when to stop swaddling?

My son is 4 mos old and I still swaddle him for naps and nighttime
sleep. If I don't he squirms and keeps himself up. The arms and legs
startle him and wake him back up.

But he's getting too long for these swaddlers and blankets.

How do I transition him to not swaddled but keep him relaxed enough to
sleep? Is it just coping thru a few nights of him not sleeping?

Aula...

I'm no expert on this, but I'd move from the swaddling gradually by
swaddling him increasingly more loosely over a period of a several days to a
week. Hopefully this would help to adjust to the greater freedom gradually
and he'd be fine with it. But, be advised, babies do find ways to keep
themselves awake, but at an older age than your DS. And then there is
teething. That can do it, too. Hang in there and enjoy the different
stages as he moves through them.

Mary W....

We got bigger blankets and swaddled DD until she was 7 months or
so. Then she was breaking out of the swaddle, so we transitioned
to no swaddle. First we'd keep one arm out, then we gave it up
all together. It just took some time, and it was a little rough
but she figured it out OK.

Mary W.

TIA!
maureen