When do you stop swaddling???

[tessjs]

I have a nearly ten week old, how long do you swaddle for? what the age when you stop?

 

[bananaz]

There's no real rule about it. I say keep swaddling it's no longer safe or it's not helpful anymore, whichever happens sooner.

When my LO was teeny she slept in a rocker that prevented rolling so I was able to swaddle her until 5 months, at which point she was busting out of her Miracle Blanket multiple times a night. Some people are able to stop swaddling when their babies are much younger than that, though, and other people swaddle until 8-9 months. It just depends on the situation.

 

[iiTTCii]

I stopped when my LO was 2 weeks old and moved onto a sleeping bag.

 

[JessyG]

we stopped at about 4/5 weeks old but started again around 3 months when she discovered her hands and wouldnt stop waking up by rubbing her face!

 

[minties]

What bananaz said. That was 7.5 months for Thomas and 8 months for Sophie.

 

[nicksi27]

My DS is 7 month and i only STARTED swaddling a month or so ago. He used to hate it but now i swaddle him for his naps/bedtime and he goes straight to sleep its a godsend. If he wakes up too early in the morning i swaddle him and he goes straight back to sleep. Is this dangerous or something? dont know much about the safety aspects of swaddling

 

[Kikirose]

I stopped at 3.5 months when my lo started rolling, then again for 2 weeks at 4.5 months but stopped again for good when I found she rolled face down, slept like that for an hr and then woke up crying unable to lift her head! Stop before it's dangerous, I say.

 

[laila 44]

8 weeks old. We moved to a sleep sac and she slept full nights ever since! Swaddling until 8-9 months is bananas! By the baby stands up in crib and needs full mobility of limbs. That's crazyness, I never heard of such a thing lol

 

[Noo]

Once they are able to roll over you should stop swaddling. Also if your baby hasn't been swaddle since birth then it shouldn't be introduced at a later stage.

Health professionals in the UK don't recommend swaddling at all really and certainly not for a prolonged period of time.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24710090
https://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/10October/Pages/Swaddling-damages-babies-hips-expert-warns.aspx
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9138142/Health-warning-over-swaddling-babies.html

 

[Noo]

dupe

 

[JessyG]

oh really i didnt realise it wasnt recommended. the midwives in the hospital always swaddled B when she was born. I never swaddle her legs though she can always kick and bend her legs. i plan to stop once she can roll which i dont think will be long.

 

[minties]

8 weeks old. We moved to a sleep sac and she slept full nights ever since! Swaddling until 8-9 months is bananas! By the baby stands up in crib and needs full mobility of limbs. That's crazyness, I never heard of such a thing lol

When my babies are in bed, they are there to sleep. Not horse around walking and playing. That's for when they are awake!

 

[adrie]

My girl is 8 weeks, and we never really swaddled after the first few weeks to a month. Toward the end of that first month, we ensured that it was a much looser swaddle--almost mimicking a sleep sac I suppose, but with her arms free.

I actually read something that I REALLY agreed with in terms of swaddling that made me stop it around that time. It was in reference to the startle reflex and how some moms swaddled because their babies would startle awake and have difficulty settling in the night again. The point I agreed with against swaddling was that the startle reflex is natural and something each baby has to develop, and swaddling is in a sense inhibiting that from occurring, as baby's limbs are not free and also he or she cannot learn to calm him or herself down afterward and go back to sleep. I still awaken as an adult with the startle reflex on a rare occasion--just never realized that was what was happening.

I always put her down for naps and to sleep at night just with her onesie and nothing else, whether it is cotton or a fleece material. I think I might invest in an actual sleep sac as it would be bigger than my receiving blankets now.

 

[laila 44]

8 weeks old. We moved to a sleep sac and she slept full nights ever since! Swaddling until 8-9 months is bananas! By the baby stands up in crib and needs full mobility of limbs. That's crazyness, I never heard of such a thing lol

When my babies are in bed, they are there to sleep. Not horse around walking and playing. That's for when they are awake!

Yes but to swaddle an 8 month old is not advised. They need to have mobility of limbs it's also not good for their development. In the morning, babies of that age do stand up in their cribs when they are that age. Swaddling is only recommended for newborns really. Past 12 weeks it "can" hinder their physical development and fine motor skills.

 

[laila 44]

FYI. The standing up in their cribs is actually a milestone and not considered " horsing around".

 

[bananaz]

I actually read something that I REALLY agreed with in terms of swaddling that made me stop it around that time. It was in reference to the startle reflex and how some moms swaddled because their babies would startle awake and have difficulty settling in the night again. The point I agreed with against swaddling was that the startle reflex is natural and something each baby has to develop, and swaddling is in a sense inhibiting that from occurring, as baby's limbs are not free and also he or she cannot learn to calm him or herself down afterward and go back to sleep. I still awaken as an adult with the startle reflex on a rare occasion--just never realized that was what was happening.

That argument doesn't really make sense. The newborn startle reflex extinguishes on its own at around 3-6 months of age in normal children. It's not present in adults unless they have severe neurological problems.

 

[minties]

FYI. The standing up in their cribs is actually a milestone and not considered " horsing around".

They still had chances to do this. Nothing wrong with my childrens motorskills. Thomas was reaching for and holding things at 9 weeks, rolled at 12 weeks with confidence, crawled at 5 months, walked around holding furniture at 6 months, walked by 11 months. He was drawing pictures of ninja turtles at 2 and using regular lego at 23 months. He can build pretty complicated things now.

Sophie also walked at 11 months and she has great motor skills. She had her pincer grip at 5 months which surprised her nurse. She wasn't quite as fast as Thomas with rolling and crawling but that's down to her personality. She's deliberate at careful.

A loose stretchy bit of fabric snuggling their arms while they slept didn't hold my kids back. I'm very active with them when awake.

We never did the 'crib' (cot) thing with them really anyway as we mainly bed shared. Which I imagine is a whole other can of worms.

I also counted the use of a pekemoe as swaddling. You can google for a picture. It's just a giant square with a hole for the head. Not restrictive.

 

[adrie]

I actually read something that I REALLY agreed with in terms of swaddling that made me stop it around that time. It was in reference to the startle reflex and how some moms swaddled because their babies would startle awake and have difficulty settling in the night again. The point I agreed with against swaddling was that the startle reflex is natural and something each baby has to develop, and swaddling is in a sense inhibiting that from occurring, as baby's limbs are not free and also he or she cannot learn to calm him or herself down afterward and go back to sleep. I still awaken as an adult with the startle reflex on a rare occasion--just never realized that was what was happening.

That argument doesn't really make sense. The newborn startle reflex extinguishes on its own at around 3-6 months of age in normal children. It's not present in adults unless they have severe neurological problems.

We actually develop the reflex for a reason, and its main purpose is to learn how to correctly respond to stimuli. An infant and baby's ability to self sooth is important; not as if mom isn't there if need be.

Secondly, I don't have severe neurological problems and I have put two and two together that on a rare occasion, I think my mind is startled awake while in a dream state, and I attribute it to this reflex. I am no doctor, but to me, it makes sense. Surely I am not the only adult to experience such a thing.

 

[bananaz]

We actually develop the reflex for a reason, and its main purpose is to learn how to correctly respond to stimuli. An infant and baby's ability to self sooth is important; not as if mom isn't there if need be.

Do you have any sources for that? Based on the research I've seen the most popular theory describes the reflex as a vestigial trait from the days whem our prehuman ancestors had to cling to their mothers as young infants. I've never heard about it teaching babies "how to correctly respond to stimuli," but I'd be interesting in reading about it if there's new information available.

 

[Beadle]

I swaddled for about a week and then stopped, DD hated having her arms pinned to her so from the day she was born I'd swaddle her with her arms free and then a few days later she got into the habit of kicking her legs a lot so I stopped swaddling and just loosely wrapped the blanket around her lower half to keep her warm and now I don't even do that anymore. I never really saw a need to swaddle, my DD has been rolling onto her side since she was about 4 days old and I haven't had any problems or worries.