Poll Results: If baby cried at all while dropping the swaddle, about how long did it last?

Results:

1 day or less: 45 votes (45%)
2-5 days: 39 votes (39%)
6-10 days: 5 votes (5%)
11-14 days: 1 vote (1%)
2-3 weeks: 5 votes (5%)
4-6 weeks: 2 votes (2%)
6-8 weeks: 0 votes (0%)
two months or more: 2 votes (2%)

MY THOUGHTS
This poll should really be encouraging to you if you are trying to drop your swaddle with your baby. 84% of babies who cried cried for less than one week. 45 % for only one day or less! Hang in there!

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21 thoughts on “Poll Results: If baby cried at all while dropping the swaddle, about how long did it last?”

  1. We actually dropped the swaddle BECAUSE of crying. Santiago was 3 months when he started wrestling with me every time I put on the swaddle. The first few times I thought, he was just being fussy for being too tired or just because. After several naps, I tried leaving one arm out and he went to sleep much faster a few weeks later, he went back to crying and complaining. We left both arms out and naps were back to normal. So, no crying while dropping swaddle just crying TO drop swaddle.

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  2. As Angipas said we dropped the swaddle because it was a bit of a struggle once in a while. Teagan was only 6 weeks when we got rid of it, she was already sleeping 8 hours at night and just didn't seem to need to be swaddled. There was no crying involved with dropping the swaddle for us.

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  3. My 8 month old still loves to be swaddled. She sleeps well like this and it still calms her down when she's having a bad day. She can wiggle her arms out when she wants to, but sometimes prefers to stay bundled. My question is, if it's working for her, do we need to drop it? What are some pros/cons on continuing to swaddle this long? I'm just curious for another opinion! Thanks!

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  4. I have a question, unrelated to swaddling. I wasn't sure where to post it….sorry! I have a BW 5.5 month old who recently introduce to the jumperoo. He was in it for only about 20 mins. The next three days, he wouldn't sit still in my lap anymore and is constantly doing that "jumping" motion. I want to train him to sit still in my lap for church, bible studies, restaurants, etc. Any advice for me? Should I introduce a form of discipline that communicates "sit still." What would you do? Should I take away the Junperoo and put it back in the garage for a later day?

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  5. I'm with Kameron and Jason Fellers. My daughter is 7 1/2 months old and still likes to be swaddled too. I haven't swaddled her arms for a couple of months now but she still likes her body to be swaddled. Should we be stopping since she's getting a little older?

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  6. I think swaddling past say 5-6 months of age could be a safety issue. They could end up in a position (face down in the mattress or against the bumper pad) and be unable to get themselves out. Try sleep sack type PJs instead.

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  7. Looking for anyone's advice! My 5 month old is still swaddled, but is now waking at night (usually a 12 hour straight sleeper) because she has wiggled her arms out and it wakes her up–last night 3 times!!! We have decided to start dropping the swaddle (especially since she is rolling over), but our first attempt this evening was a failure! Put her in a sleeper sack, she went to bed and woke 45 mins into bedtime wailing. Waited for roughly 10 minutes before going in and deciding to swaddle her up again. So my question is this: do I just try and drop the swaddle cold-turkey again, or should I allow her to wiggle her arms out and then let herself put her back to sleep (thus basically helping her to sleep without the arms swaddled) I'm really concerned and I'm really wondering what I do. I am OK with CIO, but I'm not sure what avenue to take?

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  8. I faced the same problem as LindsayJay. We tried weaning our LO of the swaddle as he would get out in the middle of the night and have a hard time going back to sleep. I started with naps and tried just leaving his arms out, but he wakes up after 30-45 min and cries the rest of the time. Do they eventually get to the point where they can drop the swaddle on their own, or will it take CIO?

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  9. I'm struggling with the whole drop the swaddle thing too. Help! Ezra is breaking out in the night and not staying asleep! I need help!

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  10. I'm still curious as to Val's suggestions, but so far here is what I've done to help minimize the swaddle issues. During the day for his naps, I've started letting him sleep on his tummy unswaddled (I know, I know, they tell you to put your baby on their back to sleep, but he's almost 5 months old now, and we have the AngelCare movement sensor, so I figure we're good :o) ). He sleeps really well for his naps this way, and I'm hoping it's getting him used to not being swaddled. I tried having him sleep on his tummy the first night I had him on his tummy for his naps, but he woke up in the middle of the night and got mad since he isn't a big fan on laying on his stomach. So at night I still swaddle him in his MiracleBlanket (which is a lifesaver! It's worked the best of anything I've tried so far, and I've got a little houdini on my hands), and then I swaddle over his legs again with another blanket since he tends to kick out of the MiracleBlanket in the middle of the night (if there's a way to break loose, this kid will figure it out – ha). Not sure if that helps anyone, but it's what's working for me so far!

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  11. Kameron and Jason Fellers,Many moms do swaddle until a year old. My concern with swaddling is just development physically. If she is developing and meeting physical milestones when she should, then there probably isn't anything to worry about.

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  12. TnT, I am honestly laughing because that is how Brayden was–but from three weeks old. Seriously!For home, would still have the jumperoo and let him get his workout in. It is just a new experience for him and he loves it. For church, you can do blanket time (see blog label) so he won't be in a lap. Also, work on the art of distraction. At church, you want to respect others, so this is a context to use distraction.At home, practice sitting still for short periods so you can learn how to get him to do so and he can get used to doing it. Bring lots of toys and books with you places. When he gets old enough, he can have small finger foods, too. Good luck!

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  13. Anna, my advice would be the same to you, with also the addition that Redheads brought up (Thanks Amy!). Safety can be a concern with swaddling–but with arms out, it shouldn't be a big deal. Since her arms are out, I think you could do a sleep sack instead. We use the ones by Carters that have sleeves. Kiddopotomus make similar. If you live in a warm climate (or it is summer for you now), you might want to try the halo sleep sack because it doesn't have arms.

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  14. LindsayJay, I might try one arm at a time at first. But you also might want to be sure the waking is because of breaking out of the swaddle. Sometimes breaking out of the swaddle is a symptom of something else. So, she might be waking due to teething pain, then breaking out of the swaddle, then getting upset. If it is because of the swaddle, I would do one arm at a time, or just prepare yourself for some crying days.

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  15. lwicks,They will get used to it, but it can also be just an issue of not being ready. It sounds like you have seen some improvement. I would suggest you also see the blog label "swadding" for all of my advice on the subject.

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  16. Jess, my comments to you would be the same as the others here. Check into the reasons for the waking. If swaddling is THE reason for waking, then see the blog label "swaddling" for all advice on it.

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  17. I dropped the swaddle last night because my DD just learned to roll over. I have been dreading the day when it had to happen (she is 4 months) and I really worked myself up over it. I had tried last week to leave one arm out to see what would happen and she never went to sleep. I think I was making it a little bit more complicated than it was, at least for my daughter. This week, I noticed that every time I put her in the swaddle she would cry. She would go to sleep, but it was putting her in it that she hated. So, I made the hard decision with my husband to drop it last night and she did fabulous! She slept through the night! Since, I wanted to be consistent in my approach, I unswaddled her for her very first nap (very scary since this is her most important nap) and she took about 5min longer to get to sleep, but no crying, just singing herself to sleep. She has now been asleep for an hour! So, I know for me, I was making it more complicated then it had to be for her. 🙂

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  18. We used the SwaddleMe for our son and decided to break him of it once he reached the weight limit on it (14 lbs). He was only 2 1/2 months but was starting to get an arm out every time he went down for naps and it would wake him early. So my husband and I decided to get rid of it. It took two nights of him waking every two hours, and then we would go in and put his paci back in, and by night three, he was used to sleeping without it. I just made sure he had warmer pajamas on so that he wasn't cold if he kicked his blankets off. It worked for us!

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