Going cold turkey on the swaddle, your experiences?

[aliss]

Philippe can now roll over so we're going cold turkey. I didn't do this with my first (I left one arm out at this stage) but then it took TEN MONTHS and I'm not interested in that again.

Your experiences?? He's quite a hand sucker and it keeps him awake constantly. Urgh...

 

[AllyTiel]

Once she started breaking out every night we stopped cold turkey as well and it went great actually. She started sleeping better. She also sucks her hand, and uses it to go to sleep at night now. I wondered how she could sleep with all the loud sucking sounds but she learned to lol.

 

[erikab922]

We use one of these when we feel LO needs a bit more comfort, it's a good transition: https://zipadeezip.com/

 

[_Nell]

We stopped because LO was finding waking up swaddled so stressful and getting in a real state, it was heard because she has jittery arms that move almost constantly and stop her getting to sleep. First we swapped to an arms up swaddle but ditched that after only 1 night as being able to move but not access her hands irritated her more, so we just went cold turkey.

2 weeks on i'm pleased it's gone, she self settles fine, sleeps 8 hours and wakes up happy and settled in her cot - she lies there a good 45 minutes until it's getting up time!

The only thing i've found is she has to go to bed relaxed, if she's over tired her arms are still a problem and I have to sort of use the blanket to help restrain them a little while i calm her.

 

[lomelly]

I also got a zipadee zip, it worked great!

 

[polaris]

We went cold turkey on the swaddle just after Christmas (so about four months) because her sleep was so dreadful (waking every hour) that I figured it could only get better. Actually it did get a bit worse because as the PP also commented, it is now harder for her to settle to sleep because her arms still tend to flail a bit if she's overtired. When she was swaddled she self-settled maybe 80% of the time and since losing the swaddle I would say that it is more like 50% of the time. Other than that, her sleep didn't change but she seems happier unswaddled most of the time.

 

[readytotry]

Cold turkey at 2 months into sleeping bag. No problems at all, and so much easier not having to swaddle all the time.

 

[aliss]

I already gave in!! Argh, on nap 2!! Maybe I need a grobag??

 

[Twister]

Stalking as I'm starting to think about ditching the swaddle, fed up of having to re-swaddle every time LO wakes in the night but her arms are all over the place if I don't.

 

[megangrohl]

We did it until 6 months I believe, then cold turkey stopped it. It was hard but a week of less sleep and she adjusted quite well. She was ready though, we tried earlier and she wouldn't have it so we waited a bit longer.

 

[Indi84]

I've bought one if those zipadees, all the way from the UK because he just can't sleep without his arms down. I tried him in it yesterday, but I think I need to wait till about four months, of he has any arm movement at all I've had it sleep wise.
If he starts to roll though I'll put him in it and struggle through!

 

[_Nell]

Aliss - I have a grobag and it doesn't really help with the arm problem at all tbh.

I've got to say my LO had the worst arms, the hospital told us she had the jitters from an underdeveloped CNS and I was really worried but she did manage it so i'm sure your LO will to - he's clearly a smarty pants to have figured rolling so fast
I almost feel mean for swaddling my LO at all now, as since un-swaddling I've realised she uses her hands to self soothe quite a bit by rubbing her eyes and cheeks.....so there are perks, she wakes and re-sleeps in the night now with no help at all from me at 12 weeks

 

[lovie]

We had to stop using our swaddle blanket at 4 weeks because our baby was really ill with rs virus and we were in hospital, he had a high temp and they advised us not to swaddle.

The 1st couple of nights we took shifts to hold him, this was because he was so ill not because of the lack of swaddle blanket.

When we got home we bought him an IKEA sleepingbag, he loves it and sleeps really well in it.

Since we got the sleepingbag our baby has slept really well, he wakes once every night for a very quick breastfeed and then goes back to sleep

 

[erikab922]

We had to stop using our swaddle blanket at 4 weeks because our baby was really ill with rs virus and we were in hospital, he had a high temp and they advised us not to swaddle.

The 1st couple of nights we took shifts to hold him, this was because he was so ill not because of the lack of swaddle blanket.

When we got home we bought him an IKEA sleepingbag, he loves it and sleeps really well in it.

Since we got the sleepingbag our baby has slept really well, he wakes once every night for a very quick breastfeed and then goes back to sleep

I have to say, the Ikea sleeping bags are the best we've tried.

 

[Stacey_Ann]

I was too much of a wimp with Jacob to go cold turkey lol!

@ Twister:
We used an arms-up swaddle (love to swaddle up UK) and its been fab as a transitional tool.

We started using the arms up swaddle after he consistently broke out of his swaddle blanket, and this past week I've suspected he's ready to go completely swaddle free as he fidgets against the swaddle a lot whilst he sleeps.

Tonight is our first night swaddle free and so far it's been painless.... We shall see!

Xx

 

[charlie15]

we went cold turkey when she was 10 weeks but that's was because it stopped doing it's job, so rather than calming she went balistic! so we put her in her grobag and she's fine. She used her fingers now too but seems to help her sleep.

 

[lovie]

We had to stop using our swaddle blanket at 4 weeks because our baby was really ill with rs virus and we were in hospital, he had a high temp and they advised us not to swaddle.

The 1st couple of nights we took shifts to hold him, this was because he was so ill not because of the lack of swaddle blanket.

When we got home we bought him an IKEA sleepingbag, he loves it and sleeps really well in it.

Since we got the sleepingbag our baby has slept really well, he wakes once every night for a very quick breastfeed and then goes back to sleep

I have to say, the Ikea sleeping bags are the best we've tried.

They are great and so cheap! You can have a few so when they need washing it isn't a panic to dry them before bed time

 

[pompeyvix]

I didn't think we would ever be able to stop swaddling. As soon as she was swaddled she fell asleep,bliss.

When she is left free, her hands constantly rub her face and more spcifically her eyes, so she is kept awake.

But one day (new years eve to be precise) so went crazy when swaddled, it was weird. She screamed and screamed, so we hesitantly removed it and put her in a sleeping bag.

Her hands were still all over the place and she still sometimes wakes herself up by rubbing her eyes, BUT on the whole she sleeps fine without it.

You just gotta go for it, you may be pleasantly surprised

 

[Twister]

Right, her first nap of the day and I've decided to test the waters and put her in a sleeping bag. It's going ok so far, she's currently in her basket, she was babbling away but has quietened down now. The only problem is she keeps pulling out her dummy and replacing it with her thumb but she doesn't realise she has to keep her hand there and so calls out until I put the dummy back in:dohh

Eta: she fell asleep eventually, then oh decided to call from work to ask if we were having pancakes later and she woke up so I've got to start all over again pissed isn't the word.