In the first few months of my son’s life he loved being swaddled. In fact, we couldn’t get him to sleep unless we took this very specific swaddle and wrapped him in just thr right way (my husband was far more skilled at that then myself).
Somewhere around 2 or 3 months I grew worried about transitioning out of the swaddle when the time comes. After all, he was so reliant on it to sleep. Swaddling was an absolute must in the bedtime routine. If it was a different swaddle or if I didn’t wrap him just right he would not go to sleep. So how could he ever sleep without it?
I remember reading posts from other moms online concerned about the same thing. I also remember seeing various products that could be used as a “transition” to help them go from swaddling to a sleep sack.
As I read through the many concerns of fellow moms and read about the various products that might help with the transition, I found myself bombarded with so many thoughts.
But how will I know when it’s time?
What if he gets too old for it and he’s still wanting a swaddle?
What if he’s rolling and he’s still wanting a swaddle?
What if he’s still wanting a swaddle when it’s no longer safe?
I hadn’t gone through it before so I had no idea what that transition might look like. And after reading some comments from mom’s online, it sounded like the transition can be a bit tricky.
After reading about it, I ultimately figured Well, he’s fine right now so I guess we will deal with it when the time comes and see how it goes. After all, there was really nothing that I could do at the time. I was worrying about something that we wouldn’t have to deal with for a few months anyway, so I might as well play it by ear.
Somewhere between 3 to 4 months the time came. It was sooner than I expected and the transition was so much easier than I ever thought it would be.
One night we went through the bedtime routine as usual and my husband laid my son on the bed and began to swaddle him. But rather than appear relaxed and content as he normally would be once swaddled, my son fussed. And fussed a lot, which was extremely unusual because he has always loved being swaddled. It was the one thing that always calmed him down before bed. It was almost as if he were trying to flat out say What is this?! A swaddle! Seriously mom and dad?! I’m too old for this now!
So we unraveled him out of the swaddle and put him in a sleep sack. We fed him and rocked him to sleep as usual and — boom — asleep.
Oh man, but I will I be able to actually set him down in the crib asleep? I thought to myself.
So I slowly and quietly got up, moved over to the crib, set him down oh-so-gently and… peacefully asleep. No fuss. No sudden movements to startle himself awake. Just asleep.
Sometimes we get so worried about what the future will look like. Will I get that promotion? Will my new business succeed? Will this new relationship work out? Will I ever find a significant other? Will I ever get pregnant? Will I ever be able to travel to this place I’ve always really wanted to go to? Will I ever be able to move into a home that feels more like home to me? Will I? Will I? Will I?
The problem is that when we worry so much about whether something in the future is going to work out or not it takes us out of the present moment experience. It robs us of where we’re currently at and can waste a lot of time and energy in the process.
And the irony is that all the worry could very well be for nothing. Because what if that thing that you’re worried about actually winds up happening with much greater ease than you ever expected? What if there really is nothing to be worried about? What if all you really need is just some time to let it all unfold?
What would it be like to just imagine things working out? To imagine life just happening with ease? What would that be like? What would that feel like?
Things I’ve found nourishing this week:
Rainy Sunday mornings.
Taking hikes to see all the wildflowers in bloom.
Cooking new recipes for the first time since baby arrived. Recently enjoyed this health-conscious spin of Zuppa Tuscana soup.
Arugula salad.
Focusing a little less on trying to do everything and a little more on doing what I reasonably can at a reasonable pace.