I have a baby boy who just turned 5 months old. We have always swaddled him at night, and currently he is "sleeping through the night". I put that in quotes because he sleeps for at least 6 hours straight a night. Some nights it is 6 other nights it is 10, but usually it is 7-8 hours (He does sleep at night in his own room in his crib). During the day, we let him sleep arms free, or I babywear him. When he naps with his arms free (in his crib, or playpen), he is a "cat-napper" and sleeps for 15-20 minutes. When I babywear him (I have a wrap and a sling) he naps for 1-2 hours. We have recently tried having him sleep at night arms-out unswaddled, but he kept waking up (3-5 times both nights we tried). I want to know if any of you other mamas swaddled you child this long, and how you transitioned to sleeping unswaddled. I want to make sure that keeping him swaddled this long is okay and I am not going to "stunt" him in any way. He does not roll over, but he does push himself up on his arms and scoots (a little, but usually backwards). He also can sit on his own but when he gets tired or sees something he will tip over to his tummy or back to get it. Also, he seems to like being swaddled. He does not fight it at all, which makes me wonder if I should just keep doing it until he doesn't want me to do it any more. Your thoughts?
You already have a lot of responses (and I didn't read all of them), but swaddle as long as you can! I did with my daughter until she just kicked off herself at night. Nothing wrong with it at all!
:o)
I was still swaddling my girls at 5 months. It was harder to keep them in the swaddle but I continued it until they didn't need/want it anymore, which was probably a few weeks or so later. I don't think there is anything wrong swaddling him at this age, he will stop needing it when he's ready and it could be soon.Good luck:)
I would swaddle as long as you can! My son would never allow me to swaddle him and I swear it has affected the way he sleeps now... no blanket, tosses and turns... etc.
My babies won't sleep well unless they are either on their tummies or swaddled. Since he can push up, you might try letting him sleep on his tummy and see how it goes... it takes away the free fall startle reflex that wakes them up when their arms flail. good luck...
My husband and I swaddled our first child till 6 months when a blanket could no longer contain her. Swaddling at night is not harmful. Sounds like your little guy is developing normally, so don't worry about it. Our first is 3 1/2 years old now and a bright, ball of energy, normal and healthy in every way. It's hard to believe we ever wondered if we'd be still swaddling her as a teenager! R., married midwife mom of 2.
Do it until you feel it's time to stop. If your son likes it and it helps soothe him to quality sleep, why stop? According to "The happiest baby on the block" (read it or watch the video- it saved our lives!), it's fine to swaddle up to a year or more.
I too have a 5month old, and while he no longer swaddles, I know how valuable that quality sleep can be.
Good luck :)
Wow, You are the first mom that I have heard that has swaddled her kid past 2 or 3 months. I kept both my girls swaddled until they could break their arms out which was at about 5 or 6 months. I do a really tight swaddle making it impossible for them to break free. My second daughter did not transition well to sleeping without the swaddle. When she started breaking her arms out I quit swaddling. She wouldn't sleep more than 30 minutes. So after 2 nights of hell, I decided to try and just swaddle her bottom half......from her lower chest down.....with her legs curled up just like regular swaddling. I figured that maybe if her legs didn't flail around she might sleep better. It worked. So she was swaddled that way for another 3 months. When she really started getting mobile we ended the whole swaddle and she slept fine. With your son, I would be concerned that if he can roll over while being swaddled he might not be able to free himself and he could be in trouble....not to scare you......I tend to be very cautious . But at this point, 5 months of swaddling, he probably won't be happy with cold turkey . So give the lower half a try and see how he does. Sounds crazy but it worked for me.......sorry for the long story...good luck
Hi C.,
I too swaddled my lil man! My daughter however wanted NOTHING to do with it lol. My son is 9 months now and I believe I stopped swaddling him around 4-5 months. This was purely his choice though, because he would kick out of swaddles that they weren't even supposed to be able to kick out from lol. I used the miracle blanket with him. =) I don't see anything wrong with providing your child comfort while he sleeps. I would ask his pediatrician because I don't know all the facts on this. When he goes in for his 6 month well baby check I would mention it and see what his Dr. has to say. If it can't hurt him then why stop if he loves it so much? I have a friend who's oldest daughter was swaddled until 10 months! I don't know if she asked her Dr about it, but I would if you are curious.
Hope this helps and congrats on your lil one! =)
Hi C.!
I say go with what works. My son was swaddled until about 6 months old. Then he started pulling his arms out at night. Soon he would kick the whole blanket off. I don't think you are stunting him at all. If you're really worried about it (once I get something in my head...I worry about it a lot), ask his pediatrician. Nothing better than putting your mind at ease!
C.,
Your son has only been out of the womb for 5 short months.
Check in with your inner loving mamma. Now, ask yourself, what does my son really want and need right now? Is he healthy and growing just fine? Am I placing judgments about swaddling a 5 month old, or concerned about what other parents do? What do I really want to do?
I think if you feel your answer, you'll know the right thing to do for your son.
Happy parenting.
In peace,
A.
mom of 4. Birth and Parenting Mentor
www.birthingfromwithin.com
My son was a swaddle sleeper til around 5 months when I decided I probably shouldn't do it any longer. I just tried putting him down without it one day to see if he would sleep without it and he did! I did however turn to the Halo sleep sacks at night which I still use and he is 15 months now. Keeps him secure and cozy. I don't think there is a rule on how long, I remember asking my Ped the same question and he said as long as the baby allows for it.
Swaddling is wonderful for an infant, and some children continue to like it, like your son. However, I believe it is best to let his arms free to learn to crawl, etc. I don't think it's too late, but I would gradually lessen the tightness of the swaddle until it is loose - a little at a time, and he will like that, too.
Hi, I swaddled my son until I couldn't keep him swaddled anymore. He slept so great.
When we decided to transition him out of the swaddle, it was a tough few nights. He hated being on his back unswaddled and would scream and flail his arms, so we put him on his stomach and he slept much better. We had about 4-5 tough nights during the transition and we just stayed with him and rubbed his back until he finally felt comfortable without the swaddle.
I would say that if he likes being swaddled and doesn't roll over, then let him be for now.
Good luck
OK C.. I am one of those people that believes 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Let your son decide when he doesn't want to be swaddled anymore. As for stunting his growth, you don't have him swaddled 24/7, only at night. He will be getting plenty of stretching and moving around once he is up in the morning. You said yourself that he sleeps in the daytime without being swaddled and moves around by pushing himself up on his hands and sitting so he is not stunted. He just feels safer and more comfortable to be swaddled at night. I actually think this is kind of a good way for him to know that 'swaddling = bedtime'. Swaddle him for as long as he wants to be swaddled, he will soon let you know when he has had enough.
Good Luck. S.
Swaddle all you want! My son would only sleep swaddled, and it was a little tough "weaning" him of it. He fought his way out by morning most of the time - but slept so much better if he wasn't flailing his arms. I don't think there is any problem with it and he will let you know when he is tired of it! We also used those blankets that wrap around and have velcro - wonderful invention! Some of our friends thought we were weird for wrapping him up like a burrito but it worked for him!
I swaddled my son until 8 or 9 months when I couldn't get the blanket to stay on him anymore. Swaddle him as long as he wants to. There shouldn't any problem with his growth because he wouldn't be doing anything while he is sleeping anyway. My son has not been stunted with his development at all. Once I stopped swaddling him I did start putting him on his tummy to sleep (or he would just move himself that way!) because he would sleep so much better.
Your son sounds like he is right on track for development so I wouldn't worry about that. Being a mom sometimes you can't just help but worry so check with his Dr to see what he says, but I could see how there would be a problem with it. Good luck!
If he stays in the swaddle, and it's just at night, the upside is you all get sleep, and I can't see much downside. We kept our son swaddled until about 4.5 months, at which point he was capable of taking his hands out and turning over, while still inside the swaddle (and the sleep positioner!). The pediatrician said we had to stop, and take everything out of the crib. But that adding in a bumper so we didn't wake up when he tried to stick his limbs out the slats was an excellent idea ;-)
I did this for my son until I couldn't find anything to fit his big body... I think around 7-8 months! It hasn't done any damage! So I think as long as your son seems to sleep better swaddle him! Besides he needs the sleep to grow!! And you need the sleep too!!! :)
