although miller is baby #3, it’s really only the second time i’ve done this whole newborn mama thing. in some ways i feel like i learned more about the ins and outs of mamahood because i survived two babies at the same time.. and others it seems like it was such a whirlwind, i literally was just trying to survive {can i get an amen from my twin mama’s?!}.
everything has been different this time around, but if there’s one thing i’ve learned, it’s that healthy sleep habits = happy baby = happy mama.
the girls were so teeny and with such concern about their weights, we weren’t allowed to let them go more than 3 hours between feedings. nights were long and everyone was exhausted. when we finally were able to let them sleep through the night, lila picked it up like a champ, but piper really struggled. it took a long time to finally get her there and we swaddled them FOREVER. i honestly thought they’d be 6 years old before we stopped swaddling. i was determined to get the hang of this sleep thing pretty early with baby #3 and when i had the chance to try out the swaddle UP from love to dream, i jumped at the opportunity.
i was a little hesitant to try out the original swaddle UP, mainly because i thought it kinda looked funny… lone and behold, i zipped mills up, set him in his crib and it was the first time all 3 babes slept for 2 hours… he was 5 days old.
i instantly fell in love and every single nap/night we put him in this swaddle, he slept hard. we loved it so much i got a 2nd one because one night, miller had a blowout and it had to go in the wash…guess how that night went. {insert eye roll}.
while that’s great that it worked so well, i’m not super on board with getting used to a product that we’ll be reliant on forever, but the great folks at love to dream designed a 50/50 transitional swaddle, making it easy for you to lose the swaddle without losing sleep.
losing the swaddle without losing sleep
the original swaddle looks similar to the picture above. it’s the perfect EASY swaddle because it works in one zip. there’s no blankets, no folding and no wiggly baby’s getting out, interrupting a great night’s sleep. it encourages safe sleep while keeping babies in the natural position with their hands by their face. it’s easy to see mills is able to self-soothe, which he does if he awakes through the night.
when baby is ready, the Swaddle UP™ 50/50 transitional swaddle has wings that zip right off. you choose one side {we chose to unzip the left because the tends to suck on his fingers on his left hand}, then gradually let baby get used to the sensation of one arm being free while sleeping. we let mills sleep with his left arm out for about 2 weeks before unzipping his right arm.
i wasn’t sure how well he’d take it but friends, i’m happy to announce we’re on day 6 of about 10-11 hours of sleep at night! woo! i always give him a dream feed between 10-11pm that he essentially sleeps through, but this kid wakes up happy…and so does mama.
a couple notes about the Swaddle UP 50/50™:
after baby is completely transitioned from the swaddle, it can be used as a sleep sack for extended use.
it has a dual zipper making those late night diaper changes a breeze…. i even overheard zach raving about this feature to another dad. {you know it’s a winner when daddy is even talking about it!}
it is designed to let hips + legs flex naturally
literally the easiest swaddle i’ve ever used in my life… no velcro, no folding, literally stick baby in and zip!
the patented wings reduce the risk of baby rolling onto their tummy to follow the american academy of pediatrics recommendation for back to sleep.
i’d do anything for a decent night sleep and this is one of those things that i SO wish i had when the girls were little. whether you have a baby on the way or are heading to a shower, do yourself {or that mama} a favor and snag one of these swaddles…and have no fear. if you’re here because you’re pulling at straws to get a decent night sleep, you can even grab one on amazon prime, target or buy buy baby! any excuse to head to target…..
a GINORMOUS thank you to love to dream for sponsoring this post and to ivory lamb photography for capturing the sweetest photos of our baby boy!
I have a 3 month old and we’ve been using the Swaddle Up and LOVE it. He is in the 50/50 now but I’m unsure when to start unzipping the arm. When did you know it was time? He is my first so I’m unsure about everything :o/
Hi Stephanie! This is Rebecca with Love To Dream! You’ll want to start transitioning to arms out as soon as your baby shows signs of rolling so he has access to his hands. Let us know if you have any other questions!
Hey Stephanie! So sorry for the delay in response.. I unzipped his first arm when he started really showing interest in his hands and sucking on his fingers purposefully…that’s when he used his hands to self-soothe. I unzipped the second hand 3 days later and it didn’t go so well so the next night I re-zipped and waited about 2 weeks before unzipping again and it went perfectly! I think some of it is trial and error but definitely look for those cues! 🙂
I may sound old here, but what will they think of next? 🐝 That is super cool.
I totally wish we would’ve had one of those 5 years ago!
I wish I had known about them with the twins!!
Sleep sacks are the best! It was a sad day whenever they transitioned out of them. It kept them so warm and cozy.
Yes!! It’s so perfect for the winter season too!.. Love to Dream has a lightweight version for those summer months too!
This is so interesting! We’ve been struggling with the same thing. Ive never heard of this brand. We’ve been using the Merlin sleep suit and it’s been very helpful. She sometimes sleeps all night and sometimes needs us to go in and give her the paci.
You should totally check them out…they were a lifesaver for us!!
Your baby is so adorable and this sleep sack looks amazing!
It really is!
I’ve never seen this before, but I want to try it for our second! It looks like your guy loves it! <3
Thanks so much for sharing the love, Lindsey!
Nicki from Love To Dream Australia x
Love that is adjusted to their needs!
I’m all for that. I love my sleep and my second baby loves the swaddle, but is too old for it. Definitely going to give this a try.
Angela
This would have been a lifesaver for me when my twincesses were babies!!! Such a genius product!
Every mom needs to know about this!!!
Oh my gosh. He should be the next Gerber baby! He smiles Allllll the time! So many things like this swaddle up I would have killed for when you all were babies. Great product because if mama is happy everyone else is happy!
What the heck. Why didnt I know about this swaddle a few months ago?!? My son hated being swaddled but this looks awesome.
These are seriously genius- Ryan uses them too. I have heard too many scary stories lately about kids with blankets so this was one of the first things I rushed to get.
That swaddle is my favorite! My youngest liked to have her hands by her chin so always houdined her way out of a traditional swaddle only to be startled awake. This one let her put her hands by her face, but when they dropped didn’t’ startle her awake.
I wish they had these when my oldest was little!! We swaddled him until he was 6 months old because she loved it! Then we stared “breaking out” so there was quite a few nights of lost sleep when he wasn’t in his swaddle:(
just the cutest!!
I seriously LOVED these when my girls were babies!! They work so good and helped them sleep throughout the night!!
I love that the arms can be in or out!
Oh my gosh, your little one is adorable- I love these photos! Such great tips also, I could have used these years ago!
This looks great! So cute too!
This looks amazing! I would have loved to have this with my girls!
This looks amazing! I’ve used the SwaddleMe with my other two and I’ve loved everything about except for the fact that it’s a velcro closure. I’d love to try these out with #3 and make sure she gets sleeping well. Happy baby = happy everyone else! 😉
He’s beyond adorable. Looks like this Swaddle Up works wonders. I definitely needed that for my kids back in the day!
Yay for sleeping all night! My babies loved the swaddle and then we transitioned to something similar to this.
yay for sleeping babies! Whatever works right?! We swaddled for a while and then used something similar to this.
How cute is your little guy?!
Really lovely product, I like how it works