Sunday, January 31, 2010

Operation Deswaddle = Fail

So we are in the midst of the Operation Deswaddle, which is turning into an epic fail.  On one hand Jack can't fall asleep without it.  It calms him down, and it most importantly prevents his hands from punching and scratching himself in the face.  On the other hand, he is beginning to fight the swaddle.   I have been attempting to deswaddle him for naps which just turns into a fight and a failed nap. I then tried the one arm swaddle which just ends in him scratching and punching with one arm instead of two.  We have tried the double swaddle, the escape proof swaddle; you name it we have tried it. 

I now wonder if we should stop cold turkey and have a few nights of awful sleep to get him off the swaddle, or if we should continue to swaddle him, even though he wakes up screaming at times trying to escape. Either way I think it is going to be a long battle; I don't see Jack giving up anytime soon.

If you have any successes on deswaddling your little one, I would love to hear them.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have you tried a sleep sack? There are swaddle ones that basically just swaddle the arms but still cover the legs. We transitioned with these and then just went to the plain sack. Worked for us :) Good luck! https://www.halosleep.com/

Anonymous said...

so i don't have any deswaddling tips cause my little guy only enjoyed it for a few weeks then he wasn't having it. i have enjoyed reading your blog, it reminds me of when my little guy was younger - he is not that much older than yours (he was born aug. 22) but you are right they grow up sooo fast it seems like ages ago. i tried to go back to work, but he didn't do the "breast to bottle" switch very well and just stopped eating while at the babysitter. my job was going to be really demanding right off the bat so i decided to leave after just one week and have been home with him ever since. he is almost 6 months now and is doing much better so i am trying to get back to work. anywho...great blog!! following from MBC, you can follow me at http://firstime-mom.blogspot.com

christina

Eniarrol said...

First of all...love you blog. My little guy was born 11/6/09, the swaddling thing only lasted about 1 month. The only quirky thing he likes is, his head has to touch the top of his bassinet, and he likes his ears covered. I guess it gives him a sense of placement and the ear thing is just for warmth (i'm thinking).

Just keep trying different things- there is bound to be something that will make nap/sleep time less of a struggle.

Karen said...

I never really swaddled by older child when he was a baby, but my October baby NEEDS it. I've tried naps wihtout it and she never sleeps longer than 15 minutes. I use the Miracle Blanket and it really helps keep her arms tucked into the blanket. I never had any luck with regular receiving blankets after 3 or 4 weeks. I'm hoping she can stop needing the swaddle by 4.5 months ... we'll see.

Unknown said...

If you do it cold turkey it does take a few days of screams and tears but then its done. thats what i had to do with my son. sometimes thats all that you can do. I really enjoy your blog Im following you from MBC, you can follow me at http://thedailywyatt.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Our lives are running parallel and neither of us know it!
We just went through this, it is tough. We did the cold turkey thing. Lots of punching and scratching and crying and knocking out of pacifier-ing. After a few days, she was fine. I on the other hand was a little tired and kinked up from sleeping on her floor but we all survived. Hang in there and good luck!!
Jen

Kim said...

I'm right there with you! I fear the day that my LO can no longer fit in a swaddler!

Tiffany said...

Last night was our first attempt to de-incline sleep positon and wrap around. (Think baby cacoon). I am not even close to being ready for deswaddle and my LO will be six months on Saturday. I think it's just one of those things that you have to just do - suffer the consequences for a few days (or a week) and then be done with it. Good Luck. I can't wait to hear how it goes. I will be trying soon.

Mrs. Z said...

I have a 3 month old we still swaddle too, so I had to check all the comments and see if anyone had new advice! I've done the 1 arm thing for naps, not brave enough at night yet!

Anonymous said...

My boy HAD to be swaddled. Sometimes we were great at capturing his arms, sometimes we weren't. People were in awe when it worked. He'd go from screaming to peace in less than four-seconds! But as he approached four months old, we couldn't count on keeping him swaddled. Like you, we tried everything. Eventually, we stopped cold turkey. We didn't let him sleep for long during his naps, but by the fourth night, his little body shut down. This was one of the best long-term decisions we've made for our family. Ever since the fourth night, we've had an amazing sleeper. He is sixteen months old now.

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