Swaddling

« WellTellMe • Forum • Natural Health • Children's Health • Sleep • Swaddling »

(Read 1608 times) [1]

Swaddling
« on: January 02, 2007, 05:53:02 PM » by ShabbyChic

My 9 month old son will not go to sleep unless he is tucked in tightly. We use a twin sized fleece blanket and wrap it around his middle 2-3 times (under his arm pits), then twist up the length and tuck it under his bum. He wakes up if he gets untucked.

Sleep sacks are not tight enough. Swaddle blankets also tie up his arms, which he wants exposed. So now he is wriggling out and sitting up and standing in his crib, and I'm wondering if anyone knows of any ways of wrapping him or any products (like the miracle blanket or swaddleaze) to help keep him snug as a bug in a rug. Mostly if I could see how, I could sew it myself.

Thanks!

Logged

That's Shabby SHEIK not Shabby CHICK. Hee-hee.

Re: Swaddling
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2007, 06:48:32 PM » by herbalmom

Maybe something shaped like a tube sock but made out of fabric? You could either snap it to his shirt or put on shoulder straps that criss cross in the back to keep it on. If you can't find the right fabric you could get a pair of leggings to use as fabric at the thrift store cheap. Some of those leggings have so much Lycra in them that they stretch & fit snug at the same time. I even cut the bottom 6 ins off the leg of a pair once & used it as a body bandage for a cat one time. (around his middle between front & back legs) It worked & stayed put, he only got it off once & he had to wear it for over a week.

Is it that he wants his legs snug together or that he wants snug up against his skin? When my DS was younger he would kick his covers off & then scoot all over because he was cold. I didn't want to use blanket sleepers because we don't use synthetic fabrics so I started dressing him in dark girls cotton tights & turtlenecks. It worked great! He stayed warm, the turtleneck stayed tucked in, he stopped scooting, & he found that he REALLY liked the snug feeling of the tights on his legs. If your son likes snug on his skin then this might help now that he's moving around more. HTH Blessings ~herbalmom

« Last Edit: January 02, 2007, 06:51:28 PM by herbalmom »
Logged

Re: Swaddling
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2007, 09:56:28 PM » by ShabbyChic

So I get what you did with your cat (genius, and quite hysterical to picture Cheesy

) but I'm not understanding what you did with your son. You put girl's cotton tights on him like you would a girl? (I have no problem with that Wink

) That sounds warm enough, but it is like you said: he likes to have his feet together-- the tightness. I think the women's leggings would do well if he could stay warm enough.

I think I'll have to come up with my own tube-sock-esque with straps over the shoulder zip up bag that is fleece-y and tight. I was just wondering if anyone has any experience sewing anything or knows of a .com product I could rip-off. I like the leggings... that's a good starting place for sure. Thanks!

Logged

That's Shabby SHEIK not Shabby CHICK. Hee-hee.

Re: Swaddling
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2007, 04:33:20 AM » by herbalmom

Quote from: ShabbyChic on January 02, 2007, 09:56:28 PM

So I get what you did with your cat (genius, and quite hysterical to picture Cheesy

)

The cat DID look funny Grin

(imagine a black, 14lb. Maine Coon cat wearing a tight denim blue dog sweater without leg holes that only goes from leg to leg) but a friend deserves the credit for the idea. The cat didn't care for it but it didn't bother him too much & it worked very well. I had to come up with something. He got hurt the night before I was going out of town. My then 18yo was going to have to take care of him & DS had never vetted an animal in his life. We have 2 other cats & I had to make sure that none of the cats could get the covering off & lick at it. I would use it again & I imagine it would work on other animals & humans too-you would just have to find the right size leggings. Necessity (or insanity?) truly is the mother of invention. Wink

Quote from: ShabbyChic on January 02, 2007, 09:56:28 PM

I'm not understanding what you did with your son. You put girl's cotton tights on him like you would a girl? (I have no problem with that Wink

) That sounds warm enough, but it is like you said: he likes to have his feet together-- the tightness. I think the women's leggings would do well if he could stay warm enough.

Yes, he would wear cotton (much warmer & softer than nylon) tights & a turtleneck for PJ's. That's why I asked if his thing was that he liked a snug feeling around each leg or if he liked his legs wrapped up together. You might try the tights once- he might suprise you. As far as the leggings go, how warm they would be depends on what type you use- some are thick, soft, & warm. Sweats might work also. If you get the right size you may be able to cut a section off so you have a tube, sew one end closed, hem the other end if needed & add shoulder straps. The other possibility is to get a larger size & just use the fabric as fabric to make whatever your going to make. It just depends on what you can get. In my case, I don't get to the fabric store very often but I do get to the thrift store.

Quote from: ShabbyChic on January 02, 2007, 09:56:28 PM

I think I'll have to come up with my own tube-sock-esque with straps over the shoulder zip up bag that is fleece-y and tight. I was just wondering if anyone has any experience sewing anything or knows of a .com product I could rip-off. I like the leggings... that's a good starting place for sure. Thanks!

Here is one more idea. Take a blanket sleeper, open the seams along the inner legs & resew it into the shape you want. You can end a zipper anywhere you want just by sewing a stop over the teeth (repeated stitches in the same spot) & if you sewed front to front & back to back tapering down from about the waist to what used to be the top of the foot, then closed it off by sewing all the way across the bottom it might make him happy & would keep him warm. You can take in the sides if you need to. You might even be able to leave the feet in to make it easier for him to move around since he's standing now.

I was just re-reading your description of how you wrap him up & I wonder if what he likes is the snug around his chest & body? With wrapping 2-3 times around his body it would be snug around his body too. Just a thought. You may be able to put the tights on him for warmth & something snug around his chest or make it longer like a tight tube dress. Legging piece with shoulder straps & snapped to the tights maybe? Wink

You don't want him getting it up around his neck & choking. He could wear it under a shirt. Remember, necessity (or insanity) is the mother of invention. Wink

You may need to get him used to it gradually getting looser until he's not wrapped at all because as soon as he's walking your going to have a problem with him being cooconed.

Anyway, I'm basically thinking (typing) outloud here. I hope something here helps. Let me know what you come up with, I would like to know. Blessings ~herbalmom

« Last Edit: January 06, 2007, 03:07:23 AM by herbalmom »
Logged

Re: Swaddling
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2007, 10:15:07 AM » by healthybratt

What about using the pant leg of an old pair of sweats, just like using the tube sock?

Logged

My favorite herb book!!

Re: Swaddling
« Reply #5 on: November 08, 2007, 06:03:32 PM » by ShabbyChic

Does anyone swaddle? Any recommedations for a brand name? I have a friend who wants to swaddle and when she called me I didn't have a brand name she could register for.

Logged

That's Shabby SHEIK not Shabby CHICK. Hee-hee.

Re: Swaddling
« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2007, 07:34:13 PM » by natural

If you are referring to wrapping a baby in a blanket tightly, then I just used one with my baby called Loving Baby Swaddle Blanket. you can find them at www.babyswaddleblanket.com I found a couple off ebay and then made my own pattern from it, it is an awesome one but only lasts a short time Undecided

baby grows so quickly.

Hope this is what you were referring to.

Logged

4 yo Maciah: Mamma I am scared the wind is howling.
Me: Go to sleep Jesus will protect you.
4 yo Maciah: (stretching his chin to chest) But, but I can't see Jesus my head can't reach into my heart.

Re: Swaddling
« Reply #7 on: November 08, 2007, 07:42:34 PM » by here-n-there-a-little

I was using the SwaddleMe. They worked quite well. Much faster than a blanket swaddle and enough swaddling for my dd. My friend doesn't like the SwaddleMe and prefers the blanket method. My daughter would not sleep well until recently (3months old) without being swaddled.

Logged

<img src="[url]http://bd.lilypie.com/nZTKm4.png" alt="Lilypie Expecting a baby Ticker" border="0" />[/url]

Re: Swaddling
« Reply #8 on: May 15, 2008, 09:30:16 PM » by Gigi

A friend gave me one of these for my new little one - it works great!! It took a few tries to figure it out, but it was no harder or easier than the receiving blankets were at first.

Also, you can just swaddle the arms and leave the legs unswaddled, which makes for nice carseat nap times.

The one I have is called a SwaddleMe, by Kiddopotamus.

www.kiddopotamus.com/

Quote from: here-n-there-a-little on November 08, 2007, 07:42:34 PM

Logged

Re: Swaddling
« Reply #9 on: July 11, 2008, 10:25:49 AM » by hi_itsgwen

It's so funny to me how babies are all so different. My first two didn't ever get swaddled, and slept like little hibernating bears. My third one hates to have her feet tied down, and loves to kick and do crunches by lifting her legs. But she went through a phase where she was very excited to find her hands, and would pull her blanket over her face and scratch herself. So I started just swaddling her arms. No fancy blanket needed...this is what I do:

lay baby on a blanket top center, whith her head off the blanket. wrap left side down over arm, and then tuck under back. Repeat with right side.

If it was cold, you could add a sleep sack and/or tuck another blanket in around them.

I know this doesn't help with the leg thing though. What about this for securing legs:
Stitch some strong velcro onto one of the bottom corners, and then a strip of soft velcro around the other side...so you can wrap the extra sleep sack fabric around and velcro it to keep it tight.

Logged

(Read 1608 times) [1]