how can i stop swaddling him when he uses his pacifier to fall asleep..?

Question

my son is 5 months.. He used to love being swaddled and would fall asleep right away.. Now he has more strength in his arms and fights me every time.. Starts crying and trying to get his hands out.. when i do let him get out of it, he knocks the pacifier out and gets even more upset... He doesnt mean to, he rubs his face not realizing he'll loose the dummy =[

He doesn't like being rocked, so i can't do that.. When i leave him unswaddled and lay him on his side, he wants to pat something! Or like play with something.. so he'll go for the pacifier if nothing else is in his reach - so i lay a blanket and he rubs on that.. hehe.. but moments later he still knocks the paci out..

So how can i help him without changing his sleeping associations? ( i don't want to cosleep or start rocking him to sleep, the goal is to get him to fall asleep on his own completely in the next months )

Answer 1

Scared mommy has the righ answer- if he knocks out the pacifier then its out. I made sure my babies had warm sleepers and just put them to bed with soft music and a dim light. Worked for years. Same thing I do for me!!!!!

Answer 2

You know, one thing that I have learned after having my third child is there's no right or wrong way of doing things as long as you love your child and do right by him. They are only little ONE TIME! It's over in the blink of an eye. My two older ones are 6 and 4. My baby is 17 months. I am finally content just doing what works for us and what feels natural. It makes me want to cry sometimes because pretty soon I'll look back and she will be 2, then 3. I can't have anymore babies because my husband got snipped. Don't be so concerned with what's the "right" thing to do, just go with the flow. My goodness, hold your baby, cuddle him, kiss him, rock him, sing to him. Soothe him when he wants you because you know what, it's going to all be over too fast. Enjoy them when they are babies. My baby sleeps with me, nurses in the middle of the night and whenever she wants during the day. She's happy, healthy and is growing up too fast. My other two were the same way. The sleep all night in there own beds and I NEVER let them "cry it out". I'm sorry, the cry it out method hits a nerve with me because I just think it's sending the baby a message saying you'll be there when they need you during the day, but not a night. Just enjoy your baby and don't look back in 2 years and wish you had done things differently.

Answer 3

wow these people are cruel! they want to take your poor baby's paci away! have you tried swaddling him with a larger blanket? of course not too thick, just a larger piece of fabric. there is nothing wrong with swaddling at this age or pacifiers. it is normal for him to have limited control of his hands and for him to knock the paci out. it has been shown that babies who sleep with a pacifier have a lower risk of sids than those who don't. save the sleep training for when he's a little older. give him a month or two and he will have more control over his hands and be able to keep that paci in.

Answer 4

Some babies can never fall asleep on there own. My cousin is 16 months old and still gets rocked to sleep. Try swaddling him with his arms out of the blanket. If you see he is going for the pacifier hold it in for him.

Answer 5

good luck on that!!!
have you ever tried those special swaddling blankets? you know, the ones the Velcro closed closely around the baby?
what if you try giving him a bottle for a bit(if he's bottle fed) and let him drink that until he gets drowsy then slip his pacifier in there and put him in his crib... maybe that will help him to be more calm.
my kids were nursed. so we usually rocked at bedtime. i would tell them "let's go nite-nite" and just hum or sing quietly to them. once they start getting drowsy i would lay them in their crib. I must admit, I'm one of those moms that can't stand to leave my babies to cry for long periods of time, to cry themselves to sleep. so if they cried for more then 5-10 min I'd go and rock them a little more..
also there are the bears that have the heartbeat sound, or even glo worm toys that play lullaby music... maybe those would help soothe him.
don't know about you, but i was always willing to try ANYTHING to get my kids to go to sleep by themselves--not to mention STAY asleep!!
Good luck!! I hope you find something that works for the both of you!!!!

I can't believe people are saying not to cuddle your baby at only FIVE months old--you'd think people thought you said he was 5 YEARS old. my youngest is 17 months old, i still snuggle her in my lap and rock her before bedtime!!!! they're only babies once!!!! I say SNUGGLE, rock, soothe, and do whatever you want for as long as they let you!!! for someday, they won't want all of that!!! as a side note, my daughter didn't finally start falling asleep on her own until she was about 14 months old---it really depends on the child. You just go with your instincts and what works for you!!! gosh, i can't believe some of the advice given on this question!!!

Answer 6

Take everything out of his crib and leave everything away from his reach. Turn on some soft soothing music for him to listen to and he should fall asleep with out the swaddling and what not. Good luck

Answer 7

my son is just like this and has weirdly developped a love for his blankie (hes only 4 months) and now wont be put down for the night without it or his soother. i just have gotten used to putting it back in his mouth - i havent found anything else that works so im interested in hearing if anyone has any tips too! ive gotten used to reaching over at 3 am to give it back to him. most times, when hes in a deep enough sleep he doesnt notice but something he does. there are nights that i put him down and for an hour, or two i have to go back in every time he gets upset.

Answer 8

maximum sleep running shoes will say to no longer use their procedures till 6 months old. Many infants must be parented to sleep. Parenting is a worry in case you have yet another schedule, yet now this newborn is your selection one precedence. good now he desires specific issues to nod off- being swaddled and sucking to sleep are the techniques he desires to nod off. he will strengthen out of those issues. it may well be large if he ought to basically pass to sleep without being rocked and swaddled and a pacifier, yet that may no longer reality. some infants must be helped to sleep till 2 or 3. it rather isn't any longer spoiling, it rather isn't any longer coaching them undesirable sleep behavior, it rather is attachment parenting. in case you prefer to permit your newborn cry it out and nod off that way, then you definately ought to overlook with regards to the newborn till it happens.

Answer 9

ok first he is way to old to be swaddled. you can try to feed him put him in the crib and let him be he will fall asleep or cry himself to sleep. you can also try to put some music on for him and let it play all the way till morning when he gets up turn it off when you give him naps turn it on and so on. this worked for both of my boys and now i have a third and its working with him to. try it

Answer 10

Well, I hate to say it, but using a pacifier isn't really getting him to sleep on his own. I recommend the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Wiessbluth. It will help you and teach you techinques for getting you child to learn to fall asleep on his own. Good luck.