Yesterday, after days and days of James fighting to go down for a nap and screaming the whole time, I gave up and decided to swaddle him to see if it helped. He calmed right down and went to sleep! You see, when we put him in just a sleep sack, he tries to rub his eyes and then knocks his pacifier out, which wakes him up and takes him longer to fall asleep, which makes him crabbier so he won't sleep. But with the swaddle, he can't do that AND he feels like he's being held, so he goes to sleep faster.
I am going to do some research about how long it is safe to swaddle him. But MAN, I am grateful for two naps in a row now where he's gone down without screaming. It's just made life so much easier. He hasn't really rolled over while in the swaddle, and usually if he does he gets all upset to be on his tummy and cries, so I'm not too worried about him doing a face-plant and not being able to breathe (we also have the angel care monitor, so that helps for my peace of mind).
I've read somewhere that babies need to not be swaddled after a certain point because part of their development is rolling around in their sleep. BUT, since he's sleeping better, I notice he's been rolling around a lot more in the daytime and seems happier in general. So...
This is the best choice for him for right now, I think. It's easier on everyone, and he seems to be healthier because of it. But I will do my research and see when we absolutely have to stop swaddling.
Yay for a (maybe temporary) solution to stop the screaming!
Those SwaddleMe's we gave you were the only things standing between us and losing our minds when the boys were this age. And honestly, if you look long enough on the internet, you can find "research" to support pretty much anything...no matter what you do, someone is going to think you're doing it wrong. The most important thing is that James (and thus, you two) are healthy and happy.
ReplyDeleteYeah, we bought 2 more so we have enough in his size to make it longer than 2 days without washing lol! They are GREAT!
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