My grandfather liked to say that paisley was his favorite color. Well, chevron is my paisley. I’m partial to anything with that zig-zag pattern, especially blankets. When my grandparents were moving out of their house, I snagged this vintage chocolate, tan and cream chevron throw hand knit by my grandmother. If we’re being honest here, it’s not the softest blanket, but it keeps me cozy when my office gets chilly. Plus, I’m a sucker for anything sentimental.… READ MORE!
I try to read Levi at least one book every evening as part of his bedtime routine. Of course, Goodnight Moon is in heavy rotation. We must have been gifted four copies of the classic children’s book!
After Levi falls asleep, it’s typically back to the computer/iPhone/iPad/TV for me and JB. Perhaps we need to read the new parody picture book, Goodnight iPad, to ourselves as a reminder to put our beloved gadgets to sleep, too.
PS: Doesn’t it blow your mind that our little ones will never know a world where they couldn’t see Grandma on the phone while talking to her?
Levi turned 12-weeks-old today. Can somebody please tell me where the time has gone? I think I’m in denial that my little bug is almost three months old.
After our conversation last week about Levi’s swaddle struggles, I listened to your suggestions and pulled out the Miracle Blanket I had stuffed in a closet after a couple of frustrating attempts with it when Baby Guy was a newborn. (Exhausted, JB and I found it to be too complicated during middle-of-the-night diaper changes.) This past Friday night I wrapped up Levi as tight as I could in it and hoped for the best.
When I heard him whining over the baby monitor in the middle night, I realized it was because he was struggling to free his little arms. He wanted out. Desperately. I tip-toed into his nursery* and re-swaddled him with his arms straight down by his side, but in the morning both arms were up over his head and his knees were exposed. So much for a miracle!
Plan B was to try the Halo SleepSack Swaddle. Levi had successfully napped in it while being rocked in his swing, but when we attempted to let him sleep while wearing it the following night, he again woke himself up several times trying to escape. After entering his room to console him for the third or fourth time, a light bulb went off in my head. Maybe he would sleep better (i.e. longer) if he simply wasn’t swaddled. I re-wrapped the SleepSack so that his arms were free, and sure enough, Levi peacefully slept in the touchdown position for the remainder of the night. Score!
So our swaddle saga comes to an end. The moral of our story? At 11-weeks-old, Baby Guy had officially outgrown the need to be swaddled. The next challenge? Getting him to sleep through the night…
Thank you all for your help!
*We reached another milestone this weekend when we moved Levi out of our bedroom and into his own. More on that in another post!
Baby guy’s newest trick is breaking out of his swaddle and, as a result, waking himself up from a nap or nighttime slumber. We are frequently finding him with one or both arms up by his head, little fingers exploring his face. Either he no longer cares to be confined by his sleeping bag-like blanket or his Summer Infant SwaddleMe is just too small (and the Velcro too worn down) to contain him.
We’ve tried to remedy the situation by using a larger swaddle, but it left too much room for his arms and hands to wander up north. We’ve also tried double bagging him–wrapping him in an aden + anais muslin swaddle before securing him inside the larger SwaddleMe–but he seemed too hot inside two layers.
I feel we only have two choices: Try another swaddle brand, like the HALO SleepSack Swaddle or say “sayonara” to the swaddle all together. So this mama could use some advice: When did your little one start sleeping “au natural,” and how was that transition? Before that, did you have a preferred brand of swaddle blanket?
{iphone photo}
