Sunday, May 17, 2009

To Swaddle or not to Swaddle???

When I read the book, The Happiest Baby on the Block, I was convinced that swaddling would make Katie a perfectly content little baby. So, I gathered up all kinds of big, square swaddling blankets and practiced, practiced, practiced. I quickly became an expert swaddler because Katie loved it! She slept great so we swaddled all of the time...it was our lifesaver. Well, as time has gone on I have been reading message boards where other moms are talking about when and how to wean your baby from the swaddle. Of course there were mixed messages with some people saying no later than 2-3 months and others saying why mess with someone that works. However, the key point was that they all said you would know when your baby was ready. Well, lil miss Katie is still being swaddled and I have no idea if she likes it or not! During naps, she cries when we wrap her up but falls asleep quickly. At night when I swaddle her she doesn't make a sound but when she wakes up in the middle of night she cries trying to fight her way out of it. And to top it all off, I think she is now teething which is also disrupting her sleep.

So, with that in mind and the advice from a couple close friends Jeff and I have begun the process of weaning Lil Miss from her swaddle. I started last week by having her nap in her swing with out her swaddle and it went well so I thought this might not be so bad.

That quickly changed when she spent a couple naps crying for an hour only to sleep swaddled for 25 minutes. Then this weekend we decided to stick with it swaddle one arm and then just let her cry it out. Well this is what happened yesterday morning:

I am happy to report that it got much easier after that first nap and she really only fussed for 5 minutes or so before happily falling asleep sucking on her fingers. Then night time rolled around and I figured I would go back to my Miracle Blanket and swaddle her completely. Well I don't know what happened, but either Katie didn't want to be swaddled, didn't want to sleep, or was teething. Whichever it was, she woke up at 10:45, 1:45, 4:45, and then she was up for good at 6:30. So, this morning I am drinking some strong coffee and hoping to figure my daughter out soon....To swaddle or not to swaddle...that is the question.

2 comments:

Jenn said...

I wish I could help. I also read "Happiest Baby" and used it for a while. But, Cameron stopped being swaddled at about three months because he would bust out.

MamaG said...

Was him busting out the way you knew he was ready to not be swaddled? And did you just stop using it all together? See, I can't tell if she likes it or not because she goes to sleep well with it but as soon as she wakes up she fights to get out of it.

 
design by http://www.simplyfabulousbloggertemplates.com/