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is it still necessary to swaddle a 5 month old baby to sleep? i find after a bottle at night when jackson falls asleep, if i wrap him, it wakes him up, some people have told me you have to wrap newborns to sleep because they can't regulate their body temperature, sounds strange to me!
I don't believe it's necessary Min, but a lot of people do it. We stopped wrapping Jacob at around 4w of age as he seemed to prefer having his arms out. He would be tucked in quite firmly though and made sure that he had enough clothing and blankets on him to keep him warm.
Some babies do however find comfort in being wrapped, and it's often something that is suggested to try if your baby is unsettled, as they can find it soothing.
haha, i meant 5 week, not 5 month. Thanks Tootie!
Min, I have a friend with twin boys. One of them won't settle unless he is tightly swaddled, the other won't settle unless he can move his arms to reach his face. Swaddling is recommended for very young babies to help them keep warm at night, but if you dress him warmly that shouldn't be a huge issue.
It's very much a subjective issue, do what makes your child comfortable!
Kerrie
Min, it seems like I`m answering you all over the thread LOL. In the last week Matthew has decided he wants to sleep with his hands either above his head or in his mouth, so I don`t swaddle him anymore and if I do he gets really upset, he just wants his hands all the time. I do still wrap him but I don`t tuck his hands in. Do whatever Jackson wants, if he`s happy and content with his hands out, leave them out. I also use to wrap Matthew before he gets fed as he`d often fall asleep while feeding, if I decided to wrap him afterwards he`d wake up.
Take Care
Deeanne
Zander hated being wrapped to start with, but now he loves it & we are still doing it at 12 weeks old. I find that if he wants to move his hands up to his face he still manages it, just takes the wrap with him too!!
Like Tootie said, some bubs like it, some don't. Do what Jackson tells you!
I never wrapped Alecia, I wrapped Emily out of neccessity! And Violet preferres it!
I think if Jackson doesn't like it dont do it, It's great to have ppls opinions as advise, but it isn't good when they set the rules in stone for you especially being oyur 1st child.
Tanya
hi min
i never knew about wrapping newborns with my first so i didn't, i only really found out about wrapping when i took ds to sleepschool at 10wks he hated it. this time i got a great wrap as a pressie from a friend - it is stretchy like t-shirt material and she has been wrapped since day 1 and it is the only way she can sleep. she is 9mths next week and still has her wrap but it is just around her body (yup it has become her comforter) all babies are different - it's all about trial and error i guess.
good luck
Charlie liked to be wrapped until he was about 5 months old. I was worried about him using it at a crutch for sleeping, but we weaned it off him gradually. He started to wriggle out of it after a few months, so we wrapped him with one arm out, then both arms out, and eventully he didn't need it at all. Do what is best for your baby - get the help of some "professionals" and then trust your instincts. Good luck!
Hey Min, I stopped swaddling Will at 4mths, mainly coz he keep escaping the little monster, now he has a sleeping bag and I don't have to worry if he kicks his blankets off, or turns over, as it's fleecy, but they say to wrap as it reminds them of being inside, nice and tight and they therefore feel secure-that's what I was told anyway.
If he doesnt like it being wrapped that is , they maybe get a sleeping bag, they r so good and before his last feed at nappy change put him in his bag and then you wont wake him up by wrapping him.
HTH xx
Min I wrapped Alana until she was about 4 months. I found she would not sleep without being firmly wrapped. I had read that its because they don't have control of their arms. The twitchy arm movements can actually startle them, making it difficult for them to sleep or waking them. And also that its a comfort thing for them to be cocooned. But like others said all bubs are different.
Min - Gabby is 12 weeks and she will not sleep unless she is wrapped. To add to the equation, she will only sleep if she is wrapped in a stretchy polar-fleece blanket (thankfully I have 2!). If she can get out, she refuses to sleep.
I also heard that the reason they like being wrapped is because they don't have control of their hands. Wrapping them stops the startle reflex that can wake them up. I don't think it has much to do with temperature control tho. It's really the preference of the baby.
My friend's second baby had to be wrapped until he was 5 months old. He was wrapped in blankets like Gabby's. Yet her first baby didn't like being wrapped at all. I guess it's something that the babies decide for themselves, hey?
I wrapped Matthew until her was about 5 weeks then all of a sudden he didn't like it and I found he wriggled too much plus he likes his arms out.
That's when I got him into the sleeping bags to keep him warm at night.
Do what works for you and your baby. My daughter is 11 months and I still wrap her because if I didn't she would wake up.
Apparently when a baby is placed onto its back, it has a startle reflex that makes its arms fly out for protection - i guess a bit like if you were dropped you would put your hands out to protect your head???
Anyway - because babies have such a short sleep cycle, they are in REM sleep (active) every 20mins or so I believe, and if they are able to move their arms, they may fling them out.
This always wakes Jenna up, so we swaddle her tightly to sleep. I guess some babies may be heavier sleepers so the arms thing doens't wake them up, and maybe the reflex is different in all babies.
Do what gets you and Jackson the best nights sleep. I've been told that once they can roll over in their sleep you should stop it. Also, some babies like being swaddled with their hands beside thier bodies, other babies like it with their hands across their chest.
HTH
Fi
shannon
i remember when my dd was first diagnosed with her tumour and she had to have bloods etc done, of course she was hysterical and they swaddled her too (she was aged 3) they did it in a sheet and then i cuddled her whilst she laid on the bed and she was instantly calm.
interesting they say it works till they are around 8yrs of age
mmmm... :-$ but we swaddle cats in the vet clinic or aggressive small dogs to keep them under control :) We wrap three legs up and their bodies in a towel and sometimes even wrap a towel around their heads, this way they can't hurt anyone, and 90% of the time they settle down really quickly :-k maybe its some primal instinct?
My Mum made a good point when she came over to look after Gabby and I when I had gastro when she was just a few weeks old. Even though it was a pretty hot day outside, Mum noticed that I still pulled the doona over me for comfort. When Mum told me about her observation, she made the point that many people, even as adults, like the secure feeling of being wrapped up and snug as a bug. I know that I find it very difficult to sleep without at least a sheet over me so I thought it was an interesting point. In many ways, the comfort of being swaddled probably never really leaves us, LOL.