It’s been a rough couple of days in our household. We’ve been trying to slowly transition Emmett from his SwaddleMe to his Halo Sleep Sack and it hasn’t gone very well.
Last weekend we started by using the sleep sack during the day for naps but still intended to use the SwaddleMe at night. We knew that since Emmett has trouble with most changes, this would be no different. However, in the beginning he didn’t do so terribly. It would take a couple tries but eventually he’d go down for his normal 20 to 45 minute nap. We were thrilled because we knew how much we struggled moving him from his cradle to his crib. Unfortunately the effectiveness of the sleep sack wore off and Emmett refused to stay asleep with it. 🙁
Since he’d done so well with naps, we decided to try putting him in it on Saturday night. What a mistake! He went down between 7 and 8 PM like he normally does and was up at 12:45 AM. I went in, fed him and laid him back down, he was sound asleep so I figured everything was peachy. I headed back to bed and was nearly asleep when Emmett starts wailing. I go back in try to just give him his pacifier and soothe him without picking him up but no cigar. We sat and rocked for awhile and he eventually fell back to sleep, I put him in his crib sound asleep, headed back to bed and he was up within 10 minutes. We did this about 4 more times over the next 2 hours, eventually I had to call Seamus in to take over. We decided at that point we would just swaddle him so we could all get some decent sleep. That stinker slept from around 3 AM until 7:30 AM without a peep!
We had decided earlier in the weekend that even if Emmett wasn’t sleeping successfully in the sack at home, we’d still try it at day care for his naps because he needs to make the switch before he starts rolling over from back to belly. Another mistake! Apparently he didn’t like it with them either and took only 2 naps that were only 30 minutes each, with his last one being at 1:30 PM. I get there to pick him up at around 5 PM, he did sleep in the car on the way home but as soon as we took him out of his car seat, he had a total meltdown. Seamus made the (smart) executive decision that E was going to bed. We swaddled him, we couldn’t take the risk of him being up as much as he was on Saturday night, we both had to work in the morning.
This is really really rough and I don’t know what to do to get him used to the change. He is almost nearly rolling over from back to belly and when babies start to do that, it is recommended that you stop swaddling them because they can roll over, and without arms, can get stuck on their stomach with their heads smooshed in the sheets. Basically it’s a suffocation hazard.
I think for naps and possibly over this coming weekend, we’re going to swaddle him with one arm out and then 2, etc, in hopes that this will make his transition a million times smoother. We need sleep!
Seamus and I are running on fumes, due to the lack of sleep, so any advice you have or ideas you’d like to share, are welcome!!