No More Swaddle!!!

For those who have been following my blog, you know that I have been trying desperately to break Kyndall of her swaddle.  She's been swaddled since the day she was born and I have no doubt that it's the reason she has always been such a great sleeper for us.  While I don't have any regrets about starting this "habit", I truly became concerned when she was 5 months old and still wanting to be swaddled....and then 6 months....and then 7.....and now 8!  I felt guilty taking away something that she seemed to love and NEED so much, but at the same time, my Mommy intuitions were telling me it needed to be done.  I kept reading things that said swaddling for too long can delay motor development.  That's the last thing I want, so we started slowly.  For about two weeks, she slept with one arm out of the swaddle.  This wasn't easy and took her a few nights to get used to the feeling.  I lost some sleep, but it wasn't as bad as I thought.  After a good two weeks of her sleeping with one arm out (alternating arms each night), I decided to still swaddle her, but leave both arms out.  Again, there were a few nights of adjustment, but eventually she became ok with it.  I then tried to lay her down completely unswaddled.  This step proved to be impossible.  For some reason, she just needs that feeling of comfort that comes with being covered up.  I kind of understand, because even though I don't NEED my covers at night, I feel exposed and uncomfortable when I'm not under my sheet.  I'm way too paranoid to put any blankets in the crib, so I found the next best thing and crossed my fingers that it would work.  A sleep sack.  It's basically like a wearable blanket for babies.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that she loves it!!!  Mission accomplished!  We are now swaddle free and my Mommy conscience is clear!  This may sound silly to some, but if you truly knew how much this child depended on her swaddle, you would be celebrating along with me!  I'm pretty proud of myself, because I did it all on my own, and I didn't give in to the temptation to just swaddle her back up during those long, sleepless nights.  We are now back on our wonderful sleep schedule and she doesn't seem to miss it at all!  In fact, last night she slept from 10:30 pm until 11:00 this morning! 

We've gone from this......

To this!!!!



Now for the next challenge.....getting rid of the paci!  I think I'll give her a few more months on that one.  Being the hygienist Mommy that I am, her teeth are my main concern with the paci.  But since she doesn't have a single pearly white yet, we'll put that one off a little longer!