swaddle transition

my acrobatic son has talents to do the craziest things in his crib...most impressively he turns circles inch-bugging around in his sleep sack. we started in the lovely miracle blanket...worked miracles until the little inch bug scooted his way all the way to the top of his crib and ended up with it around his neck like a scarf! the next day the miracle blanket was out and the halo sleep sack swaddle blanket was in! after his 360's in the crib, per our doc it was time to start transitioning out of the swaddle before we had a flipper!

night zero...
as I went to bed one Monday night, I had the "great" idea that our calendars were aligning with the stars and that tomorrow we would begin operation swaddle drop.

day{time} one...
normally Ward's first nap is the best nap of the day...until you allow him to have access to one arm. I as rationalized how great of an idea this was {he can help himself put his own pacifier back in, he can use his hand to suck on} it was actually horrible {he can't reach the pacifier, he's wondering what in the heck his arm is doing out of the swaddle}...he lasted one hour {& so did I}...and so the day went on with crying and crying and crying during naps. he would fall asleep as soon as you picked him up and then as soon as you lay him down...tears {for Ward too ha}.

post bath/ready for one arm swaddle for bedtime!

night {time} one...
and action...go bath time! every night we do a bath and then eat and then bed. we also wake up for a 10PM-ish dream feed. I used all the good vibes I could get even putting his cross onesie on him...but seriously we said some big time prayers for rest for all before we started the routine. bedtime went well {I am typing this on night one and feel like I'm about to jinx myself for merely typing this} as soon as there was some moderate shhh-ing around the room he was out and I crept out the room backing up slowing and swearing under my breath as I tripped over two dog toys.

sneaking in to check it out for myself! shhh!!!!

days two and three...
naps never seemed so short but night times went like a charm! it may have been that I failed to consult the "wonder weeks" app to see that this was a "stormy" week for Ward which is what I'll attribute the stormy naps to!

one stuck little leg but two arms swaddle free!

day/night four...
and then there were none! no arms in the swaddle! I cannot believe that we are doing this after pushing our luck with three peaceful nights but at this point there is no turning back! we used the halo sleep sack still with out any arms tied down (just the velcro around his body). we tried to be sure that we didn't have the velcro too tight because lets be honest, we don't need yet another step to break in this process! the day was still the worst but maybe it just made him a little tuckered out for the night!

i see you mommy!

we did no arms in the velcro swaddle for another five nights. after that we transitioned to the aden & anais sleeping bags. part of me was sick of having to worry about the halo velcro attaching to anything in the washing machine and the other part of me wondered if he'd be getting too hot as the temperatures were rising. we loved the halo fabric but the size small in the halo brand are about 3" or more shorter than the A&A swaddles. we did go for the regular muslin A&A swaddles (not the aden by A&A which are slightly less expensive). I had read a few places that the aden by A&A were a little bit more thin and didn't stand the test of time {or kids active in their sacks}. you can easily search for these if you aren't being pattern picky on amazon for less than the A&A website.

we're officially out of the swaddle and sticking to the sleeping sacks! I'm sure for posting this we will have a horrible four month sleep regression but hope you get inspired to take a chance at dropping the swaddle!

a side sleeper with no arms in! just in time to drop the swaddle on his 3 month birthday!