Wrapping?

Is it necessary to wrap? If i dont wrap, do i have to use a gro bag?
Aiden seems to sleep better when wrapped, but, actually getting him to sleep while wrapped is a nightmare at times. I get him to doz off without the wrap, but, when i go to wrap him, he struggles and pushs his legs out, and makes out like i am strangling him. Its not around his neck or anything. When i wrap him, i wrap him with his legs up, is that right way to do it? Or, should i leave them to be more free?
He used to be a 'wrap me tight, or not at all' baby, but, atm, he's a "dont strangle me with that wrap'.
So, now he is in bed, hopefully asleep, no wrap, and i am worried. If i leave him as he is, with his legs out straight, touching bottom of bassanete, then i will worry he will bunch his legs up, and wiggle down. If i put him lower, then he will straighten his legs, push himself up, and then i worry cause he will get a cold chest.
I dont know what to do anymore............:cry:

Debbie, we used to wrap, but had to stop when Claire about 3 months old. From about 2 months on, she just refused to be wrapped at all, and from about 6 weeks she would also push her feet out the bottom of the wrap. So, of course, she would get cold and wake up cranky because she would also kick off her blankets, and when I went to get her, she would feel like an icicle. I bought her a sleeping bag when she was 3 months so she wouldnt get so cold at night. The sleeping bag hasnt made any difference in terms of how well or how quickly she settles, or how long she sleeps, but at least she doesnt get so cold at night now. I also was worried about her wiggling and pushing herself out of the blanket, and that is why I got her a sleeping bag!

i have just stopped wrapping hollie who is 4 months... i think she sleeps quite well wrapped, but its when she escapes from it that is the problem, as i then have to go in and re-wrap her and re-settle her.... so it has sort of turned into a problem... i went cold turkey and stopped wrapping her and she is fine.... i thought i would never get her to sleep as her arms were waving about everywhere and she was constantly scratching her itchy nose, but she seems to have gotten the hang of it.... i have been told that it is best to stop wrapping at around 1 month, as the purpose is to make them feel more secure when they are fresh from the womb, but after a few weeks to loosen it off, and then get rid of it for a sleeping bag.... apparently they do better to find their own way of comforting themselves and if they are wrapped, they cannot explore and do that... it sort of makes sense to me and i do wish i had of stopped wrapping her alot earlier, but each to their own and whatever works for you. hollie seems to like to feel the fabric of the blankets between her fingers as she dozes off... she is a real wriggler but i have never had any issues with her wriggling down the end of the cot.

I stopped wrapping Isabelle at about 7-8 weeks - she hated having her arms in and we used to leave her legs free but she ws kicking all her blankets off by the time I got to her for her night feed - so went straight to the grobag. I was worried she wouldnt settl without being wrapped but she actually falls asleep quicker as she doesnt have to fight the wrap. I find too that as the sleeping bag is a bit long for her I fold i up over her feet and she can still move them but she doesnt kick off the covers anymore and I dont have to worry about her wriggling down.

My MCHN said that by around 6 weeks they lose their startle reflex and thats the main reason to wrap- to stop them waking themselves up. If hes fighting it I would stop and try a sleeping bag - I think they are great!

Did you go get the real expensive sleeping bags? i have seen them at proper baby shops for $70! I cant spend that much on one. But, read another thread advising against getting the cheaper ones.
He ended up sleeping, unwrapped last night for about 4hours, but, couldnt get him to go back to sleep wrapped after his early morning feed. Eventually i unwrapped him again, and he slept for about an hour. Woo f'n hoo. Whos a tired mummy then :(

He back in bed now, wrapped, but, not asleep.

ok babe, stop wrapping him. We stopped wrapping Mason at about 4 weeks as well. I buy the cheap sleeping bags and have had no problems. He sleeps MUCH better, and much longer because he doesnt feel restricted or trapped, and can move his arms and legs if he wants too.

Right now he is sleeping with his arms next to his head flexing his muscles :cryinglaugh:

Without being wrapped, good idea to put him in a bonds suit with the mittens, or put some socks on his hands as they get a bit cold. Put his feet almost at the base of the basinette and put the blankets stretched across and tucked in the sides. He wont get stuck then :)

If you dont get the grobag/dreampod - just make sure whatever you get is cotton and breathable- SIDS recommend those ones as some cheaper ones are polyester etc and dont breath and so there is a risk of overheating(although its hard to believe right now with this weather!) Check out ebay too = you may find something there. Or you dont have to use a sleeping bag, just use an extra blanket! Good luck!

i stopped wrapping maddy at 7 months cause she started to roll over while wrapped and would wake up.. so i just got some of the cheaper sleeping bags and have not looked back!

Going to go against the grain a bit here :) We still wrap, though I'm not sure for how much longer.
If he settles better without it, then it makes sense to me to get rid of it. But it still seems it works for us. I was going to suggest a bigger wrap to combat the leg thing. I wrap with bub's legs outstretched, but we had to get a larger one to be able to do this.
All the best with whatever you decide. I know so well how hard it is to make decisions like this when you are so so tired. I will have to do it soon... :hug: Hope you can catch up on a little bit of rest today.

Isabelle sleeps in a grobag (agree with Tan -if your budget can't stretch to the "proper" ones, go for a pure cotton) and I loosely wrap her arms but never her legs. She still seems to prefer having her arms wrapped to go to sleep initially, but then she wiggles them free in her sleep but manages to settle herself when she wakes during the night - who knows how that works!!!

I started off doing what Danni suggested with the Bonds suits/mittens, but the midwives that ran the mothers group at the hospital where I had Izzy and also my MCHN recommended very strongly not to use mittens or the little bonds suits with the hand mittens. If your baby sucks his hands (Izzy puts her whole hand in her mouth!), then the mittens get wet and stay wet in the cold weather, and that then chills their little hands.

I also listened to a talk given by the "Baby Whisperer", who lives in Melbourne I think. She actually recommended wrapping until bubbies are a year old - just to give us yet another completely different "must do"!!

I think you do whatever it is that gets your baby to sleep, and keeps him asleep for the longer time - whatever it is the books say we "should" do.

i might try the sleeping bags. When he is dead tired, like he was last night, he didnt kick around to much, but, when he is fighting it more, he does kick alot. So, might grab a couple of cheap ones and see how it goes. If it works, bonus, if not, then i havent wasted to much money.

We have two sleeping bags. One is a Grobag and the other is a cheaper one from Target or somewhere. I find them to be pretty much to same, to be honest. I bought the grobag over the interent and the other one was a gift. I dont use mittens on her hand because she sucks her fists and the mittens get wet and woud make her hands colder, as someone else mentioned above.

Stephen sleeps in a grobag and has done since he was about 4 weeks. He sleeps so well in it. He also hated his arms being wrapped and always got them free.I'm sure the cheaper sleeping bags are just as good. However I use the sleeping bag so much that I reckon it was worth it. Compared to some of the smaller clothes he had that he may have only worn 2 or 3 times, he's worn his grobags every night for 8 weeks and will fit in this size for another few months yet.

I also don't use mittens on his hands. He likes to suck his hand. Also even though his hands sometimes feel cold his neck and tummy are always nice and warm. I was initially concerned his hands felt cold but have since heard that the cold hands don't matter if his neck and tummy are warm.

Debbie, I've got a fighter too, and I like you, didn't want to spend a fortune to see if it worked. Really glad I didn't cos Darcy HATED the sleeping bag. I know she's much bigger now than your bub, but I went to Myer adn bought a sleep suit from Snugtime. It has legs so she just feels like she's in her jammies and she's not fighting it like the sleeping bag.

wow that certainly makes sense about sucking mittens and cold hands. Luckily Mason doesnt do that!

my bubba girl is 5 months old and we still wrap. She loves it and still sleeps well. She does manage to get her arms out by morning but it doesnt seem to wake her anymore. I guess wrapping her just helps her nod off to sleep. I suppose it is more a comfort thing for her now more than anything else.

I also heard that you should ease off with the wrapping around 1 month, although I'm sure it doesn't hurt anything to keep going if your baby really likes it. As far as sleeping bags go, I used them for both my girls, and LOVED it. They seemed to like it too. I made them myself, and it was very simple. I'm sure you can find a pattern online or at a fabric store, if you would like. I made one with a double layer of light fleece for cold weather, and one with a layer of light fleece and a layer of flannel for when it's just cool. Their arms and hands were free, and I made sure their legs had plenty of room for kicking. You can also make a light one, to use in all weather, because blankets stay on much better when they are wearing the sleeping bag. When it's cold just add a blanket or two. And if it's really cold, don't put on mittens, 'cause they comfort themselves with their hands. Try a hat instead. All the best!

wrapping is good for babies , but some just dont like it !! i stopped wrapping nix when he was about 2mths ... if that even .. but try usuing one of those sleep positioners, they can help him feel secure and snug but not wrapped ... dont buy a polar fleece sleeping bag and dont get one with a hood .... you want 100% cotton .. i have brought all my gro bags off ebay ... i even went on the uk ebay site and bought 2 off there .. i got a genuine 0.5 tog one for about 4 bucks and a 2.5 tog for about 6 bucks all genuine grobags and in perfect condition ...

hth

oh and nix is 9 months old now and i have gone back to wrapping him during the day .. as soon as his wrap is done up his eyes are closed ... so it could be a phase ...

Annika is 8 months old, and I still wrap her. She did go through a stage where she resisted being wrapped, but I persisted because I knew she would take her dummy out and wake herself up. She now associates the dummy and wrap with sleep time, and I have no problems settling her.