How to safely transition your baby to arms-out sleeping in a sleeping bag
Some babies may struggle with this change in their sleeping environment. As such we recommend a two-step approach to transitioning:
Step One: Releasing one arm out of your baby's swaddle for all sleeps, to allow your baby time to become used to this new way of sleeping.
Step Two: After a week or so of one-arm-out sleeping, remove both arms from the swaddle. Expect some difficult sleeps during this phase, but stick with it and don’t be tempted to re-swaddle them – they will adjust to the new sleep position.
Once your baby is rolling on their own, if they independently roll on to their tummy in their sleep with their arms out of a swaddle, you do not need to roll them back.
Pssst... If you anticipate that the transition to arms-out sleeping will be a challenge or are going through some resistance to the transition, we have a solution for you. We have designed the Butterfly Cardi to help in the transition from a swaddled sleeper to an arms-out dreamer, easier!
How to use the Butterfly Cardi for transitioning out of a swaddle
We recommend transitioning over a 10 day period. This should commence when your baby first shows signs of wanting to roll (not after they start rolling) for their safety.
DAY 1 - 3
Dress your baby in the Butterfly Cardi over their sleeping bag or Cocoon Swaddle Bag with their arms contained within the fold-over arm pockets for all their sleeps (day & night).
Use the press studs to adjust the firmness of the Cardi around the torso. If your baby has a strong startle reflex, start with a tight fit. If your baby has a low startle reflex, you can start with the looser fit.
DAY 4 - 7
After your little one is familiar with their new sleepwear addition, you can now take one arm out of the fold-over pocket for all their sleeps.
DAY 8 - 9
In this next stage, you can take their remaining arm out of the other pocket for all their sleeps.
DAY 10
On the final day, remove the Cardi altogether. Your baby is now sleeping, arms-out. Hooray!
For a visual guide on how this all comes together check out our How to Use the Butterfly Cardi Video:
