Cocoon Sleeping

For naps, Drew Bug sleeps in this cocoon called a Woombie. I like it because it zips up and is less laborious than other swaddle blankets. Brian and I got so sick of wrapping Hannah up 8 times a day and have tried ti avoid doing full swaddles for naps with the subsequent children. However, Drew seems to really need some kind of swaddle, and the Woombie is perfect for him and us. I do his naptime routine (read to, pray with, and sing to him) and lay him down to zip him up in his cocoon while he is still awake. Sometimes he is drowsy, but others he is not. I do not make this a requirement. The only thing I try to be consistent in is not letting him be actually asleep. If he does fall asleep, zipping him up jars him awake a bit. When I go to get him up from a nap, it is truly like a butterfly coming out of his chrysalis. I love it. the down side to this Woombie is that he is already almost too big for this one and there is only one more size to go to. The max weight for the next size up is 19 lbs and my boys usually hit that before 4 months. I have always swaddled my kids well past that age. I am going to get the next size up and hope for the best.

For night sleep, he sleeps in his Miracle blanket. I have used this blanket with all of my children. It is amazing! It takes them quite a while to learn how to get out of this which is it's best selling point. It is laborious if you have to do it 8 times a day, but not if you are only doing it 3 times a day. I have become quite fast over the last 7 years in wrapping babies up in this blanket. I unwrap him to nurse and change his diaper even though it isn't a necessity. I do it so he takes a full feeding. Also, I like that even if he is asleep when I am ready to put him back in bed, swaddling him jars him awake a tiny bit so he has to practice going to sleep on his own in his crib. Speaking of, you may notice that he sleeps in his Moses basket with a sleep positioner. I elevate the head of the Moses basket too to help with gas and spitting up. I think it helps him sleep better because he can't move around and it is more like the tight quarters he was used to in the womb. (Notice I don't do this during the day for naps. That is because he is a really good napper and doesn't need it. Plus, I want the transition to his flat spacious bed to be easier later when he is too big for the Moses basket.) I have his crib split so that half is set up for the night and half for the day.