1. Is anyone else still trying to catch up on sleep from Wednesday night? I wish I could say mine was also because I was busy watching the World Series but, alas, we were up with our sweet little Alex…from about 10:30pm – 2am. Whew, that was a doozy. We’re trying hard to break him of the swaddle (we’re currently in the one arm out phase) but every time we do both, his startle reflex is still so strong that he smacks himself in the face and wakes himself up. Anyone else have any other recommendations? I’m ALL ears.
2. Tomorrow we’re hosting Friendsgiving! Our group of friends has been doing this for the past couple of years (<—last year it was late and we did our gender reveal for Alex!) and I’m excited to be able to have everyone over this year. The menu of food everyone is contributing is UNREAL!
3. So how much candy have YOU eaten this past week? I’ve lost track…
4. Don’t forget to turn back your clocks Saturday night!
5. FYI my fellow beauty fans: The Sephora Beauty Insider Sale starts today!! I think I’m going to have to grab some of my favorite bronzer and eyeshadow (Smog and Sin).
6. As soon as November 1st hit, I swear all of my social media news feeds have been flooded with funny Christmas and holiday memes. And I love it! This one caught me off guard and made me chuckle out loud.
7. I need a new fall jacket. Anyone have any good recommendations?
8. I have not taken any pictures on my phone since Halloween, so I’m really lacking on my ability to share anything new. #bloggerprobs
9. I loved seeing last week how many of you also freak out about your kitchen cabinets falling off the walls like I do. Seriously, HOW do they stay up there!?
10. This post was totally supposed to be scheduled last night to go up early this morning buuuuuuut, I forgot. So here we are today!
I hope you all have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend ahead, whatever you may be doing! <3
Andrea says
My little one is 3.5 months and we still swaddle. I feel like she hates it though. She screams when I put her in and always wants to suck on her hands. So I’ve been trying a couple nights with her arms out but she wakes herself up too. Ay yi yi.
Courtney says
SO tough, right?! Ay yi yi is right!!
Erin says
Long time reader, 1st time commenter? I have to recommend merlins sleepsuit for Alex. Our little guy is 3 months old and was always fighting sleep and bedtime was a battle. He was also waking up multiple times a night. We got him the sleep suit and he sleeps 6-8 hours, wakes up to eat once and goes right back to sleep for a few hours. He also calms down much easier for bedtime and everyone in the household is feeling so much better. It is the best.
Courtney says
Hi Erin! I LOVE when silent readers comment!! :)
We actually have the sleepsuit, surprisingly enough, but I haven’t tried it on him yet! I bought it for Lucas a few years ago, although it’s the smaller size and I think Alex is probably on the verge of being too big for it. I thought about trying it but I was afraid to add in another thing that will eventually have to be taken away…ay yi yi! Perhaps it’ll be worth a try though!?
Erin says
I know they make a 6-9 month size too. I hear you on dealing with the transition out of it but for now we are enjoying our sleep. We will cross that bridge when we have to. ?I’ve heard good things about the zipadee swaddle transition sleepsack too but haven’t tried it.
Ashley says
Jumping in with another vote for the Merlin! We transitioned to the Merlin after my babe learned to roll over and it was great! I was worried about her sleep tanking when she outgrew it, but she transitioned out of it with zero fuss.
She slept in a zipadeezip after the Merlin and I highly recommend both of them. Sleep lifesavers.
Lisa Gonzalez says
First time commenter here :)
I am on the Merlin sleepsuit train.
We went from swaddled to Merlin in the bassinet, to sleep sack in the crib and the transition went great. I allowed about 5 days for each new transition to settle and my daughter did surprisingly well.
Our Merlin suit always fit a little big on my daughter and I think that ultimately helped her to be able to sleep on her own, that and having two pacifiers available in the crib at all time ;)
Kasey says
I’ll second Merlin’s sleep suit! We used it when we transitioned out of the swaddle around that age too. It solved the startling awake issues. Then transitioned to a Halo sleep suit after that with no issues. Though, I will say that anyone who saw her in that suit thought it was ridiculous and that she was wearing a snow suit…I didn’t care! She was sleeping so I was sleeping!
Carrie says
I would also have to recommend the sleep suit! My Alex wore it from 2.5 to almost 6 months and slept awesome!!
Ally says
I second the Merlin Sleepsuit! Our baby girl was a swaddle addict. We switched to the sleep suit when she turned 4 months and stopped sleeping anyways haha. Now at 6 months she sleeps through the night (ish) in the suit. We just ordered the 6-9 month one because she literally can’t sleep without it (of course, one more thing to transition out of later). It is totally worth the money!
NC says
Love to swaddle , where you can transition one hand at a time .. My son hates swaddling and loves his hand bu his ears , this one defintely helped us ..
https://www.amazon.com/Love-Dream-Swaddle-Medium-13-18-5/dp/B0081GIZ52
Elaine says
Yes! My son is almost 4 months and we’ve been using the Love to Dream 50/50 swaddle for almost a week. He really seems to like being able to have his hands up by his ears rather than stuck to his sides.
Sara @ Oats & Rows says
I’m so excited about the Sephora VIB Sale! I’m in need of my rose face cream and some new foundation. I am sensing an online shopping haul in my near future..
nicole says
Merlin’s Magic sleepsuit. You’re welcome! Te. Best. Thing. Ever.
Ash Z says
We love MIchael Buble, did you see the news about his son having cancer, so sad :(
I am not looking forward to this time change with the kiddos!
Courtney says
Oh my gosh, NO, I didn’t see that. That’s just awful…. :(
Jodie says
The zippadee zip is amazing for transitioning out of the swaddle! It was a life saver for us! Definitely recommend! They are under $40 and have super cute prints! Check em out on their website sleepingbaby.com
Good luck and hang in there mama! :)
Klynnb says
I second the Zippadee, AMAZING! They were hard to find when I needed one though so my little guy ended up in a leopard print one ☹️️
Bethany @Luluruns says
Michael Buble has some my favorite Christmas music. His voice is like melted butter.
Katie says
Silent follower also! Another vote for the zipadeezip. Life saver for my daughter! There’s a resale group on FB where you can get a used one for cheaper. I tried that first!
ErikaMC says
I guess my only advice would be to keep swaddling him. Why are you trying to stop? There’s no rule saying you have to stop now if he isn’t ready for it. Our daughter is 5.5 months and we still swaddle her – usually by morning she’ll have one arm free though but she sleeps through the night.
I’m trying not to skip over Thanksgiving but I’m super excited for Christmas!
For a fall jacket I got the Softshell Jacket – C9 Champion at Target and love it.
Courtney says
He’s starting to roll which makes me nervous. Otherwise I wouldn’t rush it either!
I’ll have to look into that jacket, thanks!
Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona says
I somehow managed to avoid Halloween candy this year. I have a night class Mondays and Wednesday so I didn’t buy any candy to give out since I wasn’t going to be home. Surprisingly no one’s offered me any. I think this is the first year I’ve ever not had any candy at all for Halloween.
Terra says
Hi!! I have a 5 month old and when he got long for the miracle blanket I switched him to the Magic Merlin Sleepsuit. I used it on my daughter also….It’s really great. I have a small if you want it!
Terra says
I have also used the Love to Dream swaddle that has zip off arms so you can easily transition. I think my baby prefers the MM Sleepsuit but I use this for backups. Like I mentioned I have smaller sizes we have grown out of so I will ship them to you if you want them!
Sheila says
Another silent reader voting for Merlin! My LO’s startle reflex is so strong that I don’t pull his arms all the way through and it kind of holds them down a little more. Or if you want to stick with swaddles, the miracle blanket is a great one (although our guy busted out of that one after a month as well :(). Let us know what you decide and what works for you! My LO is a little younger than Alex so it’s been fun to read your updates. He also has mild colic and it’s been sooo helpful to read someone being so real about the challenges of motherhood!
Kaitlyn @ Powered by Sass says
I haven’t had ANY Halloween candy, and I’m actually really angry about it! Hahah. Where are my Kit Kats at?! Also, don’t tell me there’s a Sephora sale! I just spent way too much money on IT Cosmetics CC cream and a blush/bronzer combo. Lordy, where does the money go?
Rachel says
Magic Merlin sleep suit is THE BEST for breaking the swaddle!!! My son started sleeping like a champ
After he could roll over in it we switched to a halo sleep sack swaddle with arms out and he had no problem. Best transition ever!
Lauren says
Nothing helpful to add, just wanted to let you know how much I love your blog. I have two little boys of my own (age 1.5 and newborn). Your blog has quickly become one of my favorites! Love the balance of mom-life, workouts, healthy eating, etc!
Lia says
Zipadeezip. Life saver. If he’s rolling both ways I’d let him sleep on his stomach too. They startle so much less and she was rolling onto her stomach every night anyways.
Lindsey says
100% the zippadee-zip! We swaddled our daughter until she was 5 months and I watched her completely roll over in her sleep while swaddled. Cue mommy freak out! We switched to the zippadee-zip the next day (we had tried previously but 4 month sleep regression/ week 19 wonder week so major fail) and she started sleeping so much better because she could now sleep on her stomach. With the Merlin she couldn’t move so she was waking up frustrated
Katie says
The Merlin sleepsuit helped us get some sleep during 4 month sleep regression. After 5 months though, he got too strong for it! It wasn’t really helping, and we were using it out of habit. Right when he turned 6 months we decided to go to stomach sleeping. He fought it so hard at first. We are a week into it now and it is going really well. Last night he slept 7:30-5, nursed then slept til 8. It might have been a fluke, but we haven the had a night like that in months. Sleep is all trial and error. See you on the other side of the sleep regression. You got this.
Lindsay says
I just had my fourth kid 2.5 months ago and I’ve finally mastered (for us at least) the baby sleep swaddle issue. For one, I jam my kids thumbs in their mouths. So much better than packs (my first did a paci). They can’t reinsert their paci by themselves until much older but they can get their own thumbs by 2-3 months old. My littlest sleeps from 9 pm-8 am thanks to the thumb and being able to self soothe! So for the swaddle I swaddle one arm down and one arm bent but still in the swaddle. This allows her to suck her thumb and it kind of keeps her thumb in. And if my kids need braces later on from being thumb sucker(although I broke my one of doing it at 3) I’ll happily write that check remembering how I slept through the night from the time they were two months on! Sleep is priceless!
Jill says
Another vote for the zippadee zip! I was scared of the transition from Merlin so we tried the zippy. She is able to rub her eyes or suck her hands and not wake up from scratching her face. Now that she rolls she is able to do so without startling herself awake. My hubby didn’t put her in it one night and the minute she rolled over she was screaming.
Michele says
Yes, the Merlin!!!! And then Zipadee Zip is awesome. And now we are Just in a sleep blanket at 9 months. You can get a used Zipadee Zip on eBay etc for much cheaper. Good luck!
Carly says
Our little guy is 20 weeks old and we’re struggling with the swaddle too and the one arm out wasn’t working. We’re using the 6-9 mo merlin’s sleep suit and it is a miracle worker!
haley @Cupcakes and Sunshine says
ooohh I am SO happy it is Friendsgiving season!!! have the very best time!!!
MEGHAN says
We moved from the swaddle to the zipadeezip – it’s allows for some movement but she didn’t wake herself up from the startle reflex. We loved them, and they were adorable :)