How long to break the swaddle habit?

We've been swaddling the boys since birth. Up unitl a few weeks ago they seemed to love it. Luke started to fight to get out and we were getting up 3-4 times a night to reswaddle...then it got to the point he just hated. James seemed to be more content with being swaddle but he too fights to get out in the night. Two nights ago I decided to stop swaddling. Luke loved it and slept great...James can't seem to sleep. His arms just go crazy and he fusses with his eye close all night long. How long will it take for him to get use to it? I'm coming off a night with zero sleep and desperate for James to sleep. Do I keep swaddling him and just try again later or will it just take a few more nights for him?

If you could tell me how you did it that would be great!

Thanks!

 

I would keep swaddling your little one that isn't sleeping well. After the girls started fighting the swaddle (around 3ish months old), we stopped and they slept fine, which sounds like your one kiddo. Maybe try a tougher swaddle to houdini out of (miracle blanket). GL!

 

Maybe try a gradual approach like one arm out, then 2 arms out, etc. Or just try and keep James in it for a bit longer. Ours were about 3 months when they were breaking out of the swaddle and I just stopped doing it. They were terrible sleepers at that age anyway so I really didnt notice a difference.

 

My daughter sounds like James. She just can't keep still at all unless we swaddle her. Lately she was always breaking out, and every time I would reswaddle she would fight it and get mad. But leaving her go without it was impossible. She would fuss and fidget and wake up all night. Neither of us was getting any sleep. I bought the miracle blanket and now she's been sleeping through the night (which she had never done before) and she doesn't fight it as much. It doesn't solve the problem of how we can break her from swaddling, but I'm not sure she will ever be calm enough to be able to be unswaddled. My hope is once she is old and strong enough to sleep how she chooses, she will prefer to sleep on her tummy which will keep her ams from moving. Otherwise, I don't see any other way for her to be without it.

 

We stopped swaddling around 3.5-4mnths. DD just started scream when we swaddled her one day at a nap so we stopped. However prior to that we did swaddle occasionally with an arm out, and then two arms out - so it was kind of gradual. We also used the miracle blankets, which are much harder for them to break out of.

 

We just stopped swaddling about 3 or 4 weeks ago. We tried to stop swaddling around 3 months, but that didn't work, so we kept swaddling and finally my DS started to roll a lot, so he didn't like his swaddle, so we now have them in the sleep sacks. The first couple of nights were still hard for them (they weren't quite used to the idea yet), but now they sleep much better.

 

I was going to post this same question… as my dudes are too big for normal receiving blankets, my mom ran out bought fabric and made me 4 bigger blankets (and they are very cool camo and wwII fighter planes)…
No longer do I have to replug binkies… its reswaddle…
i'm gonna try one arm out

 

We stopped swaddling at almost 4 months. We did it gradually though, with one arm out, for at least a week. They always had broken out of it in the night and it didn't seem to affect their sleep, so when a heatwave hit, we went cold turkey and they were fine. They actually seemed to enjoy rolling around with their new freedom, and sleeping on their sides. But if your little one isn't sleeping well, he may not be ready. You could try the one arm swaddle for a while, or I suppose you could just let him figure it out, although it maybe a long few nights. I probably wouldn't be up for that!

 

Mine kept Houdini-ing out of the Miracle Blankets, and we didn't have anything bigger, so we quit cold turkey. They did great! I think they got so mad about getting cold at night once they'd come unswaddled that they were just happy to stay covered (with sleep sacks). We threw in the towel at about 4 months or so...

 

QUOTE(isis @ Jul 13 2008, 08:49 AM) [snapback]873973[/snapback]
We stopped swaddling around 3.5-4mnths. DD just started scream when we swaddled her one day at a nap so we stopped. However prior to that we did swaddle occasionally with an arm out, and then two arms out - so it was kind of gradual. We also used the miracle blankets, which are much harder for them to break out of.


What are miracle blankets?

 

That is the brand name of them - they are blankets designed specifically for swaddling, just google it and you will find them. They have a sack portion where the feet go, and then each side has long "wings" that wrap around the baby several times. Now saying that I think they say on the package good up until like 14wks old, so depending on how big your babies are they may or may not fit. I know several women on here have used them longer then 14wks.
We did use ours longer too, but only just to wrap the babies up so they stayed warm, not for swaddling purposes.