For centuries, women have wrapped their babies tightly in blankets or loose cloths to help them sleep more soundly. The age-old tradition of swaddling remains popular today, perhaps in part due to the popularity of Dr. Harvey Karp’s book “The Happiest Baby on the Block,” which recommends swaddling as an important step in his infant sleep program. While the method works well to settle a newborn, Dr. William Sears, the author of “The Baby Sleep Book” discourages long-term swaddling since it can potentially interfere with the development of your baby’s ball-and-socket joint in his hips.
Step 1
Add soothing sounds to your child's sleep environment. You can buy special "white noise" CD's or create your own CD of your baby's favorite sounds. Play the tape in your infant’s room for several nights before you start trying to wean him off the swaddle to relax him and help him sleep more deeply.
Step 2
Create a consistent bedtime routine. Sears stresses the importance of sleep rituals like a warm bath, stories and lullabies to helping your baby develop healthy sleep habits. Keep the routine upbeat and positive. Eventually your baby will learn that sleep always follows the routine.
Step 3
Test to see whether she is ready to sleep without the swaddling. Around 4 months, swaddle your baby with one arm out to see how she sleeps. If she wakes often, she might still need to remain fully swaddled, but if she continues to sleep soundly, Karp suggests you can probably start weaning her off the swaddling.
Step 4
Put your baby down for her daily naps without the swaddling. Go slowly, if she wakes frequently, swaddle her with one arm out. Keep trying until she eventually stays asleep during her naps without swaddling. Once this occurs, start putting her down at night without the swaddling.
Tips and Warnings
- Even after you successfully discontinue swaddling, Karp recommends using white noise in your baby’s night-time routine to improve night waking due to teething or loud household noises. To avoid over-heating your baby and increasing her risk of SIDS while you use the swaddling technique, keep your baby's bedroom at 60 to 70 degrees F.
- Sears cautions against allowing your baby to fall into the trap of only being able to sleep in certain situations or environment--such as after nursing or in a pitch-black room. Alternate putting your baby to bed with your partner so your baby becomes accustomed to different approaches to bedtime.
Things You'll Need
- White noise CD
