One down, one to go
Some of you may know that I still swaddle my babies. Weird, I know. Most babies that are swaddled don't stay that way past 6 weeks or so. My babies are now 8 months old. They just slept so much better swaddled & fell asleep so fast so we continued to find new ways to keep them all wrapped up. Currently, I'm the only person who can swaddle them tight enough that they can't get their arms out.
I've stressed about this fact on many occasions. I know it's not normal for an older baby to be swaddled so I've tried several times to not do it. It was a disaster each & every time. One major pro towards swaddling is that I can put them down for a nap anywhere. And I mean anywhere, even on the floor. Bed to them is not their crib. When they get swaddled, they know it's time to go to sleep. The big con to swaddling them still is that I can't leave them with anyone when they'd need to be put down for a nap because they will wake up if they get their arms out.
Well Nathan has been sick & last Friday he was so darn tired I decided he'd sleep wherever. So I put him down in his crib with the swaddling blanket just wrapped around his body. It took him a while to fall asleep, but he did & he took a good nap. The first night I didn't swaddle him, he slept till 5 am, when he woke up screaming. So I swaddled him & he slept till 7am. The next couple of nights, he has slept all night without it. (Yippee!) It's good for him to have his arms out because 1) he can sometimes find his own binky & 2) if he wakes up early he can quietly play with his soft toys in his bed. This morning he even fell asleep in just 5 minutes. (Tip for moms: I often put one of them down for a nap in the pack-n-play so they're used to sleeping there. Then it's no big deal when we travel!)
Yesterday we tried not swaddling Lexie. Did NOT go well. I think she still likes it too much. Like Nathan, I hope the transition will be easy for her when she is ready. It's not the end of the world that she's older & still being swaddled. It's not hurting her. And as I've always said, a 5 year old is not going to want to still be swaddled. So I'll keep wrapping her up like a burrito until she's ready to be free. Don't call Child Services on me. I promise that she's fine.
I've stressed about this fact on many occasions. I know it's not normal for an older baby to be swaddled so I've tried several times to not do it. It was a disaster each & every time. One major pro towards swaddling is that I can put them down for a nap anywhere. And I mean anywhere, even on the floor. Bed to them is not their crib. When they get swaddled, they know it's time to go to sleep. The big con to swaddling them still is that I can't leave them with anyone when they'd need to be put down for a nap because they will wake up if they get their arms out.
Well Nathan has been sick & last Friday he was so darn tired I decided he'd sleep wherever. So I put him down in his crib with the swaddling blanket just wrapped around his body. It took him a while to fall asleep, but he did & he took a good nap. The first night I didn't swaddle him, he slept till 5 am, when he woke up screaming. So I swaddled him & he slept till 7am. The next couple of nights, he has slept all night without it. (Yippee!) It's good for him to have his arms out because 1) he can sometimes find his own binky & 2) if he wakes up early he can quietly play with his soft toys in his bed. This morning he even fell asleep in just 5 minutes. (Tip for moms: I often put one of them down for a nap in the pack-n-play so they're used to sleeping there. Then it's no big deal when we travel!)
Yesterday we tried not swaddling Lexie. Did NOT go well. I think she still likes it too much. Like Nathan, I hope the transition will be easy for her when she is ready. It's not the end of the world that she's older & still being swaddled. It's not hurting her. And as I've always said, a 5 year old is not going to want to still be swaddled. So I'll keep wrapping her up like a burrito until she's ready to be free. Don't call Child Services on me. I promise that she's fine.
Comments
I think my insomnia just might be due to the fact that I cannot swaddle myself!
And I'm with Courtney - whatever works!
Thanks!