If you swaddle a baby, how do they sleep?

[PeterPan]

I always put dd on her stomach because she slept better that way. You can't do that when you swaddle them, can you? She was born big and strong, could already push herself up as a newborn, so it didn't worry me to have her on her tum. But if swaddled they wouldn't be able to move their arms. So then do they sleep on their side? Back? I really don't like the flat head thing I've seen with babies who only sleep on their backs. The whole point of the swaddling is for Little One to sleep better and longer. Guess as long as that's happening, I don't care? And yes, we'll have the crib alongside the bed to co-sleep, so LO will get pulled in with the slightest squack. I just figured I wouldn't hold him EVERY minute haha, and wasn't sure how you put him down when he's wrapped like a burrito.

 

Am I making this too hard?

[Amy in NH]

Mine slept best on their sides if swaddled, on their tummies if not.

It was amazing how much better they slept on their tummies than on their backs!

[PariSarah]

And the older only liked it for a few months. I usually put him on his side. Tried to remember to switch sides, but didn't always.

 

I never put either of them down to sleep on their tummies. Bed head is easy enough to prevent, with a little tummy time during the day.

[Aubrey]

Well...they tell you not to put babies on their tummies any more. So mine have *almost* always slept on their backs. Swaddling helps this. No flat heads here!

[PeterPan]

If you put them on their sides while swaddled, do you have to roll a blanket under them to keep them propped that way? I went looking online and found some pics of babies swaddled, lying on their tums with their heads turned to the side. Sort of looked uncomfortable, but I don't know, lol.

[Jami]

If you put them on their sides while swaddled, do you have to roll a blanket under them to keep them propped that way? I went looking online and found some pics of babies swaddled, lying on their tums with their heads turned to the side. Sort of looked uncomfortable, but I don't know, lol.

 

A rolled up blanket works fine, or you can pick up a little curved wedge from Target, Babies R Us, etc. to prop from behind.

 

We had tummy sleepers too (well the first one was, the other two co-slept more and were on their sides). But for swaddling I did put them on their backs or sides.

[Plucky]

Not one of my kids ever liked swaddling. And some of them slept on their tummy.

[Pink Fairy]

I used the neatest thing with my last baby. I'm terrible at swaddling, and this thing makes it "idiot" proof.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Cozy-Cocoon%C2%AE-Organic-Bunting-Natural/dp/B000NK2E9C/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=apparel&qid=1221576686&sr=8-18

[3lilreds in NC]

I kinda look at it as an either/or thing - either swaddle them, or they can sleep on their tum. Not every baby likes swaddling, though, and they may not like to sleep on their tum, either. My mom said (back in the day when we were supposed to sleep on our tummies) that when she put me face down in bed, I would bang my head on the mattress until she flipped me over. She thinks it was poetic justice that Emma would *only* sleep on her tummy.

 

You're just gonna have to wait until you meet your new little person before you can know what to do about swaddling, tummy sleeping and the like. :D

[Jen500]

Only one of my three really slept better when swaddled. I always laid them on their backs (plenty of tummy time during the day) and when they could flip over on their own I just let them.

[kat19]

I didn't swaddle my son for sleeping.

He sleeps on his back(I put him to bed on his back) and doesn't have flat head although now that he can roll over though, he usually ends up on his side or stomach.

 

 

 

Each child is different~I wish you luck :001_smile:

[Frankie]

Well...they tell you not to put babies on their tummies any more. So mine have *almost* always slept on their backs. Swaddling helps this. No flat heads here!

 

I agree with Audrey. Tummy sleeping is not recommended due to SIDS. My cousin's grandson died of SIDS a few years ago and he was a tummy sleeper.

 

My son slept on his back and he never had a flat head. And for what it's worth, he would scream bloody murder if we swaddled him! lol

[LizzyBee]

Only one of mine liked being swaddled and she slept on her belly. But she slept in a bassinet right beside our bed, she was a noisy breather (my dh would wake up if she took too long between breaths!), and we always made sure to keep her sheet pulled tight and no extra blankets that could get wrinkled up around her face.

[Jami]

Just to throw this out there, I don't think a lot of the problems with flat heads are necessarily from back sleeping. But from sitting in car seat carriers so much of the time, probably combined with the back sleeping. Some poor babies live in those carriers. A small pet-peeve. :001_smile:

 

(but I still don't rule out tummy sleeping for a baby who sleeps much better in that position)

[Ellie]

Just to throw this out there, I don't think a lot of the problems with flat heads are necessarily from back sleeping. But from sitting in car seat carriers so much of the time, probably combined with the back sleeping. Some poor babies live in those carriers. A small pet-peeve. :001_smile:

 

(but I still don't rule out tummy sleeping for a baby who sleeps much better in that position)

 

:iagree: I will join you in that small pet peeve. Ok, it isn't small. But I'll join you anywa.

[bumbledeb]

All mine slept swaddled on back or on side, propped with rolled up blanket. None of them had flat heads. Maybe some babies just have flat heads naturally.

[chaik76]

If you do decide to sleep the baby on her back, you can avoid the flat head syndrome by turning her head to a different side each time she sleeps (i.e. to the right one time, the left the next). My dr. had no problem with babies sleeping on their tummies once they could pick up their head and turn it. (I also had babies that turned over as newborns...they always ended up on their tummies anyway).

[PeterPan]

Jami, that's an interesting point that the flatheads could be from a combo of things. Hadn't thought of that!

 

Well this is interesting! As you say, I'm just going to try some things and see what happens. Thanks ladies! Now to kill some more days... I think I may go out of my gourd...

[astrid]

:iagree: I will join you in that small pet peeve. Ok, it isn't small. But I'll join you anywa.

 

Me too. I have a friend who wrote her PhD thesis in Anthropology about attachment disorders in troubled youths. One of her foci was that so many babies go through the day literally encased in plastic, with little contact with their parents:

Wake up, dressed, fed with plastic bucket car seat with bottle propped.

Pick up car seat bucket by its handle, place in car. Drive to daycare.

Remove plastic bucket, (with baby often asleep) into daycare.

Rather than wake baby, daycare workers take the bucket's handle and place bucket inside plastic crib.

Baby wakes up later.

Baby is placed on plastic/vinyl mats for playtime. (with plastic toys)

Baby is fed from plastic bottle.

Baby goes back to nap on plastic mattress in plastic crib.

Mom comes to pickup baby. Baby is ready, and already waiting in plastic bucket.

Mom carries the handle of the bucket and puts it in the car.

Arriving home, baby is asleep, so the bucket is carried into the house with sleeping baby still inside.

Baby eats, and is given a bath, sitting in a plastic baby bathtub.

Baby goes back to sleep on a plastic mattress.

 

Repeat.

 

Her assertion is that not nearly enough time is spent with human contact, and the baby is just a "passenger" being lugged about in his plastic bucket, which leads to all sorts of attachment disorders and violent behavior, as apposed to other cultures where most babies are worn in a sling or carried in the arms of the parents/caregivers.

 

It's a very interesting paper.

 

astrid

[Alphabetika]

My little burrito (she's 14 now) slept swaddled with this funny little foamy wedge thing propped behind her. My dh called it "Baby Bookends" and it really was a legitimate baby product. That worked for her as a newborn. The next one was anti-burrito and slept on her back no matter what.

[kalanamak]

I had a pair of wedges with a connecting cloth. I got it at goodwill and just washed the terry covers. You put the back to the big on and the tummy to the little one, and baby gave you a beautiful 3/4 view. Since I don't see them anywhere, they probably decided they led to alcoholism or foot rot.

[Jami]

I had a pair of wedges with a connecting cloth. I got it at goodwill and just washed the terry covers. You put the back to the big on and the tummy to the little one, and baby gave you a beautiful 3/4 view. Since I don't see them anywhere, they probably decided they led to alcoholism or foot rot.

 

I think I saw this set up at Target just a week or two ago.

[CookieMonster]

Both of mine liked swaddling. It only lasted a couple of months. By the time they were wriggling out of their swaddling, they were rolling over. Once they start rolling over I worry no longer about them ending up on their tummies to sleep.

 

About the head thing: when you lay a newborn down on their back, their head flops to the side. I just tried to remember to switch sides each time I laid baby down. My second was moving her head around on her own by two months, reaching for her fingers to suck on. I unswaddled one hand and she liked that. (And I liked it that I could take binky away!)

 

Tummy time during the day definitely keeps flat-head at bay, as does judicious use of any baby carriers.

[~Kirsten~]

I think I saw this set up at Target just a week or two ago.

We had them as well, so they were available within the last few years. BUT, I have heard that if the babe's a scooter (one of mine was), there's a higher chance of suffocation with those than with a rolled blanket. Just an FYI with no statistics to back it up. :glare: My first dd absolutely had to be swaddled, and she slept best on her side. We rolled several blankets to prop her from the front and back both. My second like swaddling, but she was a major wiggle monkey, so we double wrapped her (in a blanket and then in a swaddle thing like pictured above). She wiggled so much that the side-propping thing never worked, so she was an on-her-back sleeper. She rolled early, thankfully, and we all slept much better when she slept on her tummy.

 

Interestingly enough, that one still sleeps on her tum, and the other one sleeps on her back 90% of the time, occasionally turning onto her side. :D

 

Regardless, big hugs. Hang in there as you figure out ways to pass the time until your sweet one joins you! :grouphug:

 

ETA: OH! As an aside, it was really tough weaning my first OFF being swaddled. She needed it so badly, but once she was rolling and wiggling, she needed to be free, and it was a huge problem! I know, I know. You wanted another worry to add to the debate. Ahem. But I figured better to get it out there.

[jojomojo]

Well...they tell you not to put babies on their tummies any more. So mine have *almost* always slept on their backs. Swaddling helps this. No flat heads here!

 

Same here. I've always put them down on their sides or backs (usually side, but they'd always end up on their back) and they don't have anywhere near flat heads.

 

We swaddled with these blankets ALL the time though, for a long time too (my last two NEEDED it).

[CactusPair]

My 2 loved swaddling, esp. ds. He liked being being bundled so tight my dh had to wrap him.:001_smile: But it depends on the kid. Some don't like it.

 

Mine both slept on their backs without a problem. Back-to-sleep is the way now to help prevent SIDS. I'd be worried about putting anything into the bassinet or crib for propping. I never even had a crib bumper pad-- just too nervous about suffocation.

 

Once they're too big for the receiving blanket swaddle--breaking out of it, etc.-- they can wriggle, lift up, usually turn over. The bundle stage doesn't last long.

 

No flat heads here. Ds was a marathon napper, too. When they were awake my babes were in arms, in a sling or swing. We did tummy time and never used carriers. Too heavy!

 

Let us know when the special arrival makes an appearance!:001_smile:

[PinkInTheBlue]

My oldest hated to be swaddled. My next I swaddled briefly but he was a great sleeper and I let him sleep on his tummy from early on. He was great. I wish I had not been so freaked out by the no-tummy-sleeping thing with my oldest. I'll always wonder if he would have slept better (any at all actually! ugh)

 

With my 2 yr old, he loved to be swaddled. I bought the SwaddleMe wrap by Kiddopotumus (sp?). He loved it until he was probably around 6 months old. We even had to wean him from it. :) It was adorable! He slept on his back and slept really well. I bought the little wedge thing to keep him on his side because I was worried about what would happen if he spit up while on his back. He wiggled just a bit in his sleep and I kept finding him wiggled down so his face was almost smooshed against that wedge. I promptly took it out. No flat head problems here but he was out of bed and being played with a lot, so he didn't get much chance! LOL

[Camy-7 boybarians 1 lady]

You can place them on their tummy and swaddle, just don't swaddle baby's arms. I place the blanket below baby's armpits and swaddle, leaving the arms free.

 

Blessings,

 

Camy

[LizzyBee]

:iagree: I will join you in that small pet peeve. Ok, it isn't small. But I'll join you anywa.

 

:iagree: I loved carrying my babies in my arms. The few times I carried one of them in a car seat, it was so heavy and uncomfortable. I could never figure out why so many people use them as carriers.

[Amy in NH]

I don't accept the "new" conventional wisdom that tummy sleeping alone causes SIDS.

 

There has been some research done about toxicity in mattresses causing SIDS and pervasive developmental disorders such as autism. Toxic fumes are created by molds and mildews when they come into contact with antimony, which is added to mattresses as a fire retardant (beginning in the 1950s). Molds and mildews grow on crib mattresses when baby spits up or wets on the mattress. Putting baby down on their tummy in such a situation can cause dangerous levels of toxic chemicals to more easily enter their system.

 

There are a bunch of websites with info about this. Just google "sids mattress chemicals".

[angela in ohio]

I swaddled them and then put them sideways, using a rolled up blanket to prop them. They did usually slide down onto their back though, and within a few months I went to just putting them on their back. They never got flat heads, because I had them on their tummies or on me all day long when they were awake.

[PeterPan]

Kirsten, so how did you go about weaning a dc off swaddling? Mercy, I just figured dc would get wiggley, hate it, and we'd take it off.

[PeterPan]

Jojomojo--yes, those are the ones I bought!!! I admit, I've been a bit of a sucker with this pregnancy, buying new things. But I wanted to learn some new tricks. I got two of those Miracle Blankets and the dvd of The Happiest Baby on the Block, which I watched again last night. I'm hoping my LO likes the blankets, as they were pricey. The idea seemed really good, and boy are they cute when wrapped like that! :)

[PeterPan]

Jessica, how did you wean him from the swaddling? You're the 2nd person to mention that, and I didn't anticipate it...

[Laura Corin]

Mine slept on their backs when swaddled. No flat heads here though.

 

Laura

[PeterPan]

Amy, agreed there's more going on with SIDS. (juicy, controversial topics that I was too lazy to bring up but definitely care about and have read about) I needed a new crib mattress this time, so I found a safe one without all the junk. My dd could lift her head from early on, (day 1? I forget), so it never worried me to leave her on her tum. This LO will probably be just as big, from the looks of it. However it sounds like you don't put them on their tum fully swaddled, gotta have the arms free. That's what I was trying to figure out.

 

And now the question of the day is: if you put the on their tum to sleep, does that make them a tummy sleeper when they grow up? Or are they tummy sleepers by nature/bent and you have to find their most comfortable way to sleep? I'm a confirmed back sleeper, sleeping straight as a board, motionless, not even ruffling the sheets, except when prego that is. Dd, who slept on tum as a baby, is a rowdy, curling tum and side sleeper, like dh. Given his age, I'm guessing dh was put on his side to sleep as a baby. What say we? Nurture or nature for sleeping position?

 

Another day down, another morning has come... Only BH, no baby...

[Bokons]

I've had several foster babies, and two I got when they were 2.5 and 3 months old. They always slept on their backs until they could roll over themselves, then they slept on their tummies or back. They never got flat heads.

 

My dc slept on their sides or back until they could roll over themselves and none of them have flat heads. Only my youngest has a very small area that feels a bit flatter than the rest. I've also had a foster baby that I got when he was 7 months old, and his head was very flat. The social worker told me that his mom held him all the time, so I think that flat head is kind of genetic. If a baby has a predisposition to get flat head, then he'll be more likely to get it if sleeping on his back. That's my theory.

 

Colleen

[CookieMonster]

Jessica, how did you wean him from the swaddling? You're the 2nd person to mention that, and I didn't anticipate it...

 

 

I 'weaned' off of swaddling by starting with the arms. I would not swaddle one arm and when that worked, both. Since their older by this time, it went pretty smoothly. They don't jolt themselves as much as newborns might.

 

Then I only wrapped around the middle and legs. After that it was pretty easy because they were trying to roll over anyway, so not swaddling their legs together didn't become disconcerting to them.

[Lolly]

My first couldn't stand to be swaddled. She wanted to lounge and be free.

 

My twins loved swaddling. I would suggest rotating position for sleeping. Put them on one side, the other side, back. If they have a real preference for a position, you'll figure it out quickly enough.