7 ways to teach your baby to sleep without a diaper

The diaper remains one of the main ways to calm the newborn and create the ideal conditions for the baby's sleep. However, the baby is growing, and the parents are faced with the question of how to wean the baby from swaddling and allow him to actively move.

The need to part with the diapers is obvious to parents, while babies are often not ready for this, as a result of which they begin to be capricious, anxious, fall asleep badly or often wake up. Deteriorating behavior worries mothers too.

That is why you need to decide at what age you should wean babies from swaddling. You should also choose the most painless methods that will not affect the quality of sleep of the child and parents. Recommendations of pediatricians and psychologists will help in this.

Swaddling types

Before looking for the ideal diaper weaning method, you need to find out what types of diaper changes exist. Experts distinguish 2 types of wrapping babies:

tight swaddling;
free swaddling.

In the first case, the child is straightened the lower and upper limbs and wrapped in two diapers. The kid is completely immobilized, therefore, fright from the unconscious movement of the hands is excluded.

There is an opinion that tight swaddling can lead to problems with the formation of the musculoskeletal system, as well as worsening of the condition with hip dysplasia. However, there is also a completely opposite opinion.

Also, doctors indicate that a tightly swaddled child has difficulty breathing.

On the other hand, in maternity hospitals, one can often hear advice from specialists: to swaddle weak or premature babies tightly.

With free swaddling, the baby can move, assume a comfortable position and have no difficulty in breathing. In addition, since movements warm, the baby does not freeze.

An alternative option for such wrapping is a sleeping bag for newborns.

Is it necessary to swaddle a healthy baby? Many children sleep peacefully and without wrapping, in which case it is better not to use diapers at all. If the sleep of a newborn is restless, alarming, then you cannot do without swaddling.

Each of the species has its own advantages (about them a little below), so the mother's task is to determine the most optimal wrapping technique for the baby. Well, we should not forget to give the child freedom of movement from time to time.

Pros and cons

For several millennia, both doctors and parents were equally tolerant of diapers.

All the children were wrapped up uniformly: the limbs were leveled, the edges of the diaper were twisted, they were wrapped tightly (for even legs) and fixed so that the child would not twitch. However, gradually the opinion about the benefits of diapers changed in a negative direction.

Modern scientists recognize tight swaddling as harmful and advise turning more to its looser counterpart. The latter is not believed to be harmful to children's health.

Parents are still hesitant and also disagree, giving arguments "for" and "against" swaddling. It is not surprising that new mothers find it difficult to decide whether or not to wrap up the baby, and how to do it correctly - tightly or loosely.

The diaper wrap has both positive and negative properties. So that parents can decide whether this procedure is necessary, you need to consider all the pros and cons in more detail.

Pros of swaddling:

the child falls asleep more quickly, and his sleep becomes more sound. This is due to the baby's habit of being in the cramped space of the uterus. That is, swaddling is a kind of adaptation to an independent life;
the diaper allows you to maintain a normal temperature regime, since thermoregulatory processes are poorly developed in newborns;
wrapping is indicated for children with excessive excitability. Involuntary shudders scare the baby, reducing the quality of sleep, moreover, some children may scratch themselves;
in the case of congenital dysplasia or underdevelopment of the articular elements of the lower extremities, wrapping is not just a hygienic, but a therapeutic procedure;
thin diapers prevent diaper rash, since the mother quickly changes wet fabric, unlike diapers, which are in contact with the baby's skin for a long time;
swaddling is beneficial the first time you bathe. If you wrap the baby in a thin diaper and put it in a bath, he will not be afraid of water, since he will feel a kind of protection;
another advantage is financial. Children's clothing (undershirts and romper) is much more expensive than traditional diapers. That is, parents can save a lot.

Cons of swaddling:

an excessively tight diaper can cause the baby to overheat. This happens especially often with "summer" babies, when parents choose out of season clothes;
constant tight swaddling can hinder the movements of the baby, which is fraught with a slowdown in the pace of psychophysical development. It is also believed that tight wrapping has a negative effect on the blood circulation process;
with the constant presence of a child in a diaper, the likelihood of diaper rash (especially if you do not change wet diapers on time) and diaper rash increases;
the child may develop an addiction to diapers, as a result of which he will stop falling asleep with complete freedom of movement.

TV doctor E.O. Komarovsky is convinced that there are no logical or scientifically grounded arguments against swaddling. Therefore, he advises to focus only on the child and decide for himself whether it is necessary to swaddle him or it is better to refuse wrapping.

The advantages of not using diapers according to Komarovsky

According to Komarovsky, despite the positive aspects of swaddling a baby at an early age, the timely rejection of diapers will bring certain conveniences to parents. The doctor makes several arguments:

It is usually mothers who swaddle their children, since fathers rarely master this skill. And if you change the diapers to undershirts and sliders, then you can also attract men to dressing up the child.
The diapers are not convenient to use in the summer, as the baby can overheat due to imperfect thermoregulation.
Washing undershirts and rompers is much easier than washing diapers. First, the savings in detergents are evident. Secondly, the undershirts dry out more quickly and at the same time take up less space during drying.
Active children are able to undress, which is fraught with hypothermia if the room is not warm enough. But they are unlikely to be able to free themselves from the sliders.
At the same time, children's clothing does not limit the baby's mobility at all, unlike diapers. This is important for older children.

All of the above are non-fundamental factors. Komarovsky is convinced that it is not at all necessary to purchase not the cheapest undershirts if the diapers left over from the firstborn are kept in the house. We repeat once again: the popular pediatrician is sure that solving the issue of swaddling requires a reasonable and even everyday approach.

Optimal age for rejection

Most newborns, as noted above, feel remarkably tightly swaddled. By the end of pregnancy, the baby's stomach becomes cramped in the mother's belly, therefore, when wrapped up, the baby that was born experiences the same feelings of security and quickly calms down.

However, the child grows up, he needs to learn to control his own body, to coordinate movements. This is not possible if the baby remains tightly wrapped for a long time. When should you give up diapers?

Of course, children's needs must be taken into account here, but at 3-4 months the baby no longer flinches from the unconscious movements of the arms and legs, therefore many experts recommend using swaddling only in the first 12-16 weeks after the birth of the baby.

If a two-month-old baby breaks out of the "swaddling captivity", trying to free the upper or lower limbs, and swaddling is not an indicated treatment procedure, then you should switch to sliders and undershirts earlier than the specified time.

If the baby, even after four months of life, feels insecure without diapers when falling asleep, after consulting a doctor, leave the wrapping for another month or two. However, you do not need to swaddle during the day, on the contrary, the child must be dressed in looser clothes.

7 ways to wean from diapers

It's good when the kid decides to give up wrapping himself. But how to teach a child to sleep soundly without a diaper if he cries and constantly flinches in his sleep? First of all, gradualness and consistency are important, otherwise you can only harm the child's psyche.

Choosing one of several weaning methods will help moms and dads get what they want.

Weak swaddling. Initially, swaddle your baby in the same way as before. But every day try to wrap it looser and looser. Then it remains to change the diaper for a light blanket.
Using a blanket. Wrap the baby not in diapers, but in a blanket, while you do not need to fix the corner. At night, the child will begin to move and loosen the veil, thus being “free”.
Night "release". Put the baby to sleep in a diaper. As soon as he falls asleep, take it off. If the baby wakes up and starts crying, wrap him up again, but not immediately, but after waiting a while. Perhaps he will calm down on his own.
Use of "scratches". Wrap only baby feet, leaving your hands free. To avoid scratches, put on special gloves on your palms - the so-called scratches.
Rocking of the arms. You can also create a pleasant tightness with the help of hugs, but you should not get carried away with this method, otherwise you will then have to wean the child from the hands.
Joint sleep. A nursing baby can sleep for a while in the parent's bed. This will relieve him of anxiety and improve the quality of his sleep. However, again there is a risk of developing a habit.
Sleeping bag. Try to ditch the diaper by adopting a baby sleeping bag. Gradually, you need to unfasten buttons or a zipper so that the sleeping child feels freer in him. This will allow you to quickly go to sleep under the covers.

None of these methods are universal. You will have to try several techniques to find the best fit. The main thing is to remain calm and patient.

Tips from experienced moms

It should be understood that in the process of weaning from diapers, the child's depth of sleep may decrease. It is necessary to mentally prepare for the fact that several nights will be quite hectic for both the baby and the mother. Therefore, use useful recommendations.

If your baby is not allergic to pine or spruce essential oils, add a few drops of this oily liquid to the evening bath. Such procedures will calm the child's nervous system, so he will sooner fall asleep and will be less twitching with his legs and arms.

"Fragrant" bathing should not last more than 10 minutes. Each bath will require about 2 milliliters of essential oil. It is recommended to conduct course support - 20 water procedures with a daily break between them.

If the child is too difficult to wean from swaddling and categorically refuses to fall asleep without diapers, you should seek help from a pediatrician or neurologist. This will help to exclude the presence of nervous diseases, as well as to choose the most appropriate way to avoid constant wrapping.

Thus, swaddling or not swaddling a baby is a personal matter for every mother (except for problems with children's health). The same applies to the way of weaning. The main thing is to give up swaddling gradually so as not to harm the baby's psyche.

Well, in order to facilitate the withdrawal process, you need to carefully monitor the child's reaction. It is quite possible that the child himself will tell you when to throw the diapers aside and go to the undershirts. Learn to understand your beloved baby!