Our swaddling saga
I'm pretty sure I've tried every swaddle on the planet. It has been quite the saga, but one that has taught me a great deal.
Firstly- when we had the tiny human, I had no earthly idea about all the options there were available. I also didn't realize important swaddling would become to me, which probably explains why I didn't look at the options. Swaddling was just something that we might do, maybe, sometimes, I thought.
Boy howdy. Was I ever wrong.
At the very beginning, in the hospital and our first night home, we didn't bother swaddling the baby. Because one of us was holding the baby at all times. So, no swaddle necessary.
Upon realizing that this was ultimately unsustainable... we decided to try to swaddle her and let her take a nap in her Rock N' Play. She seemed to dig that pretty well, so we decided that might be a good option for her night time sleep. We swaddled her tight in a blanket that I had to spread all across the bed, usually on the husband's feet, because the dog was laying in the middle and there just wasn't good swaddling space.
Then... she started escaping. We had ourselves a little Houdini who thought it was great fun to sleep with her hands over her head. So we stopped swaddling. But she would constantly startle herself awake, which was kind of heartbreaking to watch. And, you know, not great for mama either.
One day I remembered that we had been bought some of the handy Velcro swaddles. We tried one of those out, and were delighted to find that her arms stayed in... and she didn't seem to hate it. Which was shocking. So that became our solution for the next... 3 months or so.
Eventually, the time came that she outgrew the magic Velcro swaddles. We tried the next size up, but they didn't fit right- something was off about the Velcro that allowed her to break free constantly. Or wake herself up trying.
The fourth night of this, I spent our (many) night feedings hunting the internet for what might help. I found all the articles about swaddle transition. And that led me to the Zipadee-Zip. People seemed to love it, so I bought one, and also a Halo Sleep Sack which was like the ones we had been using, but I hoped it would manage her wiggles a little better. The Zippy, as we now call it, was a bit big when it arrived, so it didn't do much for her. The other swaddle was a little too stretchy and she would weasel her way out maybe 50% of the time. The other 50% it worked great.
After that 50% became larger, I took to the interwebs again, searching for what I had missed. I bought 3 more swaddles and waited impatiently for them to arrive. Which is hilarious. Because they all had complimentary 1 day shipping. The husband, upon learning of my swaddle quest, asked me why I didn't just buy a Merlin sleep suit, since we have a cousin who used one for her little dude who is only 6 weeks older than our tiny human. Feeling like an idiot, I went ahead and ordered a Baby Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit as well.
We tried the 'hands up don't shoot' as we liked to call it. She didn't love having her arms trapping in a new position, she wanted them to either be free or to be by her sides. So while it is a great idea, it wasn't the right fit for us.
We tried the Merlin suit as soon as it arrived. And we love it. Instantly. We keep our house really cold, so the fleecy version was perfect for keeping her warm and also still. Turns out, she likes to crane her neck while she sleeps, and the Merlin suit allowed her to do that easily.
These days (1.5 months later) we alternate between the Zippy and the Merlin suit. The Zippy we use a lot for naps, or when its too warm for the toasty Merlin suit. She sleeps on her side in the Zippy, but could sleep on her stomach if she was so inclined, because the Zippy is supposedly engineered for that (as always- do your own research on that to make sure). The Merlin suit will have to be discontinued if/when she decides she wants to be a stomach sleeper, but until then we are loving it.
Firstly- when we had the tiny human, I had no earthly idea about all the options there were available. I also didn't realize important swaddling would become to me, which probably explains why I didn't look at the options. Swaddling was just something that we might do, maybe, sometimes, I thought.
Boy howdy. Was I ever wrong.
At the very beginning, in the hospital and our first night home, we didn't bother swaddling the baby. Because one of us was holding the baby at all times. So, no swaddle necessary.
Upon realizing that this was ultimately unsustainable... we decided to try to swaddle her and let her take a nap in her Rock N' Play. She seemed to dig that pretty well, so we decided that might be a good option for her night time sleep. We swaddled her tight in a blanket that I had to spread all across the bed, usually on the husband's feet, because the dog was laying in the middle and there just wasn't good swaddling space.
Then... she started escaping. We had ourselves a little Houdini who thought it was great fun to sleep with her hands over her head. So we stopped swaddling. But she would constantly startle herself awake, which was kind of heartbreaking to watch. And, you know, not great for mama either.
One day I remembered that we had been bought some of the handy Velcro swaddles. We tried one of those out, and were delighted to find that her arms stayed in... and she didn't seem to hate it. Which was shocking. So that became our solution for the next... 3 months or so.
Eventually, the time came that she outgrew the magic Velcro swaddles. We tried the next size up, but they didn't fit right- something was off about the Velcro that allowed her to break free constantly. Or wake herself up trying.
The fourth night of this, I spent our (many) night feedings hunting the internet for what might help. I found all the articles about swaddle transition. And that led me to the Zipadee-Zip. People seemed to love it, so I bought one, and also a Halo Sleep Sack which was like the ones we had been using, but I hoped it would manage her wiggles a little better. The Zippy, as we now call it, was a bit big when it arrived, so it didn't do much for her. The other swaddle was a little too stretchy and she would weasel her way out maybe 50% of the time. The other 50% it worked great.
After that 50% became larger, I took to the interwebs again, searching for what I had missed. I bought 3 more swaddles and waited impatiently for them to arrive. Which is hilarious. Because they all had complimentary 1 day shipping. The husband, upon learning of my swaddle quest, asked me why I didn't just buy a Merlin sleep suit, since we have a cousin who used one for her little dude who is only 6 weeks older than our tiny human. Feeling like an idiot, I went ahead and ordered a Baby Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit as well.
We tried the 'hands up don't shoot' as we liked to call it. She didn't love having her arms trapping in a new position, she wanted them to either be free or to be by her sides. So while it is a great idea, it wasn't the right fit for us.
We tried the Merlin suit as soon as it arrived. And we love it. Instantly. We keep our house really cold, so the fleecy version was perfect for keeping her warm and also still. Turns out, she likes to crane her neck while she sleeps, and the Merlin suit allowed her to do that easily.
These days (1.5 months later) we alternate between the Zippy and the Merlin suit. The Zippy we use a lot for naps, or when its too warm for the toasty Merlin suit. She sleeps on her side in the Zippy, but could sleep on her stomach if she was so inclined, because the Zippy is supposedly engineered for that (as always- do your own research on that to make sure). The Merlin suit will have to be discontinued if/when she decides she wants to be a stomach sleeper, but until then we are loving it.
