acts as a blanket for them as well, a wearable blanket I guess you could say.

I just looked at the BRU website and found a Halo Sleepsack and Swaddle...
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2409033

Here is the normal one... http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2610671

Good luck!

-Char

Hi A.,

I have three & can tell you each one was different with this. My first loved being swaddled & she is 14 now, & still tucks in at night (even in the summer). My other two liked it only so-so, & hated their arms in there ever! The point to the story is that your son may like it forever. Bigger blankets or those zip up blanket sleepers that look like sleeping bags could be an alternative. I would use larger blankets to wrap him in & try gradually to just "tuck" him in tightly so it feels like swaddling. Good luck & God Bless!

My son also had to be swaddled in order to fall asleep. At about 4 months, he started outgrowing his swaddle blankets. It got to the point where it was virtually impossible to contain his hands/feet inside the swaddle, so it started to defeat the purpose. One day my husband and I decided enough was enough. We just quit cold turkey. I was amazed at how he really didn't need the swaddle afterall. He fell asleep without incident. There were a couple of times he would fuss a little, but he eventually went down without much fight. Try it with your little guy. If he fusses too much, and is inconsolable, then wrap him up again and try it again during his next nap. Each time he'll probably go longer without the wrap and will eventually not need it all together.

We used the Kiddopotamus Swaddler, too, because we could tell that our son slept much better swaddled than not. It was great; he couldn't get his arms out of the velcro and his legs were not too scrunched up. I can't remember how long we swaddled, but well past four months. The best book I read on sleep was "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby," by Marc Weissbluth. Hope this helps!

Hi A.,
I have a 4.5 month old baby girl and I just weaned her off the swaddle this week.
First I started swaddling her with 1 arm out for a few nights, then I went to both arms out. I did that a few weeks and then I finally set her free:) It took a good week for her to sleep well without the swaddle. One night she woke up every hour. It took some time, but she is finally doing better at night. Now that she is not swaddled she is rolling over and sleeping on her tummy, so it was time for her to not be swaddled anymore!
Naps are still hard. She isn't napping as well, but I think it will take time. I swaddled her with one arm out for her naps until just a few days ago. She is having trouble adjusting to that especially when I put her down.
Good luck and congrats on your new baby!!

Have you tried those little things that cradle them (keep them on their side or back)? I don't know what they are called but they have padding on both sides that you can adjust the width of. Anyway, the security of being in between them may help. Both my kids did the same thing and you just learn to make do. Also, I used to tuck their blankie at the end of their crib and the sides so that they were underneath the blankie. Am

Both my kids were like this.

They would ONLY calm down when wrapped tight -

This is what worked for me... 1st you must find bigger blankets - I had a few that were bigger than average - they are hard to find they come rectangle shape instead of the standard square. Then (it sounds funny) you need two - first wrap him in the reg. swaddle w/ the first blanket then take the second one (folded long ways) and wrap him it (like a hot dog bun) being sure to get up around the shoulders tightly so that the blanket crosses in the back - then when you lay him down his body weight keeps it from coming undone. This worked for me for time between too big, to strong for regular swaddling and when my kids were ready to "be free". That started slowly w/ both of them - around 6 months they would need to be tight to fall asleep, but after a while I'd check on them and one hand would be out, but they hadn't woken up. I think about 7 months they stopped needing the swaddle to fall asleep.

Good luck

Swaddling is such a wonderful thing - I learned this with my second son. My first didn't need it. I also discovered the best swaddling blankets that babies can't break out of - I still wrap up my 8 month old with his arms free because it signals sleep for him. He does break out of it now...but at 4 months he didn't. So if you want to continue to swaddle I would suggest using aiden and anais blankets, they are great! They are big and a thin muslin cotton. You can purchase them at http://www.adenandanais.com/

I have a two month old,so I'm not a pro. My good friend advised me to go with my gut feelings,don't do nothing out of fear-babies will surprise you,always do things out of love and anything done 3 times in a row becomes routine. So just try unswaddling a couple of times,maybe you'll be surprised. Congratulations!

My daughter is now 4 months old. We had to stop swaddleing her at 3.5 months because of the same reason. She would break out of them...even the miracle swaddle! Anyway, we started by sleeping her with one hand out for a few days. Then we just but her in a sleep sack. It took her a few days to get used to it and had a bit of trouble falling asleep, but now she does great. We don't even use the sleep sack anymore. She still wakes up one or twice each night but usually just to eat. If she ever has trouble falling asleep, we let her cry for a few mintues to see she can soothe herself. We started to let her cry it out, the max for 15 minutes. Usually she will fall asleep between 7-10 minutes.
If this doesn't work, or I can't wait the 10 minutes I will sometimes go in to her room and rub her bum. That usually does the trick.

The Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg also has a method for this if you get a change to read her book.

Just because a baby is busting out of a swaddle doesn't mean that he doesn't need it. Mine busted out of the swaddle when he was just days old...and he was a tiny 5 1/2 pounds. It's just what he does while he's sleeping. It doesn't necessarily wake him up. Now he's 6 months and we only swaddle his arms because it immediately settles him and allows him to drift off after a nursing. We stopped swaddling his legs up tight months ago because it's not recommended in the Dr. Sears books. (Something to do with improper hip growth.) Now that he's a bit older, I can give him a quick reswaddle and a pat on the tummy when he wakes and that's sometimes enough. Most 4 month olds still need food, love and attention during the night and won't sleep longer than 4-5 hours. Congrats on your baby boy. Mine is the love of my life as well!

We swaddled our son for a long time with just one arm out. We also got the kidopatumus swaddler which he could not break out of. Good luck!

Hi A.,

I had the same exact problem with my son. He is now almost 7 months and still likes to be 1/2 swaddled. Around 4 or 5 months he was busting out of his swaddle and would wake up because his arms would be free. We thought about not swaddling him anymore but we figured we'd continue since it comforts him and puts him to sleep fast. In the middle of the night he would wake up. Then we'd wake up. It was very tiring. But we continued swaddling even though he would get out of it. Eventually they get more motor skills and are able to control their arms and legs they can sleep without being swaddled. Right now we are wrapping him and leaving his arms out and he has been fine. He still wakes up a little during the night but that is just how he is. It is tiring waking up alot with the whole swaddling thing but just know that it is temporary and he will let you know when he doesn't want to be swaddled anymore. Hope this helped! :)

Sawyer wasn't a swaddle fan - probably about 2 months, we would swaddle him but leave his arms out (he was always pulling them out anyway). By 3-4 months, he didn't want to be swaddled at all. You're probably at the right time to stop if he is moving around at night and busting out of the swaddle. Before you know it, he'll be rolling over and moving all around the crib anyway.

I am a first time Mom and I went through the same thing with my son. He would fall asleep w/ it and then break out of it and wake himself up. I tried the slow approach by trying to leave one arm out or just keep it loose but none of that worked. He would end up on his belly trying to get loose. Finally I just stopped swaddling him altogether and putting him down after his last feeding and letting him cry it out. He ended up learning to self sooth himself to sleep and break the swaddle at the same time. I did initially try to rock him to sleep without the swaddle and then put him down but he would keep waking up so I just had to let him figure it out and he did within 3 days. I did this at 5 months but if your son is braking out then he is ready to get rid of the swaddle. Hope that helps. Good luck.

I transitioned my son around this age too. It's amazing how strong these little guys are! I started by leaving one arm out of the swaddle. I used the Swaddle Me so it was really easy to just wrap it under one arm. I switched up the arms too, so he'd become comfortable with either one out. After a couple of weeks, I put him into a sleep sack. I kept one arm inside for a couple of nights and then just went for it. He had no problem. Hope this helps. Good luck.

I just went through this. My now 5 month old daughter loved to be swaddled but could break out of it since birth. We switched her to the swaddle me blanket (they velcro shut) and she was tight in it all night - and for all of her naps. She was so easy to put down as long as she was swaddled. Then aroung 3 1/2 - 4 months I was told to take her out of the swaddle because she "needed to learn to sleep on her own". We tried it all - cio, one arm out, cold turkey, you name it - it was the worst two weeks of my life and she never slept well without the swaddle. Then at 4 1/2 months, she just stopped needing it. I had to transfer her from car seat to crib one day and just left it off. From then on she has slept without it (but she does have a blanket sleeper on - one with long sleeves as she doesn't like to be cold). I think all babies tell you when they are ready. Don't fight it - it will not hurt him to be swaddled. But for your own sleep, you could get a swaddler that he can break out of and you will be able to sleep.

We swaddled til about 6 months and then he naturally weaned himself off. We thought, after 4 months, and him busting out of it that maybe we had to stop but he couldn't get through the night. So we made a bigger one out of a blanket and eventually he didn't need it anymore. Definitely don't worry about having to wean him. For us it was a natural progression.

Put him in nice comfy fuzzy jamies, the kind with feet and they are all one piece. The first week or two might be rough, but he WILL eventually get used to it. He is definitely getting too old for the swaddle. Also, both my kids were around 5 months old when we did the "cry it out" thing - BEST thing we ever did. I had to rock them for hours to get them to sleep. It took one night of 30 min. of crying, then the next night they remembered! They started crying, then immediately stopped. It's been heaven ever since. (My kids are 4 years apart but they both responded to the "cry it out" the same. The doctor even recommended I do that!) Good luck, and don't give in! He WILL get used to not having the swaddle very soon.

If he's busting out of them, it could mean he's ready to stop swaddling. We stopped swaddling my daughter at around 3 1/2 months because she'd wake up during the night and fight to get out of them. I woke up one time to find her in only her diaper, having kicked off the swaddling blanket and her pants! After a few nights of waking up with swaddling blanket only covering her middle, we gave up on it.

You could get larger blankets to swaddle him in. But eventually he will figure out how to get of that too.

What we did was to dress our kids in light PJ's and then zip them up in a Sleep Sack when they were able to get out of their swaddles. We did this with my son at 4 months and with my daughter at 3 months. It's just the normal progression of life at this stage. I took them a few days to get used to, but they did go back to their normal sleep patterns after that.

Dear A.,

What...(pray tell) is a swaddle????

C. S.

This is actually the perfect age to wean him off it. Start by leaving one arm out at night. When you feel he's okay with that, leave both arms out. Then just go without. He'll probably fuss a little more, but he should learn to calm and sooth himself before long. Besides changing the swaddler, do everything you normally do before sleep (ideally you're already letting him fall asleep on his own- if not, I can tell you from experience you should start sooner than later!).

According to Dr. Harvey Karp (author of "The Happiest Baby on the block") you can swaddle your baby as long as they need, it's not uncommon to swaddled 6 mo. old (I did for my DS) but usually by 9 months they don't need it any more. Check out Mircle Blankets, they were the only one's my DS couldn't get out of. http://www.miracleblanket.com/
C.

A.,
You have to try the sleepsac! Not sure if I am spelling it right. You can get them at babies r us. They have ones that come with a piece that velcros on to the sleepsac around their bellies that swaddles them! It is so cool and safe. They come in a fleece fabric and a cotton for warmer weather. I found this super helpful!!! Actually, once I discovered the sleepsac my daughter started sleeping 8 hours at night. She moved so much she would always kick out of her swaddling blanket. Good Luck!

listen to nicole- just because he wants to escape doesn't mean he doesn't need it. my daughter would not sleep unless she was swaddled, she would escape and wake herself up but would sleep soundly once she was swaddled again. i tried to quit at around 5 months but she would not sleep throught the night. i went against what everyone told me (everyone pressured me to stop swaddling- g-- forbid you swaddle a 6 month old!) and kept swaddling her. after all, if it made her happy and feel secure and allowed me to sleep, what was the harm? we swaddled her until around 7 months and she made the transition on her own- it was very uneventful as she was just ready. every baby is different and has their own schedule on when they want/need to do things. if you wait until they are developmentally ready (i am a teacher w/ a child development background) to do certain things, they will eventually "get it" and do it w/o struggle or pressure. we are often so pressured as mothers to have our babies keep up w/ other babies but we have to do our best for them and ourselves. congrats on your precious boy!

Hi A.,

I have a 6 1/2 month old boy and I still use this swaddle blanket, but I do not swaddle his arms, he is a big boy and about 22 pounds he is crawling all over his cirb in it and it keeps him warm to, wiht a blanket in the crib to keep him safe too.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265549

Good Luck