Weaning Our 5 Month Old from a Swaddle - Please Help!!!

I had the same situation with my 5 month old son and just had to go for it...starting with one arm out then moving to no swaddle at nap time and then ultimately swaddle free at nap time and night. You will probably have a few bad days but i felt my son would eventually have to learn to self soothe witout it and he had started rolling over in his sleep. He actually sleeps better now as he rolls over and sleeps on his tummy at some point and can suck his hands if needed.

I agree with many of the other mom's who have said, why ween her? If it is working, let it be. She will eventually outgrow it on her own. Babies have a way of letting their opinion known.

I agree with the others, let her be swaddled. I swaddled my daughter until she was 8 months and the only reason we stopped then was because she learned to roll over in the swaddle. This angered her greatly. It was an easy fix after that. She adopted a very thin fleece blankie and that was that.

Being swaddled is a natural comfort for a child. I have a 2 year old I watch that still loves to be wrapped tight in a blanket! If it makes them feel secure, why not? She will out grow it soon enough and as others have said you will long for this day again all too soon! Being a good sleeper is what most crave for so relax and enjoy your baby girl :)

she'll be fine, and you'll soon be longing for the days you could just swaddle her and she'd drift right off! i say do it as long as it works. 5 months is still pretty young, as she gets older i'm sure she'll learn to self soothe without it.

OH i just thought of something else - maybe try swaddling her good and snug in a regular blanket. then when she gets bigger she can still use the blanket as her comfort item. just a thought!

J.,
We just got our almost 7 month old out of the swaddle... actually he let us know he was ready to be out. I felt the same way you did about the swaddle because he slept through the night since 6 weeks and I feared the worst when it was time to get rid of it. I had read that you should wean them but I just didn't see why if he needed it. So about three weeks ago he started waking up in the night. He would also scratch at his face and wake up when he got out of the swaddle. We would go in and see that he was out and put him back in and of course he would go back to sleep. So I started rigging the swaddler with a twist to it so he couldn't get his arms out. This worked a night but the waking up then got worse and more frequent. One night I went in and slept in his room thinking he was sick or something. About 3am he got his arms out and then slept the rest of the night solid. The next night we took away the swaddle gave him his blankie and his lamb and he was out all night. He has been sleeping just fine since.
My advice is let your little one let you know when she is ready. You will know because her sleeping pattern will change and you will rack your sleep deprived brain trying to figure it out!!! She just wants some freedom! Good Luck.

Hi, I have to agree with the saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," or is it, "if it works, don't break it".
The great thing is: She sleeps :).
God Bless, M. N.

The transition will be hard. Be prepared for a few nights to a week of sleep problems and she probably will not sleep as well without it for a while. However, if it is starting to bother her to be wrapped up at bed, then it is worthwhile to get rid of it. You can tell because she will fuss while being wrapped and for the first few minutes after being put to bed. Sometimes it actually starts to make them wake more frequently because they wake and want to move but can't and get frustrated.

Also, if she flips over onto her tummy while swaddled, it's time to get rid of it. Cold turkey seems the best way to go, in my experience. Many babies who like the swaddle sleep better on their tummies without it. Be careful, though; only back to sleep is recommended by the AAP.

Why? Just let her stay swaddled until she doesn't want to anymore. It is only comforting her and not hurting anything. I would have given anything for my girl to like to be swaddled.

My son was swaddled for a long time and eventually grew out of it himself. If she and you are sleeping well, why not wait until she is a little older. Give yourself a break.

Why wean her from it if it's working for her still? It won't hurt her to keep using it to sleep for a while. And she'll be ready once she has more control of her limbs (less involuntary movement). We used the miracle blanket with my daughter beyond 5 months (maybe 7 months?) for sleep and she's a happy, healthy, well-adjusted 3 year old now who has very strong joints (despite what my well-meaning father feared due to swaddling). Good luck!

Why stop?? I suppose it's the same as "tucking them in" which parents do for their kids all through childhood. Heck, I know some adults who like to be tucked in.

It worked best for us to first stop swaddling our baby during the day for naps, but we continued to swaddle him at night. Once he could take naps w/o it, he eventually made it obvious that he didn't want to be swaddled at night. The first couple of nights, we held our breath, but he continued to sleep through the night w/o it. I think they will let you know when they don't want it anymore. I have read that some babies like it until they are a year old. I know a daycare who swaddle all the babies for naps until they graduate to the toddler room at one year of age.
Some babies need it, some hate it. I think it helps their sleep. Start with the naps and she will eventually grow out of it. Be glad she sleeps! I do love the Miracle Blanket!

If she sleeps well, keep swaddling her. She's still pretty tiny. Good luck!

If it works, why wean? Your baby sounds like she still needs it. She will let you know when she's done with it. If it isn't hurting anything, I think you should go with what works. Let your baby guide you on when she's ready to let it go. She'll be there before you know it.

I had the same issue with my little girl. She began to roll over around 4 months or so and I took it away because it could be dangerous. I started weaning the swaddle with naps and eventually bedtime. Unfortunately you will probably have a few nights of her crying and lack of sleep for you, but she will definitely get use to it. If she is turning over I would seriously consider getting rid of it soon. Good luck! It will all work out :-)

If being swaddled is how your daughter sleeps best, by all means keep doing it. Eventually, she will be just too big to be swaddled, and you will have to stop. I've heard of some babies who were swaddled up to 8 months. All babies are different. As for weaning, I would start with naps first.

I hate to say it, but I think this is one of those things you just have to bite the bullet and just do it. I don't know if you swaddle at naptime, but I would start then, and then at bedtime. I would wait til the weekend, if your husband works out of the home, then he won't have to go to work in the morning and he can help if she doesn't want to go to sleep. I would expect a few night of little sleep til she is used to sleeping without being swaddled. Good luck.

How crazy, in the middle of the night while re-swaddling my five month old girl I was thinking about posting this question on here....
My problem is that my girl gets out of it and needs re-wrapped - I may try your miracle blanket. I'll let her stay swaddled as long as she's willing to sleep. It's amazing - during the day, she'll get fussy when she's tired or over-stimulated and the second she's all swaddled up, she either falls asleep or relaxes and starts smiling and coo-ing. I never expected that at five months!!
Thanks! This is great!

Jessie,

Our son, who's now almost 4, was a swaddler when he was small. To this day he uses a special "blankie". He also is a thumb sucker. I would not worry about this issue. As long as she's comfortable I would not worry. Maybe try switching to a blanket. Our son loves blankets with silk on the edges. Maybe she can switch to that from the swaddle.

Good luck,
V.

If it is soothing to her and it is not hurting her, why stop?
I have cared for babies till they were over 1 and still liked being swaddled. It is a very comforting feeling to us as adults to have a nice worm blanket to cuddle up with, Why not as a baby make them as comfortable too. You will miss the days when she is all grown up wanting to snuggle up and hold them all swaddled. Nothing like watching or hearing a sleeping baby. Good Luck!

Why do you want to wean her? If she's sleeping fine, just let her continue. It's not hurting anything and she will eventually grow out of her swaddle.

Some kids need it longer than others. I swaddled my second child at 9 months old to calm her down. Thats what worked for her. My first child was totally different and we only used the swaddle on her for a couple of months. She's not going to need to be swaddled when she's in preschool. Just let her decide how long she needs it. Its nothing that she'll get dependent on.

I agree with most of these moms - what's the rush? 5 months is still pretty teensie, the swaddling is probably very warm and comforting for her...and may be for months to come.

I actually had (and still have) the opposite issue with my daughter. At a month old, she was working her way out of the snuggest swaddle. So I started putting her to bed in the wearable, zip-up fleece blankets (first the sack-type, and then the footed kind), with a onsie and socks underneath. This way, she could toss and turn and kick - but she stays covered and warm.

Maybe the same type of thing will work for your little one, when she's ready to make the transition.

A tip (if you decide to try this): Baby gear re-sale shops have lots of these in great condition, with a reasonable price.

I say don't worry about it. She will start to wean from being swaddled as she slowly starts to outgrow the blankets. That's how it worked for us. First we let her arms out, she's a thumb sucker, so she'd always get it out anyway. Then her feet would be out because her legs were getting so long. Then she was too big for it and really didn't seem to miss it at all. Sure, we had a few rough nights, but that's to be expected. She got used to sleeping without it though. She was probably around 7 months when we stopped swaddling, right around the time she started crawling.

Keep swaddling for as long as it works... there's no hurry, she's still pretty young. After she starts learning to roll over and crawl it will become more of an issue of needing to wean, I wouldn't worry about it until then. And by then she probably won't want to be swaddled because she'll have newfound freedom and skills.

I had this same exact problem and asked moms on here too! My son is only 7 months old and I let him naturally unswaddle himself. (the arms getting out so often is a sign they're starting to get ready to not be swaddled even though they may not know it). I would let him fuss it out a little bit when he would get loose and then he would fall asleep. There was only about 1 week where it was a hard transition for him. I used to be uptight about the whole idea and now wonder why I worried. My son started unswaddling himself at 6 months and now he doesn't even go to bed with a blanket! It does help that it's warmer now.

I didn't read all your advice but heard enough - let her be swaddled - so you got that part! My other tidbit was to tell you - I know of children who needed to be "swaddled" until over a year. One mom told me she'd have to hold the blankets tight on either side, her son would fall asleep and all was well. More time commitment on the parents side, but helped him feel secure. He might have been a year and half?? I assure you he sleeps well on his own now (6 years old). Don't be pressured or rush - feel her out for what she needs and meet it if you can. She'll only be more secure \ happy for it.
Mom to four (soon five) and care-taker of MANY more! :)

If she's not ready, its going to be difficult. Do you ever swaddle her with a regular blanket (I'm guessing the Miracle blanket is a special swaddling blanket)? Try getting her attached to a normal blanket then maybe as she wiggles free from the swaddle cuddling with the blanket will (hopefully) be soothing enough. A bit of advise...don't wash the blanket unless its really dirty. Babies are comforted by items that smell like themselves. Good luck!