Wrapping Help

[JenNT]

Hi,
I've seen wrapping being mentioned here somewhere but can't find the thread,so sorry if I'm repeating.

Was just wondering what the benefits are, are there special ways to wrap, how long for etc.

The reason i ask is i have a 7 week old baby octopus that throws arms and legs everywhere and it seems to wake him more during his feed at night :mad:
I wrapped him tonight after 6 hours of crying and general fussiness.He won't let me leave him, i have his bassinet in the loungeroom so he knows we are near and i don't want to do cc.
Anyway to cut a long night short, i wrapped him like we did in hospital with his hands secured, he soon fell asleep.I have just looked at him and little Octopus Houdini has escaped from his wrap !! ARGHHHHHH PLEASE HELP before i tear my hair out!!
Thanks Jen

[mummycloud]

LOL, sounds like my little octopus!

If he is able to get his arms out, it's actually a good thing. It will prevent him from over heating :)
I wrap Aiden so when he falls alseep in my arms, he doesn't get woken when I put him to bed. I notice if he isn't wrapped when I put him in his cot, he wakes because he's suddenly not secure after a big warm cosy cuddle.
If he's getting his arms out because of a tantrum, then that's good because he would over heat for sure if he's screaming and crying and can't free himself.

[JenNT]

Thats another issue i have actually...........heat! I live in Katherine which is now in the throes of a wet season buildup...really hot! We have the aircon on inside so that helps. I have muslin wraps so maybe that is better. I used a cotton blanket with the holes tonight. Its so hard to guess...too hot, too cold :mad:

[mummycloud]

Sorry...another thought. Does he sleep in the same room as you during the night? I have Aiden's cot right next to my bed, so when he wakes, I can grap him and feed him as soon as I hear the first little sound, so he doesn't wake up too much during his feed.

I hope you find a solution ((((HUGS))))

[mummycloud]

Thats another issue i have actually...........heat! I live in Katherine which is now in the throes of a wet season buildup...really hot! We have the aircon on inside so that helps. I have muslin wraps so maybe that is better. I used a cotton blanket with the holes tonight. Its so hard to guess...too hot, too cold :mad:

How frustrating for you! In hot weather usually just a cheap old cotton wrap with a light weight grow suit and one light weight blanket on the top is all that is needed. If he gets too hot he will kick the blanket off. Is he gets too cold he will wake up and want the blanket pulled back over him. When babies are cold they make this funny little noise, like a broken up sound, a whimperish sound.
I also have a room thermometor, they say to have the room temp between 19 and 22 celcius. I hope that helps :)

[JenNT]

I sleep downstairs ( 2 storey) in the loungeroom on a mattress on the floor because hubby has the aircon in the bedroom too cold for bub (18c) whereas downstairs the aircon is set at 25c.I'm trying to ride out the heat this way.He is a shift worker and needs a comfortable sleep.This seemed an easy compromise as i also didn't want to carry bub down stairs at 2am half awake! So yeah bubby knows im only 3 feet away :)
Thanks Mummycloud
cheers Jen

[JenNT]

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh so 19c is not too cold? lollllllllll i just worry going from aircon to heat outside daily, its a huge difference as outside is 40c with 90% humidity! I think i need a rum!! :)

[mummycloud]

LOL 19 would feel like freezing point after being in 40 degrees heat :eek:

Melbourne is like 25 at the hottest at the moment so 19 feels just right. I guess 22 would be perfect for you guys ;)

[JenNT]

Thank you! I will try and get hubby to compromise! ;)

[Mummabear]

Oh JenNT - come and sit with me my dear lady. Wrapping, wrapping, wrapping - I could write a book (or drink myself into a stoupor). My little cherub needs to be wrapped because he bashes himself with his hands and wakes himself up, he also sends his hands directly to his mouth when free and pushes his dummy out - problem being that he seems to need his dummy to sleep, so then he wakes up. He is the worlds best houdini and can escape from just about anything (and believe me, I've tried just about everything!!!). We don't have aircon in our house so the heat is a major problem for me when wrapping him too - cold nights are find because he is nice and snug. I bought some thin muslin to wrap him in but it is just too flimsy and he kicks and kicks until it is bunched around his waist and no matter how you wrap him he gets his arms out of it. The only wrapping that he doesn't escape from is if I use a cot sheet and wrap him in that, and then wrap him again, but in the opposite direction, in a thin cotton wrap that we bought from Target. He doesn't usually get out of this, but it is way too hot to wrap him in on warm nights. I bought a SwaddleMe wrap off the internet (it has velcro to secure the "wings" but he gets out of this also. I've pulled my sewing machine out of hibernation and am going to try and come up with my own wrap this week, one made of light fabric but will keep him wrapped.

If you want some tips on how to fold the wraps and how to secure them etc just send me a PM and I'll gladly let you in on my sorrid tales of wrapping success and failure :p (don't want to bore everyone else here).

Good luck!

Larissa

[JenNT]

pmsl at using a cot sheet :) My bub would go to town with that also! I have exactly the same prob, he escapes and loves his hands near /in his mouth, I tried the dummy but gave up after plugging it in sooooooooo many times. Anyway he slept semi wrapped :rolleyes: for 8 hrs straight last night so that obviously worked.
Thanks Larissa,
Cheers Jen

[funnyfarm]

My daughter was wrapped until about 11 months old. I found the muslin wraps too stretchy and my daughter would take about 2 minutes to get her hands out. I went to the fabric shop and bought some pure cotton and tie dyed it and sewed hems around it. By wrapping her in this if found it had no give and she found it very secure to be wrapped very tightly. Her hands were down in front of her belly. IT took a couple of weeks but she loved it after that and i would just wrap her and within 10 minutes she was asleep. She seemed to have learnt that this meant sleep time.

I also found that when it was really hot i just wrapped her top half of the body and left her legs and feet free to keep cool. This worked a treat in summer.

Janet.

[JenNT]

Thanks Janet, I will try wrapping his upper half , thats a great idea!
Cheers Jen

[Mala]

Hi Girls,

With #1 I didn't use wrapping. I guess being #1, I was happy to hold her to go to sleep and all that.
BACK FIRED BIG TIME...
She is now 6.5 and STILL a bloody awful sleeper. :mad:
So, with #2, I did my homework.
I was wrapping him in hospital before we went home.
He continued to be wrapped until he was 12mths old.
Not so much because I wanted him to be (by that age), but he would wander off and get his wrap, and hand it to me - he knew it was bed time.

He always loved being wrapped, as it gives the baby a sense of security. He preferred to sleep on his side - so I would roll up blankets and wedge them into his back and front, so that he couldn't roll.

Other friends of mine had a wriggler who preferred her arms out. So, they just wrapped her from under the arms down. That worked, as she could still thrash around, but had the bottom half secured enough that she was happy and slept.

Another thing is, my 'Baby Burrito' loved being done up tight.
If Dad put him to sleep, he would be awake 20min later (too loose).
If I wrapped him, he would sleep right through.

Go with your instincts. My baby did like to be wrapped quite firm though.
Oh, and he's now 3 and asks to go to bed everynight (before 7.30) - despite his older sister still wandering around.

Baby #3 will be wrapped from day 1. :p
I swear by it now!!!

Mala :D

[carls]

I dont plan to buy a bassinette for baby, I just have a cot, and hes going to be a summer baby. After I wrap him, should I just lay him down in the cot or does he need to have a sheet over him as well? Is there a chance that he will roll over if hes not tucked in with a sheet?