Should I keep trying, or is he just not ready?

[Miss E]

Over the last week or so I have been trying to wean DS from wrapping. He worked out how to roll onto his belly last week so has started doing it in bed. When he is wrapped he gets stuck and can't prop himself up.

So I decided the time had come to stop wrapping. I did try about 6 weeks ago but decided he wasn't ready. I did the weaning process (albeit quite quickly) and yesterday and today he has had his naps without being wrapped (I still wrapped him overnight cos I didn't want to disturb that sleep). The problem is it takes a long, long time to get him to settle. I'll go through the normal routine give him a cuddle and sing to him and then put him down when he's nuzzling, but as soon as I put him down he can't stop wriggling (normally he self settles and goes off to sleep reasonably quickly). Eventually he gets grizzly and upset and literally falls asleep out of exhaustion mid grizzle. This means I am having to rock the cot etc to keep him calm until he goes to sleep and I'm worried about it becoming a habit...

He is waking up after about 25 minutes of sleep. Today I rocked him back to sleep and when I put him down I noticed that he still has startle reflex. It didn't quite wake him up, but I had to rock the cot to keep him soothed. He did sleep for 45 minutes after that (he was pretty exhausted).

So I'm wondering if he is ready not to be wrapped, or is this all part and parcel of him getting used to not being wrapped?

Any advice anyone has would be great cos I don't know what to do now...

[helle]

sorry to parade in on your thread...
I was just curious, is there a certain age you should stop wrapping? Does it stop a certain development?
Sorry, was just curious as I have seen a few of these threads lately!

[BhoysGirl]

I didn't worry about unwrapping my DS until it was obvious that he was escaping from the wrapping himself, which happened at about about 7months. If your DS' sleep patterns have become more unsettled with the unwrapping, I'd start it up again, maybe just a bit looser if you're worried about him getting stuck if he rolls over.

[Miss E]

Thanks ladies, I think i might stick with it awhile longer... He does escape from his wrap all the time, but usually when he wakes up I think. Probably better to deal with him getting stuck every now and then rather than create some new sleep issues.

[Beautitude]

DS was wrapped till around 10 months and then all of a sudden one day it just stopped working and from then on he hasn't been wrapped anymore. He seems to do this with everything though, wrapping, dummy, dreamfeed. One day they work and the next day they just dont. I say if it works keep going with it.

[~Kim~]

Same as Isobel. We wrapped for a long time with DD. I did stop for about a month but it meant crapper sleeps than we were already having.
WIth the Little Guy he just refused one day at about 6 months.
All bubs are different and if he's still good with the wrapping and it helps - why the heck give it up?
JMO

[~Kaz~]

sorry to parade in on your thread...
I was just curious, is there a certain age you should stop wrapping? Does it stop a certain development?
Sorry, was just curious as I have seen a few of these threads lately!

There are various schools of thought. I agree with Kim, every baby is different and some love to be wrapped for a long time and others let you know it's no longer working much younger.

In terms of the developmental stuff, I have been told (and heard) by CFHN/MCN's etc that they recommend babies cease to be wrapped at 6 months. They have said to me that it is important for babies to learn to sleep without being wrapped and also that they need to be able to start moving around in their sleep, rolling on their sides, dealing with sheets and blankets directly over them etc etc. (I am not endorsing this - if wrapping works keep doing it until it doesn't is my personal opinion - just repeating what I've heard on the developmental stuff). HTH.

[Beautitude]

In terms of the developmental stuff, I have been told (and heard) by CFHN/MCN's etc that they recommend babies cease to be wrapped at 6 months. .

Our CFHN told us when we started mothers group (it was run by cyh initially and we had little classes about sleep, feeding etc) that some babies are wrapped till 18 months or older and that this isn't a problem and is actually quite normal. Its funny how they all have a different opinions!

[~Kaz~]

Yeah the opinions are everywhere. There's a mum in my mum's group IRL who wrapped her older daughter until she was 2 years. Worked for bub and the mum said it stopped a lot of standing up and tantruming in the cot so it worked for her too.

[Miss E]

It's amazing how many differing opinions there are, my mchn told us to stop wrapping between 3 and 4 months... I guess it's just a case of what works for your bub.

[MummyNaomi]

DS is still wrapped for day sleeps (at 6.5 months), if I dont wrap him he takes aaaaaages to go to sleep, however we use a grobag at night and he goes straight so sleep, I think he just associates his grobag with night and wrap for day - weird I know but it works for us. I dont plan to stop wrapping anytime soon, its a quick and effective way to get him down for a day nap without too much fuss or protest from him

If its working for your baby, then keep doing it I dont think there is any hard and fast rule on when you should stop, every bub is different

[Miss E]

He's started sleeping on his side and tummy yesterday and today... Now I'm really not sure what to do about the wrapping. He's pretty happy that way and while I roll him back on to his back when I come across it and have an Angel Care monitor I can't help but worry. Given this new development do you ladies think I should keep wrapping him?

[STARRYSKY]

hi miss excited, just wondering which wrap technique you are using? have you tried having just on arm unwrapped, or both? dont know if you have already tried but some of the girls in my mums group used the different wrapping techniques to wean them off being wrapped.
FWIW, I do occasionally still wrap DS, when he is being extremely hard to settle, its the only thing that works, once hes in hes out like a light! once he is asleep and in the cot though, I will loosen it, as he likes to sleep on his side and belly.

[Miss E]

hi miss excited, just wondering which wrap technique you are using? have you tried having just on arm unwrapped, or both? dont know if you have already tried but some of the girls in my mums group used the different wrapping techniques to wean them off being wrapped.
FWIW, I do occasionally still wrap DS, when he is being extremely hard to settle, its the only thing that works, once hes in hes out like a light! once he is asleep and in the cot though, I will loosen it, as he likes to sleep on his side and belly.

I went through the weaning process, worked from one arm to two and so on but his sleep just kept deteriorating and I've noticed that he does still have a bit of a startle reflex... I use a cocooi swaddle (probably part of the problem cos it wraps them so snuggly, but it's the only thing that he doesn't get all tangled in) and then I put him in a sleeping bag. This means it's a bit too tricky to loosen the wrap while he's asleep. Mind you he gets out of it if he wants too, but I think he just needs it to get to sleep iykwim

[Janie]

I wrapped DS until 10 months, and only stopped because I had so many people telling me I should! I wish I had ignored them, life was much easier when he was wrapped for sleeping

[kylieb77]

Maybe try a sleeping bag instead of wrapping. My DS kept wriggling out at 8 weeks, from then on I used a sleeping bag (with or without arms) so that he was still enclosed and warm but had a bit more movement.

[Liz]

DD was wrapped until 15 mths, pretty sure she developed ok All these "shoulds" ... pfft. I sometimes wonder what exactly MCHN's are actually good for? LOL.

If you're concerned about him rolling over in his sleep while wrapped, would it be possible to unwrap him once he's asleep? That might give you the best of both worlds

[Miss E]

Maybe try a sleeping bag instead of wrapping. My DS kept wriggling out at 8 weeks, from then on I used a sleeping bag (with or without arms) so that he was still enclosed and warm but had a bit more movement.

That's what I was doing, but it just didn't work for us. Since he was about 8 weeks I've had him in a sleeping bag (but have wrapped him and put him in it iykwim) because he was moving around in his cot and kicking the blankets off.