Yeah, two totally unrelated subjects.
First of all, I mentioned in Vivienne’s 5-month post that she is still rocking the swaddle. But unfortunately, the time has come—we need to ditch it. Last night, she rolled over in her swaddle about 30 minutes after I put her to bed. She was sleeping, but she fussed and I checked on the monitor and saw her, so I went in and turned her back over to her back. No problems until 4:00 a.m. this morning, when she woke up “yelling” at us. I know she can make it through the night and nothing was wrong, so we decided to play a little bit of hardball and encourage her to put herself back to sleep instead of having me feed her, or one of us rock her. It wasn’t “cry it out,” but we let her make more noise than usual.
During this time, however, she managed to turn herself over onto her belly 3-4 times. We were watching her pretty closely on the baby monitor (while trying to rest our eyes in between check-ins!), so we kept going in and turning her back.
Listen: I don’t think I need to explain why this needs to stop, right? Obviously, the first reason is safety, but also because no, I don’t really want to get out of bed several times a night to go turn her back over. Duh.
We broke Nora of the swaddle before she was even four months old. She had been repeatedly busting out of it and one night, we just did away with it. I was nervous to mess with the good sleep thing we had going, but she quickly figured out she could roll herself over and sleep on her stomach and BOOM. Transition done. No problems whatsoever. She was happy to have the opportunity to sleep on her belly.
With Vivienne, I’m not sure this is going to go as smoothly. I did the one-arm-out thing with her for a while back (between months 3 and 4), but once our sleep went to hell in a hand basket because of her reflux, she got tucked back in nice and tight to promote the best sleep possible. There has been no question that she sleeps best when she’s swaddled—at nighttime, and even for naps. Morning nap? Girlfriend sleeps for 2-3 hours if she’s snug as a bug in a rug. Over the holidays, I tried one of her morning naps without the swaddle—even went so far as to put her down on her belly—and she only lasted like 30 minutes. Ahhhhhhhh!
Any suggestions for successfully breaking the swaddle with a baby who seems pretty dependent on it? Start with one arm out again? Seems as though we’d still end up having to go back in several times to turn her back over, though. Cold turkey? She’s already waking us up at the wee hours the past couple days, so it’s not as if sleep is amazing right now. I’m assuming it’ll get way worse before it gets better, but… hopefully it won’t take too long for her to adjust? I’m curious about others’ experiences.
The second, separate topic of discussion is Nora and her poor itching. While I was watching Vivienne closely on the monitor early this morning, I noticed that in her sleep, Nora was basically clawing herself the entire time. Literally, her hand was down her pants and up the back and front of her shirt while she was sleeping—scratch, scratch, scratch.
This isn’t entirely new. I’ve definitely noticed before that she has scratch marks—even tiny little scabs—on her legs, butt, and lower back. She doesn’t seem to have eczema (no real patches of a rash or anything), but the poor girl is itching badly. Dry skin?
We lotion her up after baths using Burt’s Bees, but I’m wondering if anyone else has a child with a similar affliction that might have better advice to make her more comfortable. I’m planning to call the pediatrician, too, but thought I’d ask here.
If I can get both of my girls sleeping better at night, I will be a happy mommy.
21 Responses to Swaddles & Itching
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I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
I have no suggestions for Vivienne, as I am not yet a mother, however, I do have some things to think about for Nora. What kind of laundry detergent do you use? Do you use fabric softener or dryer sheets? It’s possible that as she gets older, Nora may develop some allergies to different fragrances, often found in those three items. I have some very sensitive skin and can only use All Free & Clear laundry detergent and I can’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets. Also, now that it’s colder outside, is she wearing pajamas that have mixed fabric types and aren’t 100% cotton? Different materials, like wools, rayons, and even polyesters could cause the itching. Does she get itchy at all during the day, or is it just at night?
Good luck!
We use Charlie’s Soap, which is a natural detergent and is supposed to be hypoallergenic, since we cloth diaper. We started using it with Nora’s cloth diapers when she was a baby, and quickly adopted its use for all of our clothes. So I don’t *think* it’s detergent, but I guess I’m not positive. Here are the ingredients in Charlie’s: NATURAL MINERAL INGREDIENTS: Sodium carbonate, sodium metasilicate (rinse aid formed by heating a mixture of sand and sodium carbonate). BIODEGRADABLE INGREDIENTS: “C12-15, Pareth-2” (Vegetable and mineral sourced surfactants)
We don’t use any fabric softeners or dryer sheets.
I’ll have to watch her more closely to see if she itches during the day. I know I’ve seen her do it before—I’ve told her to get her hand out of her pants, ha!—but I think the majority of it is at night. She wears a variety of pajamas—some 100% cotton, others the fleece (so polyester). I will also have to try to observe whether it is worse at times she wears different fibers.
my kids itch often either due to eczema or dryer skin in the winter time. I switched to aveeno unscented baby lotion which helped significantly. Burts bees actually makes me itch, so could it be here lotion making her itch? I also use coconut oil on my son’s eczema which helps a ton as well
Interesting that Burt’s Bees makes you itch! If the lotion is the cause, I will feel awful! I will have to try something different. However, I’m thinking about it now and I didn’t even put lotion on her after bath last night (chaos!), and she was definitely clawing at herself early this morning, so… who knows.
A friend recommended Aquaphor, so I think we might give that a try and see if it helps.
Oh lord, Henry used the swaddle until he was 8 months old for every nap,,and bedtime sleep. He would not even close his eyes if that thing wasn’t tight. We transition to both arms out around 6 months which worked, but he still needed the tightness around the rest of his body..he never did roll onto his belly though while sleeping…as for itching…I get really dry skin in the winter. Add a humidifier to her room and add a dab of coconut oil to her lotion!
CeraVe makes an awesome lotion for dry skin. My Norah has excema and it’s the only that that keeps it at bay. Not cheap at $15 a bottle but works great.
Ps-you’re my doppleganger; I have a Norah and Vivian. =)
I have terribly itchy skin in the winter time too and I found coconut oil really helps. I whip it in my kitchen aid and then keep it in a plastic container. It seems to go further this way and I don’t have to melt it in my hands to spread it on. I will say though, that sometimes it leaves oily spots on my clothes so I usually only use it at night with Pjs. Unfortunately I have to second the Burt’s bees! It makes me itch, too.
For the swaddling – try swaddling with both arms out. That way she gets the snug feeling, but her arms are free. My youngest slept in the swaddle with both arms out for several weeks before we ditched it all together. I felt better about it because then he still had the warmth of a “blanket”.
The itching…something that we deal with ALL YEAR with both boys. My oldest (same age as Nora) is constantly itching. I notice scratch marks but not always patches of eczema. Where he actually has patches of eczema he doesn’t seem to itch…weird. For him we mix either a little hydrocortisone with a bunch of lotion (Aveeno eczema one) and put that on him when it is bad. We do have a prescription cream for when it is reallly bad or raw. Do you give Nora a bath every night? Our pediatrician recommended we not give a bath every night…at most every other night… because the water and soap dries out their skin, especially in the winter. I usually do every other night and sometimes every 3rd night for full on baths, it depends on how dirty they get. I do a wipe down with a wash cloth every night though. If I do have to give them a bath two nights in a row because they seem dirty, I don’t use soap the 2nd night. And I keep baths short. What kind of soap do you use on Nora?
My DD (33 months) is forever itching her sides, lower back, and butt in the winter due to dry skin. The only thing that works for us is applying “Yes to Carrots” baby & toddler lotion every night before she goes to bed. Doesn’t relieve it totally but really cuts down on the redness and she scratches less.
My son is same age as Vivienne (Aug 1). We also had major swaddle issues and we tried the one arm and it was a disaster. Tried just doing naps etc. 2 weeks ago we just went cold turkey and put him in sleep sack. He actually slept better!!! For itch we do an extra rinse on wash cycle. I use Aveeno 2 x a day sometimes 3x. That seems to be helping lots.
Hey Heather! So we’ve battled all of this. First, eczema (or just super dry itchy “winter” skin). My 3 kids all have somewhat sensitive skin and it seems like the dry heat we experience during winter can cause dry spots. The pediatrician has recommended a few things and we use all of them, depending on the severity. For daily moisturizing we use cetaphil that comes in the tub. It’s thick but it goes on very easily. When breakouts start, we also add aquaphor to the mix. And if things get really ugly, a paste with zinc oxide in it (honestly, something like desitin) will do the trick. Keep that one to night time for obvious reasons!
Next, transitioning from the swaddle…can I send you a Bitta Blankie to try? When Vivienne is transitioning out of the swaddle, she needs to find something to do with those hands! It was at this exact point 3 years ago that we came up with the idea for Bitta Blankie; my oldest was 4 months and coming out of the swaddle and we noticed those arms going on the video monitor were getting him so agitated. Having something to grab onto that was safe and right there for the taking helped shape him into a truly independent sleeper! They helped him learn the art of self-soothing.
Let me know if you are interested in learning more about it!
I itch all the time and I scratch in my sleep on occasion as well…my skin can be scabby as well if I don’t catch myself. The winter is obviously the worst for me. I can put all the lotion in the world on my skin but the biggest thing that helps is water…I have to drink tons and tons of water to help stave off the dry skin. If she’s scratching her torso maybe put an undershirt on her just to deter her.
For the swaddle, I say go cold turkey…maybe even start her out on her belly for sleep. I know, you worry about SIDS but if she can roll at this point I don’t think there is much harm but obviously do what you’re most comfortable with.
Good old
Fashioned coconut oil does wonders for my son’s skin. He has a dairy sensitivity and is prone to eczema, but he itches even when there is no rash visible. I use the oil throughout the Winter, but what has also helped is a probiotic. I took one while nursing him and now just stir packets of it into his drink. They have a kid’s probiotic at Target- Culturelle I think? Perhaps that might help Nora a bit?
With both girls and the swaddle we did one arm out, then both arms out then gone. But they both were busting out at like 3mos old too! And with the rolling-I’d let them fuss until they fell back asleep-I wasn’t about to go in there multiple times a night to flip them over! But they weren’t swaddled at that point either.
As for itching-I itch like mad a LOT-and mostly in my sleep. My allergist and dermatologist both suggested Eucerin Calming CREAM (NOT lotion-most lotions have some sort of alcohol in it which actually dries the skin out more-crazy right?!). I’ve been using that stuff for probably 2yrs or so and it really works. I also have allergies so if the itching gets really bad, I take a Zyrtec before bed too.
I never swaddled my daughter, but she used a sleep sack for 2 years. I love the sleep sack because it kept her from kicking, which would wake her up. My daughter also is prone to excessive itching. I use Aveeno baby eczema all over. I also use Aveeno oatmeal body wash on her, which seems to calm the skin. If it is really bad, I give her 1/2 tsp of Benadryl. She is 3.5 years old.
Not to scare you, but a friend’s kid recently got chiggers. She took him to the doctor 6 times before it was diagnosed correctly. I hope that’s not what Nora has!
For Jackson, we used Merlin’s magic sleep suit and it was A.MAZ.ING. http://www.magicsleepsuit.com/. Worth every penny to get a full night of sleep!
For itching we use Earth Mama Angel Baby lotion – it smells delicious and it has made a huge difference for my son. He was getting dry patches on his face and body but I’ve been obsessive about putting the lotion on every night and the patches have gone away. Good luck!
Off topic (sorry!!) but I was wondering what app it was that you used to track Vivienne’s feedings, diapers, etc. I remember you mentioning one, and now I can’t seem to find that exact posting. I am due with #2 any day now, and wanted to try an app for myself this time around.
The only thing I can say about the swaddle, is that we spent far too long with my son trying to fit him into something like a swaddle because he slept so much better with it. This post reminded me so much of that time with him! We tried so many different options, and I feel like we spent so much money on them as well. We had no other choice than to ditch it all together, and ended up going cold turkey. It was a rough few nights, but then was smooth sailing from that point on and I got my good sleeper again. Looking back, I wish we just ditched it earlier, as he was eventually fine in the sleep sack. I wish the same for you!!
I scratch like Nora. I have eczema (although I’m rarely broken out because I know how to manage it). Moisturize after bath (and also in the morning if after bath isn’t enough). I’ve never used Burt’s Bees so I can’t speak to that, but whatever you use, make sure it’s a moisturizer, not a lotion. Lotions have too much water in them and don’t moisturize enough for someone who has dryer than average skin. Ryan also has eczema (such a fun thing to pass down to him!) and I’ve had good luck with Aveeno baby moisturizer on his skin.
Hi Heather! Just want to share “my two cents” what I have learned to be true over the years: eczema is an outward manifestation of an internal problem. I agree with the comment above- try probiotics! Play around with dietary changes too, starting with dairy. Good luck :)