What to Know About the Swaddle Transition

If you’ve been swaddling your baby since birth, you (and your baby) have probably become accustomed to the easy soothing. Swaddling is helpful and healthy for young children, but eventually they become mobile and the swaddle isn’t safe.

Around four to six months old, your child will begin to bust out of the swaddle. He/she may fuss or cry after you put them in the swaddle. They now know that their mobility is being inhibited. At this age, they can often roll over. If they roll over while swaddled, they might still be immobilized enough to not be able to clear their airway.

But this can make for a difficult transition. Your baby doesn’t want to be encumbered by a swaddle, but still wants and needs the comfort and security it provides to fall asleep.

What’s the right time for your baby?

There’s no right answer to this question. You’ll have to decide for yourself. Every baby is different. Some children are content being swaddled up to seven or eight months. Others struggle to break free from the swaddle after just a couple months.

It no longer is safe to swaddle a baby if they are able to roll from back to front while swaddled so that's a sure sign that it's time to make the switch!  

That’s why we made the Zipadee-Zip!

Our Zipadee-Zip is a starfish-shaped wearable blanket that mimics the feeling of a swaddle, but provides plenty of mobility for your child. When baby is inside, they are warm and comforted by feeling light pressure on all sides (just like their days in the womb).

The stretchiness of the Zipadee-Zip’s fabric means that your child can extend their arms and legs with only slight resistance. Even though their hands are beneath the garment, they can still grasp objects and use their hands. Older children who can walk can still wear the Zipadee-Zip because there’s enough space to move their legs. We share to you the science between Zipadee-Zip, the swaddle transition blanket here.

Other ways to make the transition easier

You can help make the transition easier by keeping the bedtime routine the same. If you take a bath and read a book before bed every night, stick to that plan. Keep the sleep environment the same, too. Put baby in the same crib, facing the same direction, in the dark, and with some soft noise playing (or whatever they are used to). The goal is to change just one thing at a time.

For a more gradual transition, you can always do naps first and then move to night time sleep in the Zipadee-Zip. Make sure you see slight resistance in the fit, as it will help with soothing! Our sizing tips located in the sizing tab where you order is great to read through too before ordering as fit can come into play when making a smooth transition.

Transitioning from the swaddle is a big step in your child’s development. They’re growing accustomed to our world! Always remember to be patient and compassionate.

How was your experience transitioning from the swaddle? Did the Zipadee-Zip help you? Please share your experience here and let other moms know how our product can fit your need.

Also read: https://www.sleepingbaby.com/blogs/news/how-and-when-to-transition-baby-from-swaddling

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Written by Stephanie Parker from Sleepingbaby.com, inventors of the Zipadee-Zip

The motto for Sleeping Baby, makers of the Zipadee-Zip, is: "Inspiring Dreams One Night at A time," and that, in a nutshell, is how it all started…with one little dream that has since become the Parker family's reality. When Brett and Stephanie Parker's daughter, Charlotte, was born, the feeling that welled up inside of them was indescribable; they never realized until first looking into those baby blues of hers that they were even capable of that kind of love.

When it was time to transition baby from swaddling, the Parkers tried every sleep sack on the market and every swaddle weaning trick they could find for nearly two weeks and nothing worked to get baby Charlotte to fall and stay asleep.

Stephanie became determined to restore sleep and sanity to their household and set out to find a solution that would soothe Charlotte's startle reflex and provide her the cozy womb-like environment she loved so much but still give her the freedom to roll over and wiggle around in her crib safely. Out of sheer desperation and exhaustion, the Zipadee-Zip was born. The first Zipadee-Zip(R) Stephanie put together on her little sewing machine worked like magic!

To date tens of thousands of Zipadee-Zips have been sold and all from word-of-mouth marketing. It is so rewarding for the Parkers to see other parents and babies getting the sleep they both need and deserve!

Interested in writing a guest blog for Sleeping Baby? Send your topic idea to pr@sleepingbaby.com.

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