Parents are taught that they need to swaddle their babies in order to get them a good night of sleep. For some babies, regardless of how well parents swaddle them, it is not something that they enjoy. As such, instead of calming babies before they sleep, swaddling instead gets them agitated. Because of this, parents need alternatives to swaddling that are just as effective to get their little ones the sleep they need.
The reason that babies are swaddled is to help stop the Moro reflex from waking them from a sound slumber. This is because as a result of the reflex, babies can startle themselves awake, according to Stanford Children's Health. It is not until the newborns are two months old that the Moro reflex begins to subside and babies have better control over their reflexes. As such, during the first few months of life when babies do not want to be swaddled or parents have made the decision not to swaddle their babies, that something else needs to be done to calm babies before they are willing to close their eyes and sleep. Fortunately, there are other ways to lull babies to sleep that work just as well as swaddling, and in some cases, better.
Here are alternatives to swaddling that are just as effective.
5 Sleepsuit Or Baby Sleep Sack
The sleepsuit or sleep sack is a good alternative to swaddling because it is a compromise between using nothing at all and the swaddle itself.
According to SleepAdvisor, babies are able to use sleepsuits or sleep sacks from the time they are newborns until about one year of age. Where swaddling can become a hazard to babies who are learning to roll over because there is no ability to use their arms to life their faces off the mattress after having done so, sleepsuits and sacks have the arms free. As such, regardless of the stage of development babies are in, they are safe, and in some cases, safer, when using a sleepsuit or sleep sack versus a swaddle.
Furthermore, sleep sacks will impede babies' ability to move their legs to the point where they are awakened by the Moro reflex when it happens. Therefore, if the arm reflex is not much, babies may continue to sleep through the reflex with ease.
Both options also provide babies with the ability to be warm without using a blanket. As such, until babies are at least one year old, per the publication, when a blanket can be used, opting for a sleepsuit or sleep sack will keep babies from getting too cold while sleeping peacefully at naps or at night.
4 Use Motion To Lull Baby To Sleep
When babies are gently rocked, they are soothed into a place of calm. The same calm that is needed in order to get them to fall asleep and sleep until the first feeding of the night is required.
According to Sleep.org, when babies are rocked, "natural sleep rhythms" are stimulated. These sleep rhythms help to ease babies into a restful state where their brains are more willing to let them drift off into sleep rather than just being placed in the crib alone. This includes babies being wrapped with a swaddle.
As a result of the brain waves being able to settle, the sleep mode that is required to sleep soundly is activated, per the publication. And when this happens, babies naturally fall to sleep with ease, free of the swaddle.
3 Settle Babies With Skin-To-Skin Contact
Skin-to-skin contact is one of the most natural ways for mothers and babies to bond. It has also been found to have several positive health effects on parents and babies, one of which for babies is getting longer, better sleep, versus those who do not participate in skin-to-skin contact time.
According to Rebecca Michi Children's Sleep Consultant, when babies are given skin-to-skin contact time with their parents daily, both parents and babies have lower stress levels and build a strong bond. But babies who have skin-to-skin time for about an hour daily will sleep better in some cases than being swaddled. It is because babies are secure with who they are with, can hear some of the same sounds they heard in the womb, and are comforted by these things. And when babies are comfortable, they are easily settled for sleep.
2 Use Baby Massage
To get babies to relax before bedtime, giving them a soothing infant massage will have babies struggling to keep their eyes open as the massage draws to an end.
According to the Mayo Clinic, infant massage controls the hormones that cause stress and reduces crying. Both of which may occur if babies realize that they are about to go to take a nap or go to bed. But, if babies realize that there is a transition from being placed in their cribs and relaxing massage time before they sleep, they may be more receptive to falling asleep than they would be placed in the crib with just a swaddle alone.
A world of caution, per the publication, for those parents who want to use oil during the massage. Make sure to purchase one that is fragrance-free and edible in case babies were to put it in their mouths accidentally.
1 Have A Nighttime Routine
When parents start a nighttime routine with their babies, they are helping them to relax from the day. And because the routine is repetitive, within a short period the process will be learned, bringing comfort to little ones while teaching them to fall asleep on their own.
According to the Sleep Foundation, young babies who participate in a nighttime routine are consistently better sleepers than those who do not have routines. This means that as babies know one step to the next what is going to happen as they get ready to go to bed, their bodies begin to instinctively calm down and relax. When this happens, parents are able to lay babies into their beds as they become drowsy to fall asleep on their own, which bodes well for little ones as they age. But the best part about this is that it works with or without a swaddle. Therefore, bundled up or not, babies are more apt to get good sleep just by having a consistent routine.
Source: Stanford Children's Health, SleepAdvisor, Sleep.org, Rebecca Michi Children's Sleep Consultant, Mayo Clinic, Sleep Foundation