C.J. Houdini

For months now we've had to swaddle our dear little Christopher due to his flailing arm situation. I can't imagine which side of the family he gets his crazy intensity from, but it seems to carry over to his sleep. Since Brian and I have remedial swaddling abilities with a regular blanket, we decided to buy these blankets that use velcro to keep your baby in the swaddle. People have remarked that they kind of look like straight jackets... anything for a good night's sleep. Well, these blankets have worked since the beginning even though Chris would get his legs out of them occasionally. For the most part, they would keep him snug as a bug in a rug. Recently, however, Christopher has been drawing his hands up so forcefully that no matter how tightly you secure him, he is able to escape from the swaddle multiple times throughout the night. It seems that although he has arms strong enough to get out, he then does not know what to do with his arms/hands. I tried teaching him how to suck his thumb to no avail. Eventually, his arms move and flail and wake him up. I've also noticed that during the day he has been especially active with his arms and legs. Like when I change his diaper it looks like he is making rapid snow angels on the table! On his stomach he is reaching around more with his arms and it almost looks like he wants to rotate his body to turn around. Does this sort of thing happen when a baby is about to do something like rolling over? Any experienced motherly advice out there? Anyway, if this is any indication of the future, we are going to have our hands full when this little boy starts to walk.