The end of the Swaddle/Baby Straight Jacket

This picture below is from last night. Riley was in his crib where I had put him down at 7:30 wide awake. It was one of the first times I had done that, because he usually falls asleep before I go to put him down. Anyway he got one arm free from his swaddle. In the past this has happened in the middle of the night and it usually leads him to fusiness (while still sleeping) and so I quickly re-swaddle and he goes back to peacefully sleeping. Unfortunately the night before last he did it at 3:20 am, and he continued to break out of it over and over again, Michael re-swaddled and put the paci back in his mouth several times. He finally just resorted to sleeping in our bed at an angle that allowed him to put his hand in Riley's bassinet and hold Riley's hand and it worked. He held Riley off until 5:30 and then I got up and fed him. Dr. Trumbell, who we love, says that there is no reason an infant needs to eat in the middle of the night, and Chappell's pediatrician said something similar, so I am avoiding trying to soothe Riley in the middle of the night because I do not want him to smell me and think food.

Below is a picture of Riley, the baby burrito. The swaddle is an absolutely magical thing that calms an infant in their early weeks. Not all babies still like it after the first few weeks, but I am not sure how Riley will adjust to sleeping without it. For now we are starting his new sleeping routine with it, in hopes that after a couple of weeks our routine will be solid and we can ditch the swaddle. The routine is putting Riley to be at a minimum of 30 minutes after he eats, awake so that he knows how to soothe himself and fall asleep without assistance from me, Etta, Gie Gie or Michael (aka Team Riley). It also involves letting him cry it out if he doesn't go to sleep or wakes in the middle of the night. My pediatrician and some others reccommend this method to start after an infant is atleast 3 months old because before 3 months many do not believe that infants are capable of understanding and connecting a routine. If you read Happiest Baby on the Block, the author refers to the first 3 months as the 4th trimester, he says infants this age are not yet ready for the real world and need for us to soothe them. I am sad to have to make these changes but I am lucky to have such a happy healthy baby that I am sure will adjust to them easily. (It really isn't much of a change, we are just going to have to be strict about the rules) And I hate to say it , but Riley is overall and easy baby...I know Michael and I are going to get whats coming with the terrible two's. But for now we are enjoying our little angel.