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baby sleep advice needed

Hellllooooooo

So, I have had a pretty great sleeper the last three months. But, the thing is, he has always slept in a swaddle me.

Last night at 1:30 he woke me up screaming because he was face down in the crib. He was lifting his head with just his neck muscles since his arms were bound and he was trying to wiggle one arm out. I assumed he would figure to turn his head to the side, but he didn't.

So, now I guess I need to stop swaddling him? Any tips?

And all this while I am alone for the next 5 nights. This must be payback for the time I ran into my neighbors mailbox and drove off.

Re: baby sleep advice needed

  • how on earth did he turn over while swaddled? 

    i eased lila out of swaddling by leaving her arms unbound for a while, but if he's already turning over (just one way, right?) he may just be paracticing rolling adn until he gets bored of that, or is able to roll the other way, this may just be how your nights go for a while.

    image
  • Ditto to Sam's post.  We swaddled Miles for a while with his arms out for about a month and stopped altogether at around 4-5 months.  He was also a late-ish roller though and didn't start sleeping on his belly until about 5 1/2-6 months.
    image Mabel the Loser.
  • He rolls both ways now, but he uses his arms to go from tummy to back. Yesterday was actually the first time he did front to back and last night in his swaddle was the first complete back to front. He has been trying for a week but could never get his arm out from under him. I assume the swaddle solved that problem.

  • Sounds like it's time to ditch the swaddle.  Since he's rolling, I'd bite the bullet and go cold turkey.  Be prepared for the first night or two to suck.  Make sure you dress him warm enough, I think the first night MC was also cold and I felt so guilty and stupid the next day.  We went cold turkey and did a little cry it out (with fairly frequent checks).  This was before she was rolling back to tummy.  The first night she was up hourly, the second every two hours, by the third she was down to her more normal 1-2 wake ups.  Then once she started rolling, we did rescues for a few days but then couldn't take it.  More cry it out.  It took her a few days to figure out how to be comfy on her tummy and turn her head to the side, which was nervewracking, but she did finally get it and then we discovered the bliss of STTN.

    Good luck, lady.  So sorry you don't have your partner in crime this week to support.

    image
    Mucho likes purple nails and purple cupcakes
  • the next three days at work are going to be the suck.

    when she woke up every hour, what did you do to get her to go back to sleep other than crying it out? Is 3 months ok for that?

  • Pick up and rock, put down, pat and shush, pacifier.  Nursing if nothing works after 15-20 minutes.

    IMO, 3 months is borderline, 4 months is OK, but the folks on 3-6 and AP will tell you its child abuse.  I think it depends on your kid and your feelings about crying.  I think people blow the negative effects of CIO completely out of proportion.

    Bottom line, we had to get her to figure it out because we could not go to work so sleep deprived.  We started the cold turkey deswaddle on a Friday night so we had the weekend and could take naps.  Honestly, if we kept rescuing her, we were preventing her from figuring it out (how to get comfy without the swaddle, how to move into a more comfy position on tummy or side, etc).  But in my experience, it was only THE SUCK for two nights and by night three it was soooo much better.  What I'm finding though is that nothing is permanent.  We've been dealing with nighttime wakings due to illness the past week, and we'll see how tonight goes, but I suspect we'll have to do a little sleep training refresh.

    image
    Mucho likes purple nails and purple cupcakes
  • We attempted with the arms-out swaddle, but that really didn't work.  We just ditched it once he started showing more arm control and desire to move in his crib.  I concur with making sure he is dressed warmly.  Granted, you are in Texas, so that is a different story.  But, I have found out after a fussy night or two, that Andy was actually chilly.  Yeah, I felt like an a-hole.

    Please go ask your CIO question on The Bump.  And then link it here.  That should be fun. :)

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  • imagelindsayll:

    IMO, 3 months is borderline, 4 months is OK, but the folks on 3-6 and AP will tell you its child abuse.  I think it depends on your kid and your feelings about crying.  I think people blow the negative effects of CIO completely out of proportion.

    Bottom line, we had to get her to figure it out because we could not go to work so sleep deprived.  We started the cold turkey deswaddle on a Friday night so we had the weekend and could take naps.  Honestly, if we kept rescuing her, we were preventing her from figuring it out (how to get comfy without the swaddle, how to move into a more comfy position on tummy or side, etc).  But in my experience, it was only THE SUCK for two nights and by night three it was soooo much better.  What I'm finding though is that nothing is permanent.  We've been dealing with nighttime wakings due to illness the past week, and we'll see how tonight goes, but I suspect we'll have to do a little sleep training refresh.

    I'm this-ing all of your points, especially the bold parts.  Andy will be 2 at the end of the week and we just had a night of suck.  It hurts to grow and learn, man. 

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  • the bumpies, especially on AP, are crazy which is why i ask baby questions here.

    but, CIO to some extent will happen in this house and I am ok with it.

  • Honestly, I really don't understand how a family doesn't do CIO to some extent.  There are just some nights where I can't figure out what is bugging him, or I know what it is, but can't do a thing about it.  My presence in his room only aggrivates him more at those times.  There are some things that he just has to feel on his own. 
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  • Ferber is definitely worth a read.  I think 15 minutes of crying is much more compassionate than an exhausted kid.
    image
    Mucho likes purple nails and purple cupcakes
  • I'm only posting to concur that the only consistency with a baby is the inconsistency, especially with sleeping and eating.  Ian never liked swaddling so I have no advice on how to break the swaddle.

    When he was Ryker's age our philosophy was still "do whatever it takes to get him back to sleep."

  • I am in agreement with Lindsay and Vinny.  Sleep training is so essential - not only for baby but for mom and dad too.  We have definitely seen that it is a work in progress.  For the most part, Miles is awesome at STTN, but when he's sick, teething, over-tired, or out of his routine, he may wake during the night.  What I've taken away from this is that babies crave and need routine and when it is disrupted in any way, sleep patterns revert.  I think we're going to spend a lot of his baby/toddlerhood sleep training and retraining.  But, if it results in having a four-year old who's able to sleep in his own bed, then I think it's definitely worth the work.
    image Mabel the Loser.
  • Thanks everyone. I think he is possibly teething too. And I did just get him to nap on his back by nursing him laying down. But I hear him now so that only lasted about 20 minutes.

  • Let me clarify by saying that even though we'd do whatever it took to get him back to sleep if he woke up, we definitely have a routine for putting him to bed.  Sleep training is so important.
  • We have a nighttime routine- play, diaper change, swaddle, nurse, sleep. bath also gets thrown in after play but not every night. Now that I take the swaddle out i may do rocking.
  • FYI, last night sucked a big ***.

    He slept from 8-11, then woke up. He actually wasn't unhappy, he was ready to play. I tried all sorts of things- rocking, patting, sushing, pacifier, nursing. He fell asleep once around 12 but woke up when I put him in his crib.

    I got him down at 1:30, he slept for 30 minutes, then woke up again. This time he was fussing/crying. I tried 3 minute stretches of leaving him alone until almost 2:30 and then I took him into bed with me because I was the living dead.

    I know I just need to keep pushing through and he will adapt but it sucks.

  • Ugh Winged.  Those nights are so hard!  Hang in there.  Keep reminding yourself that it will pass and he will sleep again soon.
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  • Thanks! I will work on that. It is hard to think rationally at all at 2 am.
  • my offer to babysit that adorable little bundle of cuteness still stands :)
    My Fashion & Beauty Blog: www.veronikasblushing.com
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