Paige has been swaddled for sleep since coming home from the hospital. After dealing with a colicky baby Reese, we quickly learned the power of swaddling when it comes to soothing and sleep. (Major Harvey Karp fans at this house!) At first, Paige started off swaddled in a single blanket. When she easily wiggled free, we began double swaddling her in two cotton blankets--one on top of the other. As she got a little bigger we began using our swaddle sack. (A lifesaver held over from Reese's infancy.) Since Paige is still slightly undersized and incredibly strong, she still sleeps double swaddled--in a cotton blanket with the sleep sack over it. Any less binding and she breaks out instantly.
There's no doubt, that even from the start Paige doesn't like being swaddled. She will fight the process tooth-and-nail. But, the second she's swaddled and rocked, she drifts off to sleep. Try the same feat with her unswaddled and she'll hit herself in the face, squirm, and take longer to fall asleep..and unless you hold her, the odds of her staying asleep are dramatically lower.
Two weekends ago (before the terrible cold bug hit our house) we decided to try and see if Paige was ready to be unswaddled. We rocked her to sleep like always, but without her swaddle. With out fail, within minutes of being put down each time, she would startle and wake her self up. Back to the swaddle we went...
Paige's cold made for a temporary set back in her sleep. She was having coughing fits that were waking her up (day and night), and her congestion and drainage made it hard for her to rest. We relented and back peddled to putting her in her swing for sleep.
Now that she's recovered, we made one more attempt at unswaddling--this time seeing if she would sleep unswaddled on her belly in her crib. Gasp--yes, I know what the AAP says about tummy sleeping; but let's be honest, I'd dare say that a majority of babies <1994 were put to sleep on their bellies without incident, Kevin and myself among them. Our logic was that she would startle herself less in this position. Alas, it was also a massive failure.
So, we're back to the double swaddle in her bed at night. I can't remember if Reese required swadddling for this long or not, but to each their own. At this point, we're just trying to get the kid better rested. Since her night time sleep is settling, she's sleeping in her bed at night, but we're still keeping her in her swing for naps during the day. When we put her in her bed at this point for naps, she'll sleep for 20-40 minutes and wake up needing more soothing. Since she isn't old enough for sleep training at this point (and I can't take care of Reese when I'm re-soothing a baby all day), the swing is our temporary solution.
Do people really give birth to babies who they can rock and then put down for sleep without any of this fuss? Since I'm not having any more kiddos of my own, I guess I'll never know.
Ahh..I keep telling myself that Reese never slept either, and now (when she's not covertly pooping) she's a great sleeper.
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