Swaddle Failure

*~* Failed Swaddling Class *~*

I don't know about all of you other mommies out there but I failed the swaddling portion of birth class.  I also had a baby who was VERY strong from the get go and could wiggle out of any swaddle I attempted from day one.  Even the nurses in the hospital could not hold Liam in...and they are pros!  Because of this, we abandoned swaddling once we got home.  Liam was sleeping (mostly) in a bassinet that kind of snuggled him anyway so we did not have a need to swaddle him.  Upon transitioning to the crib we had some issues.  He slept well for the most part, but would wake up.  Before we found the Woombie, a friend recommended The Miracle Blanket - which is like a straight jacket for babies!  It worked though.  Liam could not get his arms out and he stayed swaddled all night.  This blanket worked for awhile, but Liam quickly started to grow out of it and soon was able to get a leg out, and then two, thus sleeping through the night was a challenge again.  

Thanks to Pinterest, I found The Woombie.  The Woombie is a sleep sack that is supposed to simulate being in the womb.  It is a stretchy material so baby has the ability to move, unlike being swaddled, but it still have enough resistance to keep that Morro Reflex in check.  The Woombie is the swaddle for Dummies as I like to call it.  All you have to do is put baby inside and ZIP them up.  It's also great because the zipper goes both ways...for those pesky night time changes.

In our attempt to "wean" Liam from the Woombie we bought the Woombie with legs.  He slept great in this for awhile, but it soon got too tight and it was more difficult to get him into at night, so we abandoned it quickly.  You can buy something called the Convertible Woombie - where you can slowly let one arm out, then the other, then one leg and finally everything free.  We never tried this product.  We moved on to something else.

THE ZIPPITY ZIP!

This product I had my doubts about.  It claims to calm that Morro Reflex while also weaning your baby from the need to be swaddled.  When it came in the mail, I was worried.  The material was so light weight I thought, "No way will this work."  We tried it a few times with naps when Liam was about 4.5 months old...and it just did not fly!  He did not sleep well and had trouble falling asleep in it. 

We tried it again around Thanksgiving...and BINGO it worked!  Liam started to sleep well during his naps in it!  He can now sleep in it through the night without a problem.  He can move much more freely in the Zippy and can self soothe himself back to sleep like a big boy:)

Are we totally weaned of needing to be swaddled...I guess you can say yes, but he still cannot sleep without being inside his Zippy.  We will work on transitioning into sleeping without anything next.  But for now, we love the Zippity Zip!

Sweet Dreams<3

Molly

The Zippity Zip.

This is the Woombie with legs.

This is the Woombie.