Swaddling was one of those baby-things that I never thought much about prior to having a baby of my own. I figured that you wrap a baby in a blanket to keep them warm…and since they like being warm, they’ll stay wrapped up. Right?

When Little Oats was born, I realized quickly that there was a whole lot more to swaddling than just a quick wrap of a blanket. Little Oats loved to be wrapped up tight, and it often took more than one contraption to contain her. If she was ever flipping out or getting restless, a tight wrap in a blanket calmed her right down. We transitioned from oversized muslin blankets to the velcro SwaddleMe wraps, and then to a Halo sleep sack with a swaddle strap. They all worked equally well, and I loved snuggling my little burrito baby.

Even when she started to roll over, we avoided ditching the swaddle; she had never even attempted to roll in her crib. I secretly hoped that she would just love the swaddle for ages, and one day decide she was done with it. Do things ever work out like that? Not in my experience.

Fast forward about six months. Sleep training was going incredibly well; we were finally getting 5, 6, 7 hour stretches of sleep at night, and she was putting herself down no problem. Until THAT night. The night Mr. O went in flip on her humidifier, and found her face down in the corner of the crib, arms securely fastened to her sides, with no way of rolling back over or freeing herself. He described how his stomach dropped, convinced she had suffocated herself in the mattress, or hit her head as she rolled herself over. He snatched her up (waking her, and pissing her off to no end), checked her over, and sighed with relief.

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That was the last night the swaddle lived in the Oatmeal house.

After hearing rave reviews from some blogger-friends about a product called the Zipadee-Zip, I ordered one. Though I’m not a proponent of purchasing every baby item on the market, I was lost and a little confused about just how to ditch the swaddle. The Zipadee-Zip was invented by a mom who was equally as stuck; and thus, the sweet little starfish-suit was born. You zip your kiddo into a cotton ‘bag,’ which secures them enough to feel comfortable, but not enough that they can’t control their limbs. Little Oats can roll to her front, roll back again, and even scoot around the crib freely, but since she doesn’t have full range of motion, she feels snug and cozy (I assume. That’s how I would feel in a Zippy). Plus….it just looks darn cute. Even now, at over a year, we’re still using it. She carries it around like a safety blanket, and to her it signifies bedtime.

I wish I could say that we zipped her up, put her down, and 12 hours of sleep was had for all. I wish I could talk about the magical naps that were suddenly 2 hours long. Yes, the Zippy is a great product…but it’s not going to change your kid into someone different. My baby is strong-willed and sassy; if she doesn’t think its bedtime, then bedtime isn’t happening. But each night is getting much better. She falls asleep within about 10 minutes of putting her down; sometimes we have to go in and flip her over once or twice before she settles in, other times she finds a comfy spot and is out for the night (or…several hours at least). We’ve had to size up once, and soon we’ll switch to a regular sleep sack or wearable blanket.

While researching, we found a wealth of information on how to wean from the swaddle. If the Zippy hadn’t worked for us, we liked the idea of a swaddle strap. Basically, you can free one arm at a time, giving your little one a taste of freedom without overwhelming them by ditching the swaddle cold turkey. One arm out, two arms out, and eventually, you’re swaddle free. The cold turkey method works for many as well. Bedtime happens without a swaddle, and eventually, your little one learns to settle themselves in even with full range of motion. Though the Zippy was our solution, I’m well aware that it doesn’t work for every baby…and I’m stockpiling ideas in case our next kiddo isn’t a fan.


Did you have a swaddle lover or a swaddle hater? How did you manage to ditch the swaddle when the time came?