Swaddle guilt

Hi all!! I just wanted some reassurance, maybe I'm just a bit weird 😅
My baby is 5 weeks old and for the past week he's been sleeping very badly, he's hardly slept at all for 3 days and became even fussier from overtiredness. He always wants to sleep on us, and when we try to put him in the crib he would wake up immediately and cry. Unfortunately we can't co-sleep safely cause he was born small and according to the Lullaby Trust co-sleeping is contraindicated in this situation ☹️
Eventually we decided to swaddle him and we bought the Love to Dream one, as he usually sleeps with his arms up. Tonight, after so long, he managed to have a good night sleep and I'm so glad he did! The only issue is that when I swaddle him I feel bad cause I'm worried he's uncomfortable. I know it's irrational, cause clearly he slept well, but I feel like I'm forcing it on him and restricting him ☹️ i try to reassure myself that we did a good thing because clearly he slept better, but I'm still worried he's uncomfortable. Do you think he would cry if he was uncomfortable? Has anyone had a baby that didn't like the swaddle, and if so what did they do to communicate that? Our baby makes some noises overnight while moving in the swaddle, but he's not fully crying and then he goes to sleep, I don't know if those sounds/movements night mean he doesn't like it... Thanks for your help!

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If he was uncomfortable he would definitely let you know! Both my babies loved being swaddled but my friend tried it for her little one and she said that her baby cried and basically wouldn’t sleep with it on. So I’d say the fact he did a good stint of sleep shows he was perfectly comfy! And making noises in the night almost like light crying is perfectly normal when they’re so little, it’s called active sleep! Xxx

They would definitely cry if they didn’t like it. My first born hated the swaddle, we tried for 2 nights and he screamed every time we put it on. My current 6 week old loves it and sleeps happily swaddled☺️

The swaddles help with the startle reflex so they don’t wake themselves up loads, but it’s also more familiar for them to be cosied up. He’s been in your stomach for a long time so I wouldn’t worry about him feeling constricted, it’s all he’s known!

Trust me, they let you know they dont like been swaddled if the don't. If he slept well its likely he found it quite soothing.

I had the same concerns with my daughter. She wouldn’t sleep and once we tried the swaddle she slept so much better. I was so worried about putting her in the swaddle and felt so bad about it. I found that she slept just as well in a sleep sack, so you can try that if you want. But like other people have said, your baby will let you know if they don’t like the swaddle

They can move their arms in a love to dream one so they're not that restricted

My baby hated swaddling and she would struggle like she was trying to get out of prison and cry if she was awake when we swaddled her. Nothing I could do would calm her down. We could swaddle her when she was asleep and it would help her sleep better. But once she reached probably five weeks or so, she would wake up every time I tried to swaddle her, so I had to eventually give up.

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