Talk to me about swaddling

[macksmom]

I am laying on my bed with DD3 now. Her arms and legs would not stop moving. I put my arm across her body (kind of holding down one arm) and she immediatly settled and fell asleep!

I have one of those velcro swaddlers but only use it after she has fallen asleep to prevent her from waking herself by these movements. Now i am wondering if i should put her in it while awake when i am putting her down to sleep? Does or has anyone done that? If you swaddled what was your method?

[preciousnd98]

I use one of those now and I put DS in his before he is asleep. He manages to wriggle his arms up and out (DD did this too - my kiddos just don't like their arms confined I guess!) but I think it helps settle him. I could never get the blankets to stay so the velcro works for me. I also used sleep sacks for DD and will most likely use them with DS. That way they stay covered but can move around a little. They worked really well with DD and her flailing arms.

[i.<3.cheesysmiles]

I used the miracle blanket with both boys. they were swaddled for a long time.

[katie]

I use either a lg muslin blanket or a swaddle me blanket (not one of the kind with velcro) to swaddle. My 10 month old is addicted. She usually breaks free after she's asleep but I still can't easily get her to sleep without swaddling first.

[macksmom]

Also wondering how this works with thumb suckers? She has been trying to suck her thumb since birth (it's SO cute ) and is still trying but I figure it will be a nice way for her to self soothe if she can get the hang of it....but if she is all swaddled up she wont be able to.

[sunkiss]

With both of my boys, I used and loved the Halo sleepsack/swaddler as well as the miracle blanket. Both kept their arms in nice and tight. I think I liked the Halo one a little better because it was fleece and a more simple to put them in. I must have tried just about all the different swaddle bankets with and without velcro and even a Woombie, but the other two are my faves by far.

[ibisgirldc]

used the aden + anais swaddle blankets and wrapped him in the usual way. (you can look up the folds in something like happiest baby on the block.) we did it frequently, but then, we found that it helped our son, who cried nonstop from 3 weeks to the end of the third month. (4th trimester) Made a huge difference for him with the other S techniques. We used the SwaddleMe swaddlersat night, from 3 mos until maybe 9 mos and graduated to the sleepsacks. But we if we needed swaddling during the day, we used the aden + anais ones. (Adorable, too. still use them as blankets for him in the warm months.)

No idea about thumb suckers. My son never did that; just used pacifiers til he was 6 mos or so.

[KC's wifey]

I just used a regular baby blanket to swaddle my babies, until a friend gave me a SwaddleMe blanket, which was nice. It is comforting for some babies to feel wrapped up and cozy. If you want her to have one arm loose so she can suck her thumb, you might try swaddling with a blanket and tweaking it so it goes under one arm but still cradles the rest of her body? I haven't tried it, so don't know if it would work. But you might get more flexibility with a regular blanket if you wanted to try something like that.

[Adhafera]

I use either an aden + anais swaddle blanket, or sometimes a swaddleme velco wrap, but DS flails around a lot in his sleep too. He usually sleeps with his arms up above his head, lol, so I usually just leave them unswaddled and wrap the blanket around under his armpits. I usually swaddle him when he's kind of groggy, not completely asleep, but almost there.

[pumpkinseed2011]

We started with the A&A gauze swaddle blankets until DD could wriggle her arms out. Then we got the SwaddleMe's that velcro and that was an amazing sleep for DD. She would wake if she startled so swaddling to put her down, right away, became our answer. Pretty soon, like by 4 1/2 months, she was wriggling her arms out under the velcro. She still slept sound. Stopped swaddling once she was rolling over. Swaddling was an amazing find!

[froggie83]

i swadddled while completely awake but ready for bed. i would leave one arm out so she could have her thumb if she wanted it

[Racegirl766k]

I use the swaddleme blankets with the twins and they love them. I put them in the before going to bed at night.

[sparks3]

I use A&A, and we also have a flannel blanket that we bought off of the Mom's on Call website. It's HUGE...much bigger than the receiving blankets you find in the stores. You can also make them, and I think it gives the dimensions of theirs on the site. I know you're in a cooler climate.

When Libby started sucking her thumb, I started swaddling her with an A&A (thinner material) with her arms up (elbows tucked), and then putting her in a swaddleme for extra tightness so she wouldn't break out as easily. That was up until a month ago, though. She just sleeps in a sleep sack now.

How cute that S sucks her thumb.

[Dreya]

We used the swaddle me wraps with both the boys and yeah that was totally my method for getting them calm. Take crying baby, swaddle baby, stick boob in baby's mouth - done usually.

I found out that Amazon sells the blankets that they give you in the hospital though so #3 will be getting those because those things hands down make the best baby burritos out there imho. I did hear the A and A blankets are fantastic tho.

[macksmom]

I think I saw the A&A blankets in Target but you had to buy a pack of 4 I think. I also find them a little overwhelming because they are so big!

The velcro one seems to work well for us. Last night I tried just as I put her down and it was too much - she was too constricted but once she was more relaxed it totally helped her to sleep. Will try again tonight

Still not sure how to do the thumb access. It's hard to bend her arms and get her in there but that would probably be the best position....

[preciousnd98]

I will try and take a picture to post of Harrison in his velcro blanket - he bends his arms up and puts them where he can use his hands to balance the paci in his mouth (he is still too small to keep it in there). His hands are right near his neck so his arms are still somewhat constricted, but he has use of his hands. I'm not sure if that description makes sense, so hopefully I can get you a visual today! lol

[ibisgirldc]

they're big b/c they're sized for swaddling... and at any size. I think there may be instructions in there, but you fold over one corner before you place the baby on it and then start to wrap n tuck. b/c they're gauzy (sp?), they're breathable and light. They're also big enough to use as blankets. Four gives you plenty so you don't have to wash every day. (I think we had 4+ SwaddleMe's too.)

[preciousnd98]

photo-28.jpg

This isn't in the swaddler, but you can see how Harrison puts his hands when he is in the velcro blanket as well. He puts them right up by his chin so he can "hold" his paci, so if your DD would be comfortable like this she could maybe have access to her thumb?

[runningmomofmany]

Attachment 9519

This isn't in the swaddler, but you can see how Harrison puts his hands when he is in the velcro blanket as well. He puts them right up by his chin so he can "hold" his paci, so if your DD would be comfortable like this she could maybe have access to her thumb?

This picture is so sweet! I wish I had a tiny boy now

We were taught in the baby classes we took for foster care that you weren't supposed to swaddle babies hands. I dont remember all the reasoning behind it, but "they" think it is better for then developmentally to have they hands free.

[ZsaZsa]

We used the Aden and anias blankets, ones from the hospital, sleep sacks, and swaddle me's. they loved them in the beginning then started breaking out so slowly we transitioned out of them- a week feet free, a week one arm and then a week the other arm.
I read that if you want them to learn to self soothe ( usually) with a thumb that of course they can't be swaddled when working on that. Mine still have their hands unfree in their nighties... But hoping they discover their hands and how to work them- when that happens ill pull back the finger covers on the nighties! ( this is the plan atleast).

[mla]

I used the A&A swaddlers when the babies were itty bitty, but it wasn't long before they could break out of them. Then I bought the Halo swaddle sleep sacks (I liked them better than the Swaddle Me swaddles because they breathe better and they had the sleep sack incorporated better, imo). I would swaddle them and then put them down to sleep. They fell asleep on their own that way. Of course, now that swaddling's out, we're starting some sleep training because they were no longer able to fall asleep on their own. They're getting better at it, though.

[preciousnd98]

This picture is so sweet! I wish I had a tiny boy now

Awww, thanks!

[macksmom]

Attachment 9519

This isn't in the swaddler, but you can see how Harrison puts his hands when he is in the velcro blanket as well. He puts them right up by his chin so he can "hold" his paci, so if your DD would be comfortable like this she could maybe have access to her thumb?

Adorable!