When to stop swaddling - and how?

[COElizabeth]

How do you know when to stop swaddling? And when you do, do you just go cold turkey and take the blanket out completely? James seems like he really wants to suck his thumb or fingers sometimes and has gotten really mad about being swaddled and "breaks free." He seems to like to have the blanket there, though, to suck on or have tucked around his legs, but I worry about him suffocating in it. What did you guys do?

Elizabeth
Mom to James
9-20-02

[Momof3Labs]

Have you tried swaddling him with one arm free? Then he can suck his fingers/hands but still have the snug feeling around his legs.

Lori & Colin 9/28/02

[mamahill]

Oh goodness - we are the swaddling pros over here. Granted, we definitely did it longer than necessary, but it ensured many a full-night's sleep. We stopped a couple weeks ago (I posted something about FINALLY being swaddle-free) and Ainsleigh was 9 months! I guess it depends on the baby. We actually tried several times to stop, but she threw fits and would NOT sleep. But as soon as we wrapped her up, she quieted down and was out for the night. If he wants to bust out, you could wrap with one arm in, or with both arms out, and just the lower half of the body wrapped. Ainsleigh loves one particular blanket that she always sleeps with (it's a little smaller so we couldn't ever swaddle her with it), but she's strong enough to pull it off of her so she won't suffocate. Have you thought about introducing a lovie? I've tried and so far been unsuccessful (though I suppose her favorite blanket works), but others swear by them. Oh, and when we did finally stop swaddling at 9 months, we wrapped her loose for the first two nights. And I mean REALLY loose. We probably could have gone cold-turkey. After that, no more wrapping. And we're living happily every after (sort of).

[sweetbasil]

When Kellen was about 3 mo. old, we stopped swaddling and put a crib throw over his lower body. It's a really light blanket- almost a cotton gauze weight, with a pique texture, so we never worried about him suffocating or anything. He still sleeps with it (we'll deal with that one day!), but it was just enough to make him feel covered and stop the swaddling days.

[jenmcadams]

We stopped swaddling Abbie when she was 3 months old...basically we started using a sleep sack which kept her covered without worrying about suffocation from blankets. There are a couple of different brands (we aren't big fans of the sleep sacks from OneStepAhead b/c the arm holes are small, but we received some other ones as gifts that work well).

Jen
Mom to Abbie
8-29-02

[megsmom]

We switched to tucking a blanket in under the mattress that covered her lower body when we stopped swaddling. There was really no way she could get her face anywhere near it (she was not mobile yet in the crib) so we didn't worry about smothering. I dressed her in a blanket sleeper and a onesie to keep her warm.

Jen
mom to Meghan 7/13/01

[AngelaS]

My dd is 8.5 months and I'm still kinda swaddling. I lay a blanket in her bed, put her on it, cross it over her each way and then tuck it under her. I put it lower so her arms are free 'cause she's a thumb sucker. Since she's laying on it and doesn't roll from her back to her front, she can't pull it up. And it's tucked in under her too. :)