Transitioning Out of the Swaddle

The Swaddle! Some babies hate them, other babies LOVE them. When you have a baby that is a lover of the swaddle, transitioning them out of it can be hard. If your baby is a swaddle lover then you will want to start transitioning out of the swaddle sooner rather than later.

You may be thinking this sounds backwards. But I have a good reason for this, I promise!

Once baby begins to roll, they can no longer be swaddled because it is a safety concern. If you start the transition out of the swaddle early, it will be easier on both you and baby than if you need to do it cold turkey when they start to roll.

3 Steps for Transitioning out of the Swaddle

I recommend starting the transition at 8 weeks with the goal to be out of the swaddle completely by 10-12 weeks.

Step 1:

Leave one arm out of the swaddle for one to two weeks

Step 2:

Leave both arms out of the swaddle for one to two weeks

Step 3:

Completely out of the swaddle.

*Important: Once you implement a step, you need to stay consistent. You can’t leave one arm out some of the time, and other times you tuck them both in. If you are inconsistent, it only confuses baby and delays any progress.

If baby is doing well with the transition, you can move ahead more quickly through the steps!

Cold turkey approach

The alternative to transitioning out, is to just get rid of the swaddle cold turkey. This approach needs to happen if your baby begins to roll. Once baby is rolling, the swaddle is a safety concern because it doesn’t give your baby full range of motion to flip themselves back over.

This approach can be difficult for babies that are very dependent on their swaddle which is why I like the transition approach better.

Swaddle to Sleep Sack

You may be wondering what you should do instead of a swaddle.

You have two options: just pajamas or a sleep sack

Okay…well maybe three options…a transitional sleep sack is also an option but I really don’t love them. It’s just adding something else that you need to take away down the road. They are used for such a short amount of time that really doesn’t make them worth the investment in my opinion. For some babies they can be a great option but, in most cases, the 3 step process will do the trick!

My favourite option is the sleep sack because it’s cozy and keeps baby warm.

Transition by 12 Weeks

There are many reasons that you transition out of the swaddle by 12 weeks:

• Babies will typically be starting to roll by this age
• The longer you keep the swaddle the harder it is to take away
• If you wait too long, you’ll have no other option but the cold turkey approach when baby starts rolling.
• It will be much harder to make this change during the 4-month sleep regression. (Grab the 4-Month Sleep Regression Guide).