Swaddle Me No More

This post is a testament to our love of swaddling our children.  We first learned to swaddle when Julia was six weeks old, who suddenly was no longer the “sleepy baby” who would sleep anywhere and in any position, and her hands and arms became her worst enemies.  One trip through “Happiest Baby on the Block”, and we were swaddling fools. 

And we didn’t need those fancy swaddling contraptions – oh, no.  We swaddled Julia in receiving blankets until she was too big and then switched over to 48” x 48” flannel swaddling blankets that a friend had sent us that I swore we would never use – “MORE blankets???”  Those blankets became our best friends.  We learned how to swaddle in them and swaddle well. 

Julia was swaddled until she finally broke free at 7 months.

We started swaddling Raven from the get go.  She was by far our happiest child of the two older girls and best sleeper.  Another baby swaddled until 7 months.  Again, with a 48” x 48” flannel swaddling blanket.

Then along came Anna.  Anna took to the swaddle right in the hospital.  She accepted it and even today at almost three months old (tomorrow), she immediately calms down upon being swaddled if she’s upset or otherwise.

However, Anna is strong.

Anna is so strong and wiggly; so much so, in fact, that she can break out of Adam’s swaddle without breaking a sweat.  The Swaddling King’s Swaddle.  The Man Who Swaddled Our 18-Month-Old (this worked during a raucus fit of Julia’s and was the only way to calm her down).  Anna, with a grin and a giggle, breaks out of that thing like nothing.  And, after three straight nights of Anna focusing her energy on breaking out of her swaddles multiple times a night and then being mad that she is cock-eyed in her bassinet from all of the moving around, I’ve finally accepted that I need to transition Anna out of the swaddle.

Anna has been able to sleep with her arms out of her swaddle for a few weeks, as long as I swaddle her to start.  However, she’s no longer content with just her arms being out – she wants her whole body out.  So tonight I laid her down asleep without the swaddle, only to have her pop back away 5 minutes later.  Fifteen minutes later, she was out again, and again I laid her down.  Five minutes later… awake.

Well, Mama ain’t havin’ none of that.  Into the swaddle she goes.  We’ll see how long she lasts tonight.  I guess we will have the contention of the swaddle versus not until Girlfriend learns to sleep completely without it… until then, I’ll keep trying to let her fall asleep without it, she’ll keep breaking out after I succumb to my Best Baby Friend, and I will experience a lot of lack-of-sleep nights in my near future.  (Good thing she’s so cute when she wakes up!)

But, I’ve accepted that this one is different… this one will have her way much, much sooner.  My goodness, how fast they grow!

erin