My daughter who is just 3 months old seems to be trying to get out of her swaddle but does not sleep well when her arms are out
My daughter who is just 3 mths has from quite early gone to sleep easily at 7pm, is woken at 10pm for a feed and wakes up once in the night around 4-5am, though on occasion has gone through to 7:15 am or around 6am. I would love to drop the night feed, but suspect it is from habit and maybe not getting enough milk during the day. She is a very efficient feeder, feeding for only 10 -15 minutes at a time day and night and absolutely refuses to take any more (screams blue murder) if you try to give her more at an individual feed. Being breastfed, it is difficult to really know, but I think she divides her daily intake by 6 not 5 so is still stuck on 6 feeds per day not 5. Her weight gain is great.
She has always slept well with no sleep association problems. The problem is that she loves being swaddled and to date has slept like a charm. However just recently she has been waking more (sometimes between 7 and 10pm) and twice during the night and appears to be fighting to get out of the swaddle. I tried to take the swaddle away, but instead she flails her arms around and either won’t settle, or if I settle her by rocking (which I don’t want to do long term causing a sleep association problem), will wake 45 minutes later. I tried one arm out, but instead she just flailed that one arm about.
My daughter breasts feed at 7.30am, 10.30am, 2.00pm, and 5pm taking 10-15minutes, at 6.30pm 10minutes, second half of split feed and 4.30am 10-15minutes. At 10.30pm she takes 120mls formula.
My daughter weighs 5.9kg [13lbs].
She naps at 8.45-9.45am, 11.30-2.00pm and 4-4.30pm. She settles at 7pm.
Now that your daughter is three months old it is important to get her to sleep unswaddled so as to prevent the dangers which may occur through over heating.
As she still thrashes about when sleeping use the following method to get her used to sleeping without being swaddled.
Start with the nap she has at 8.45am and swaddle her but leaving one arm free. If you can, remember to alternate the arm which is left out each morning. As this is a short nap she should not be too disturbed. After a few days of this, begin to do the same thing at 7pm as well. Once she has had her 10.30pm feed swaddle her fully for the night. Again, after a few days use the same way of swaddling, leaving alternate arms free, at the lunchtime nap and then finally all through the night.
Once she is used to having one arm out at 8.45am begin to half swaddle her for this nap, leaving both arms free. Introduce this way of sleeping in the same order as before to get her used to being unswaddled for all naps. It may take her a few days, but she will become used to sleeping in this way at all her naps and sleeps.
Consider putting her into a lightweight sleeping bag to replace her swaddle. This will allow you to still use a cotton sheet or lightweight blanket, stretched lengthways across her and secured at the cot sides with rolled towels, to prevent her from startling herself awake.
To help your daughter drop her night feed consider using the split feed method at 10pm. On page 138 of The Contented Little Baby you will see how to do this. By splitting her feed in this way she should take a slightly larger feed, 150-180mls, which should help her to sleep through to nearer 7am.