For nine months or so, a baby is tucked tightly inside the womb, folded up like the star of a circus act. Their knees touch their noses; their feet can end up by their head.
It’s crazy the positions an ultrasound will catch a baby in during a checkup. As the baby grows, though, her area to wriggle around in shrinks.
That’s when you’ll see an elbow gouging out from your belly or see a foot pushing outward much like an alien has set up camp in your stomach.
Infants easily adapt to their tight quarters in mom’s cozy body, so when they arrive into the bright, noisy, smelly, bustling delivery room, it’s understandable that they’re scared and shocked with their new surroundings.
Why swaddle a baby?
One way to calm a cranky newborn is to tightly swaddle him to replicate the cramped womb from which he just left. Dr. Claire McCarthy with Harvard University notes that she not only has taught countless parents to swaddle their own fussy babies, but has used the technique with her own infants.
“Swaddling has been part of caring for babies for centuries – millennia, really … It has been shown to help many babies sleep better. It can be particularly helpful for babies with neurological problems or colic, or for babies born addicted to drugs,” she explains.
This technique also can help babies stay on their backs while snoozing, which helps prevent sudden infant death syndrome.
“Some babies have trouble with sleeping on their backs because they startle themselves awake; when they are swaddled, that’s less likely to happen,” she said.
Use caution when swaddling
Parents should closely monitor their babies who are swaddled, however. McCarthy said that if the blanket or other fabric used for swaddling comes loose, it can because a suffocation hazard.
She also warned that babies should always be put to sleep on their back whether or not they’re swaddled. Also, if a baby will be swaddled for a considerable amount of time, consider investing in a swaddling sleep sack instead of using a blanket, which can prevent a baby’s legs from bending up and out at the hips and pose problems with development if used extensively.
Mom Nicole Pano learned from nurses how to swaddle her baby girl while they were in the hospital. These techniques have been captured on camera for others to replicate and pacify a fussy baby.
The Double Swaddle
Form a triangle out of one baby blanket and set the baby on it with the top of the blanket running just above her shoulders. Take the left corner and cross it over the baby, tucking it underneath her body.
Take the tail of the blanket, or the bottom, and tuck it up under the baby’s left shoulder. Then take the right side of the blanket and cross it over the baby’s body and tuck it underneath her body.
Lay her down in this single swaddle on top of a second blanket. This second blanket should have a tiny triangle at the top of the blanket behind her neck. Once again, take the left side of the blanket and tuck it behind her left side, then bring the bottom of the blanket up and tuck it behind her left shoulder.
Take the other side and wrap it around her torso and tuck it behind her bottom.
The Parent Wrap
The next swaddling technique is referred to as the parent wrap and it’s the easiest of the three swaddling methods.
Open up the blanket and lay down the baby at the top of the blanket with it behind his ears. Place the baby at the top of the blanket with the edge crossing by his ears.
Push down his right arm and cross the blanket over his torso and tuck behind his back. Pin down his other arm and cross the blanket over and wrap around to his backside.
Bring the bottom of the blanket up and wrap both sides of the blanket around his backside.
“This wrap is easier,” the nurse says.
The Traditional Swaddle
With this technique, fold down the top of the blanket so it makes a small triangle behind her head. Take the left side of the blanket and tuck the top part of it between her right arm and her body.
Grab the rest of the left side of the blanket and fold it across her body and tuck it behind her. Gently hold down her left arm and take the right side of the blanket across her body, crossing under her chin, and wrap it behind her body.
Hold her other arm down and bring up the bottom of the blanket and tuck it behind her left shoulder. Take the right side of the blanket and cross over her body under her chin then take the bottom of the right side of the blanket and wrap it behind her back.
Experts advise that babies often fuss and cry while being swaddled. They’re essentially being manhandled for a short bit.
But if he or she enjoys being swaddled, they’ll settle down once you’re done wrapping them up like an adorable little burrito.
For the play-by-play of how to swaddle your beautiful baby, watch the video below. The visual tutorial will help tremendously!
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