Reply To: Hands to mouth

[Emma H]

Hi Anastasia,

At 3 months babies often discover their hands and love to suck on them! While this is exciting, it can sometimes distract them as they try to fall asleep.

If he is showing the early signs of learning to roll over (covered in the video ‘How to Dress Your Baby for Better Sleep’), it would be a good idea to start transitioning him out of the swaddle. You begin the transition at this point, as you’re less likely to disrupt their sleep if you do this transition gradually and free one arm first before freeing both arms.

If he isn’t yet showing the early signs of learning to roll over, I would continue swaddling him, especially since his sleep routine was recently disrupted after his vaccinations, and he’s just had his first good week. It will be easier to help him relearn how to fall asleep in the crib (using the settling pyramid) if he is swaddled.

Once he gets used to falling asleep in his crib, you can then transition him out of the swaddle, starting with the hand he prefers for sucking.

I hope this helps!

Emma