The Great Swaddle Escape!

We've been swaddling DD in a Velcro swaddle me blanket since she was born. At around 4 weeks she started STTN. Sometimes we will swaddle her for naps during the day; she will sleep longer during the day if swaddled....

DD is now 4 months & although she is a small baby, has been breaking free of the swaddle blankets bc she is getting a little too big for them so I can't do it as tight & therefore she is manuevering her hand out the top so it's by her face/mouth. At that point she is in her glory bc then she can suck on her hand & then she wakes up allthe way. She has been waking up around 5-6am lately (as opposed to her previous STTN wake up of 7-7:30am). Last night she woke up twice- 2am & 6am so it's getting worse!!! I don't know what to do- should I get that miracle swaddle blanket? That Is a bit bigger & had sleeve-type things that she won't Be able to get her arms out of. But if I get that blanket I'm sort of delaying the inevitable right? Should I bite the bullet now & de-swaddle her??? Or get the miracle swaddle blanket???? Also, I tried swaddling her with one arm out to see if that would do anything but she wakes up/chews on her hand, etc.

Re: The Great Swaddle Escape!

Having exact problem and not sure what to do either!

Re: The Great Swaddle Escape!

IMO I would get rid of it. My DS was doing the same at 3 mos and I got rid of the swaddle. It sucked for a few days, but he got used to it and now rolls to his side to sleep and now looks so much more comfortable. do whatever your comfortable with, but eventually the swaddling will stop . GL!

The Great Swaddle Escape!

I would probably suck it up and switch to a sleepsack at this point. We haven't swaddled DD since she was about 2 months but we never did it very tight bc she had issues with her hips so it wasn't a difficult transition. As for her hands, DD was huge on chewing her hands right from birth. By 3 months she had found her thumb which has been great for her. Maybe if you give it some times she'll figure out her thumb and it will be a good thing. I remember before DD found it she used to be restless while she tried to suck her fingers/hand/wrist. Once she figured out her thumb would stay in, she was in love!

The Great Swaddle Escape!

does your ped know that you still swaddle? most peds will recommend you stop by 3-4 months the latests. it can affect their hip placement the older they get. with that being said, I'd no longer swaddle her. I'd slowly start loosening the swaddle so she's used to being free. By 3months old, I had to stop swaddling because DD was trying to roll over.

Re: The Great Swaddle Escape!

DD will be 3 months next week, and has been wiggling her arms out of Swaddle Mes, Halo Sleepsack Swaddle, and the Miracle Blanket for weeks! We attempted not swaddling her at night, and she won't fall asleep! Same as your daughter, once her arms are out, she wakes up crying. We are trying to put her down for naps at times unswaddled so that she starts to get used to it, but then she doesn't nap well and wakes up in under an hour.

So, I don't have any answers, but you're not alone!

ETA: She doesn't sleep through the night to begin with, even swaddled, so I'm extra scared to put her down in just a sleepsack!

Message edited 9/8/2012 3:25:35 PM.

The Great Swaddle Escape!

We just went through this. DD started rolling so we stopped the swaddle cold turkey and that first night was torture- up every hour. The next day I went out and bought a sleep positioner and that was working for a while. Then I started to feel like she was outgrowing the swaddle so I knew it was time to break. We went a week with one arm out and that worked really well. Last night was the first night with both arms out but the swaddle still around her chest and she did just fine. We will do this for another week before switching her to the sleep sack. Also, with getting her arms out... DD did this too and we solved it by what I call the double swaddle. I put her in the velcro swaddle pod with a muslin swaddle blanket over that- she rarely broke free. Good luck!

Re: The Great Swaddle Escape!

I guess I'm in the minority, but I had DS swaddled till probably around 5-6 months. We rarely did it during naps partly b/c in daycare she wouldn't do it for some reason so we didn't at home.
We used the Swaddle Me. DS got too long for it so we bought the larger size. He wasn't in that too long but since he was such a good sleeper, I did t want to stop- especially since I could see he still would startle without it, and that would wake him.
He actually turned over with it on once and I freaked. But I spoke to my pediatrician and she said if he was sleeping well, there was no reason to stop and he would not suffocate himself. I don't think it was too long after that that we stopped, but the doctor never saw a reason we needed to, so we enjoyed it while we could.
He actually transitioned much better than we had expected so, maybe we were worried for nothing, or maybe he was just REALLY ready when we stopped.

The Great Swaddle Escape!

We eventually moved on to the sleep sack and he loves it.

Re: The Great Swaddle Escape!

if you want to continue to swaddle try the aden + anais swaddle blankets- they are a lot bigger, so you can wrap them better- if they end up not working, the blankets have soo many other uses!

Re: The Great Swaddle Escape!

Might be fine in sleep sack... but might still prefer swaddle... miracle blanket is the best

The Great Swaddle Escape!

Thanks ladies! My ped doesn't know/ask if we still swaddle but her hips should be ok bc the Velcro swaddle me is loose from the hips down; it's only tight around her chest & arms. I decided to try the miracle blanket (gonna get it tomorrow) bc I really don't think she is ready to be I swaddle & , to be honest, I like sleep. Hahahaaa!!!!! Il try that & see what happens. DD is also rolling over like crazy now (when she's awake) so now that I think about it, I'm nervous for her to roll over onto her stomach & not be able to get back. Oh well, I will see what happens with morale blanket & take it from there! I'll report back on my progress since some of u said u r having/had the same problem. Thanks again ladies! Ur responses really helped me

Edited to add: we have several Aden & anais blankets (that's what we originally swaddled her in before the Velcro ones we use now) & she started busting out of them. Maybe I will try the double swaddle (swaddle me with A+A on top) until I get a miracle blanket :)

Message edited 9/8/2012 10:08:58 PM.

Re: The Great Swaddle Escape!