Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The Miracle Blanket Gone Bad

We had to have a Miracle Blanket intervention with my 5 month old. She's become a Miracle blanket junkie and we couldn't take it anymore. She just can't get enough and when she comes down from her swaddled high, she goes into serious withdrawal - crying and shaking, waking us all up at night. I tried to slowly get her off the blanket by just wrapping up one arm but I'm afraid we are going to have to go cold turkey and just take it all away at once.

It started out so innocently. We would wrap her up and she slept so soundly. Then she just started to outgrow her blanket and she just wanted it more and more. I was sadly her enabler giving into her demands, wrapping her up so tight. I even purchased another Miracle Blanket, hoping it would be a little bigger and give her more time in it. I'm to blame as much as she is.


I checked the Miracle Blanket web site and of course they sadly just promote their blanket giving all kinds of directions on how to use it and how great it is. There are no directions on what to do when your baby is completely addicted to it or how to get her off it. No hot line to call for emergency help or self help centers. I'm ashamed of the Miracle Blanket company for producing such an addictive product and not offering any rehabilitative help. Even the cigarette companies now do that.

Moms, keep your babies away from the Miracle Blanket unless you want to find them covered in drool, laying in their bed, crying, sweating, shaking and flapping their little arms in a restless withdrawal. It's a horrible sight that no mother should have to see.

17 comments:

Jinxy said...

This post came too late for me. My 3 1/2 month old is hooked big time. Hopefully it can help others.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx said...

Oh no. My five month old is addicted to her Swaddle-me. I'm doomed!

MrsM said...

Oh no-infants with addictions are the WORST!

If it makes you feel any better, they're now telling people (as of like two seconds ago) not to swaddle your kids with their hands tucked in like those swaddling blankets do...so taking away her blankie is actually for her health?

That sounds like decent rationalization to me.

Milo's Creations said...

Amanda, I nominated you for the Attitude of Gratitude Award! Read this post for more information!
http://miloscreations.blogspot.com/2009/04/attitude-of-gratitude-award.html

Holly Tried It said...

Nanny Deprived,

It is a sad day when you have to give up the Miracle Blanket. It's one of the first steps from infancy to crawling baby. And it's sad for parents and babies. But don't worry. It's not that bad. I posted the company's directions for weaning on my blog.

http://hollytriedit.blogspot.com/2008/01/miracle-blanket-companys-response-to.html

We went cold turkey, but we also put her in footed pajamas that covered all her skin like the Miracle Blanket did. And, I held her very snuggly to my chest until she got drowsy and then I put her to bed. I only had to do that for a little while, and then she adjusted. Good luck to you!

Maureen said...

Actually most babies go cold turkey - or even stop wanting the blanket - very easily and quickly. And in most of the WORST case scenarios, there are several rough nights during the transition. We think that a few tough nights – even a week – is a HUGELY better option than four months of horrible nights. My first son gave us the four months of no sleep. My third son used the MB and gave us a rough time for a few nights when he outgrew it. Most babies need to be swaddled and most babies have many habits to break - from breast feeding to binkies to diapers - and this is just one more wonderful thing that needs to be dealt with for a couple days. Weaning from anything can be rough, but it's better than four screaming, sleepless, tear-filled months ... nice trade off, I’d say. AND the company DOES have a "hotline" of sorts. If you call or write them, they will respond with tons of info on weaning.

Anonymous said...

So you got months of sleep that most parents don't get and then have this bitter complaint over a week or so of fussiness?

I know I was really worried about weaning, so before it was time I called their toll free number and talked to a nice man (Martin? Mark? Something like that). He gave me lots of good information. One thing he said was that it would be like somebody "flipping a switch" on about the third night. And I didn't believe him, but he was right - my ds was fussy as all get out for the first two nights without the blanket and then on the third night he suddenly started sleeping great. (Martin said this was one reason they don't recommend the slow weaning like you tried.)

Maybe before getting mad at a company for not having a "hotline" or whatever, you should try calling the toll free number that they provide on every page of their website.

Personally, I don't know how I could have lived without the Miracle Blanket. It was a real godsend.

Stella

Nanny Deprived said...

Thanks for your comments. First of all, it's a joke.

I love the blanket. I used it for two kids. But there is no "switch" with my kids. It's been over two weeks now and we are still having sleepless nights. I don't blame the company. I was just being funny.

Anonymous said...

Well, I guess I'm glad to hear it was a joke. That last paragraph, "Moms, keep your babies away from the Miracle Blanket unless you want to find them covered in drool, laying in their bed, crying, sweating, shaking and flapping their little arms in a restless withdrawal. It's a horrible sight that no mother should have to see" seemed kinda serious to me. I guess I need more sleep. ;)

Stella

Anonymous said...

I wasn't going to say anything so as to "ruffle feathers" here, but since it's been said ... I think what you wrote about Miracle Blanket was pretty offensive. I, too, have had a wonderful experience with the blanket and not only recommend it to ALL NEW MOMMIES, but have also bought several as shower gifts. It was an absolute LIFE SAVER for me (and my marriage, for that matter!)when nothing else worked. As for weaning, when my daughter was 5-months-old we slowly took her out of it over the course of about 3 days by first removing her legs, then her arms, then the wrap around her belly. It worked just fine. Not to berate you, but I would be a little more sensitive with your wording next time because such disparaging remarks could really wreak havoc for a company. Not to say some don't deserve it, but I personally don't think this company does.

Here's to motherhood! ;o)

Chelsea

Anonymous said...

You all need to lighten up! She is discussing how much her baby loves the miracle blanket. That's a testimony to the product. In fact she loves it too much. She's not causing any harm to the company. It's all in good fun. Lighten up people. It's funny stuff.
Shelley

Anonymous said...

Hi, everyone! A friend sent me this blog to read and I thought I might chime in. My name is Mike Gatten. I am the inventor of the Miracle Blanket and owner of Miracle Industries, LLC, Home of the Miracle Blanket. My input (in case anyone cares): I LOVE IT! I think the comments by Nanny Deprived were really funny. Similarly, around here we hear the words, "straight jacket" and "Houdini" all day long. It is always said in jest and it is taken very well. I know first hand what it’s like during those first days "post-MB". My wife still talks about those days. In retrospect, it wasn't bad, but we dreaded it and it was almost like we had a kid going off to college. And truth be told, he was not happy about it either. I love everyone sticking up for us, but let it be known that I think the blog entry was quite humorous and an over-the-top description of … well … reality in some cases. And, of course, actually being the first parent on the planet to experience "MB withdrawal", I HEAR YA! On the other hand, I have to say, taking the binky away was WAY worse. Talk about "drool, laying in their bed, crying, sweating, shaking and flapping their little arms in a restless withdrawal". And at one year old, he was walking and could put up a heck of a fight! Now, THAT sucked. Above all, I want to thank Nanny Deprived for talking about us and giving our product a shot! And if anyone ever needs help with the transition away from the MB, please give us a shout. We are always here to help any way we can.

Mike

countryfriedmama said...

My big, beautiful baby busted out of that Miracle Blanket before she was two months old. There was no miracle in this house, just a kid who quickly outgrew the swaddle.

Good luck!

Kaydee said...

I swaddled my ds for the first three months. Thankfully our "detox" was painless as she kept wiggling out of it for about a week until we just gave up and put her to sleep without it and thankfully without issue.

I just recommended the MB to a friend and she has now had a month of her two-month old sleeping through the night! (Just wait till she needs to break the habit - [insert evil laugh here])

Great product and also great to see that the invetor/founder has such a great sense of humor.

P.S. No binkies in our house, but I am soooo not looking forward to weaning off the thumb!

Obama said...

They all get over it sooner or later.So don't worry.It is now helping the child like a comforter.She will outgrow it adjusted to the other changes of the environment.

babygirl said...

Oh man did my husband and I deal with that transition nightmare! We found out about zipadeezip.com where they sell a transition blanket! It's so amazing... if my hubby and I hadn't found that we would have probably ended up in the nut house! My daughter would ONLY fall asleep swaddled and then started waking herself up 4 or 5 times a night by escaping from her swaddle! We tried using a halo sleep sack on top of the miracle blanket and then we tried weaning her off by leaving one arm out and then her legs out and NOTHING worked until the zipadeezip! It worked the first time :)

Anonymous said...

WOW! Some people have too much time to over analyze.

Your post was hilarious. Don't let anyone take your humor from you.