Trying to stop swaddling our 5 month old baby

by Dan
(NH)

Question: We recently stopped swaddling our 5 month old since she is rolling over now in her crib. Since we stopped she falls asleep but wakes up crying every hour and needs to be calmed down by walking her. We tried letting her cry it out but she was only crying harder and she too young to be doing that for a prolonged period of time.

We then have been putting her to sleep in the car seat where she is more contained and sleeps for almost the whole night. What can be done to get her to sleep in crib and get herself back to sleep??

Heidi's Answer: Hi Dan, You did the right thing, this is a good age and development stage to wean from swaddling.

A good way to wean from swaddling is to go gradually. A well-fitting sleeping bag with a blanket wrapped around it first, where you then release the blanket a little more each night.

The Halo Innovations Sleepsack Swaddle has this included as a feature: swaddle 'flaps' allow you to still swaddle at first, then swaddle without the arms being caugth, and then in the end use it as a simple sleeping bag. Check for size though, their 'Small' is the biggest, and it's recommended from 15 up to 18 pounds only, the other size is 'Newborn'.

Work with the gentle self soothing method to help teach her settle by herself.

Hope this helps,
Take care,
Heidi