Tips for helping a 3 month old who hates being swaddled sleep for longer stretches?

[new_mom_mry]

DS has never liked being swaddled--we gave up on swaddling pretty much from the start and he now has been sleeping in breathable sleep sacks that allow him to wiggle his legs--which he loves to do all the time. In fact, when I tried to put him in a sleep sack that didn't have as much leg room, he didn't even like that! He is a pretty tall kid for his age (I am guessing 26 inches now?).

This brings me to my question for all of you moms with lots of wisdom that I lack--how do I get him to sleep for stretches longer than 3 hours at night? He sleeps in a co-sleeper next to our bed and wakes up pretty much every 3 hours at night to eat. He doesn't cry for food but rather starts turning his head from side to side and making noises...if I ignore them thinking he will fall back asleep, he doesn't stop, and opens his eyes and basically wakes up...I have considered moving him to his crib in the nursery, but there is one issue--he has a slight case of nipple confusion right now with me being back at work and when he is already super hungry, he will refuse the breast, and as you can imagine, at night this would create a lot of unpleasant issues right there. When he is next to me and I pick him up to nurse him as soon as he starts tossing, he has no problem eating and then falling back asleep. I am afraid that if he is in his crib in his room, I will miss those key moments to feed him and then he will get really upset and cry, and I will have to pump...and DH will have to give him the bottle....would prefer to avoid that at night.

Any advice for how to get this little guy to sleep for longer than 3 hours without being swaddled? One last thing--he constantly moves his arms and legs when he starts waking up, so THEY ARE waking him up...which is why I truly wish he liked being swaddled...

[septmama2b]

Have you considered the Woombie (http://www.thewoombie.com/)? My older DS loved the swaddle, I was afraid we'd be swaddling him in High School. His little brother, not so much. I tried the woombie with him and he really liked it. It gives some freedom of movement but not so much to wake him up. I only used it a few weeks, because he rolled over soon after that, and you aren't supposed to use them after that.

I'd also recommend white noise, it helped a lot when my son was still sleeping in the co-sleeper, he actually still uses it in his room. I downloaded a Natural White Noise for Babies from itunes one night in desperation, and it worked wonders.

Good luck, lack of sleep sucks. Hang in there, it will get better.

[new_mom_mry]

Have you considered the[URL="http://www.thewoombie.com/"] Woombie?

No--I've only tried SwaddleMes, and also wrapping him in Swaddle Designs blankets-neither of which he liked. Will look into the Woombie. As for white noise, he has a sleep sheep, but it's not powerful enough I think! The rain sound on it helps a little bit, but what really calms him down is the sound of the hair dryer. But I feel awful using it too often because I think it scares him and that's why he stops fussing and calms down. Also, the hair dryer is more of a "fussiness" solution than a sleep solution. I know that many parents stop swaddling once the kids can roll over, but do you notice that your kids stop sleeping as well as they did when they were swadded? I know that many babies his age already sleep at least 4-5 hour stretches consistently, so I just trying to find a way to help him...thank you for your suggestions :)

[newg]

Have you tried the Halo swaddle sleep sacks? It's the sleep sack, with a swaddle for the arms. That way he can still move his legs but his arms would be contained. This is what I used with DD1 and DD2. I just stopped using it with DD2 because she is starting to roll over and I wanted her arms free....plus she is starting to suck on her thumb and was really starting to fight the swaddle.

What about a paci? When DD2 was getting fussy I would just pop a paci in to help sooth her back to sleep. I use the Soothie brand, which is suppose to be the most like a mom's nipple. Now, she's found she likes her thumb better, so the paci isn't much help anymore.

[septmama2b]

I find that the white noise needs to be pretty loud, we have the sheep too, and it was way to quiet to really help.

It took my youngest a long time to sleep more then 3 or 4 hours a night, swaddled or not. When they are learning a new skill like rolling over, or pulling up, or later on down the road crawling and walking it disrupts their sleep patterns. If it was not one thing it was another. Everyone wants to be the mom who's kid sleeps all night, but in my experience it is a lot less common then you'd think.

He'll eventually get over waking up from his startle reflex, but that's just going to be something you have to wait out.