How to swaddle a newborn...

1. Miss Cellania
   December 25th, 2007 at 10:19 pm

   OK, I'm confused, since I never had a newborn. Do they like it, as she says, or hate it, as the baby indicates? Is there any reason to do this besides "babies like to be swaddled"?

2. jstruan
   December 25th, 2007 at 10:24 pm

   Well, I'd wager there's plenty of people that think swaddling is monstrous, but it worked for my family. The baby doesn't want to be swaddled, but once it's swaddled and jiggled, and shushed, and nursed, it'll fall asleep AND because it's arms are tucked in, it'll stay asleep. As opposed to smacking itself in the head right away and waking back up.

3. jstruan
   December 25th, 2007 at 10:25 pm

   It's really depressing when they fall asleep only to wake back up.

4. yudonomi
   December 25th, 2007 at 10:26 pm

   Well, from what I can tell, they're not particularly happy with the process of being swaddled, but it's super effective when they're wrapped by someone who's better practiced than the person in the first video.

   Here's one that shows other calming techniques commonly used along with swaddling:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkR_e1L6zxI

5. Edward
   December 25th, 2007 at 11:03 pm

   My technique is to hold them close to my chest after swaddling. I then rhythmically growl while swaying back and forth. The low rumble, deep in my chest seems to calm them.

   Besides, women can't do this effectively (too much chest insulation). If it works, I look like a wizard. If it does not, the women call me an idiot and show me what I am doing wrong. I win either way.

6. Courageous Grace
   December 25th, 2007 at 11:21 pm

   The reason newborns like to be swaddled is because the tightness of the blanket around them is similar to the constrictive environment of the womb. That feeling of closeness is comforting. Of course, I'm still 3 weeks away from my due date so I haven't experienced this firsthand, but one of my shower gifts was a special blanket designed for swaddling that has a pocket for the baby. Not too sure how well it'll work in real life but the concept is nice and it's very soft. I may just stick to a regular receiving blanket.

7. jstruan
   December 25th, 2007 at 11:24 pm

   The strangely shaped blankets didn't work for me.

   I never tried growling.

8. ryan
   December 25th, 2007 at 11:40 pm

   The special blankets work good (at least the ones i had) since they have a piece of to make sure the blanket doesn't come undone.

9. VonSkippy
   December 26th, 2007 at 12:12 am

   Swaddling is what NEW parents do to insure THEIR comfort.

   There is NO real science that show any positive lasting benefit to the infant (in fact more studies are showing just the opposite - that swaddling does indeed screw up the infants mental well being).

   If you think putting your kid in a straight jacket is "comforting" maybe you should give it a try for a few hours. Of course once you wear yourself out struggling, you'll sleep longer too.

   //yes, I have two kids, never swaddled (after the first few days in the hospital), both have excellent mental heath and social skills.

10. shecky
    December 26th, 2007 at 1:16 am

    As the clip demonstrates, be sure to keep the baby gagged in order to ensure compliance.

11. Justin
    December 26th, 2007 at 1:48 am

    that made me LOL

12. James
    December 26th, 2007 at 2:39 am

    Re: #9... You talk about swaddling has no basis on science but fail to provide any information to back up your claims. Do you have records on hand that show that all children who were never swaddled grew up to be more well adjusted than others who were? Please.

    Your own kids are not even remotely a significant enough of a sampling pool. Anecdotal remarks are even less reliable than an insignificantly small and selective sampling pool.

    You can start by checking out the related videos on youtube. An especially good one #4 linked. Other methods of calming all tend to revolve around the same four tactics: Close holding, movement restriction, rocking motions and white noise. There isn't much difference between a swaddle wrap and a mother holding the baby close to her chest... except that that pesky other arm could easily fly up and they'd end up smacking themselves in the head.

    Really, VonSkippy, your comments remind me too much of the kind of remarks that I hear from parents who say "Spanking is abuse" when their kids end up being the ones who deserve spankings the most.

13. Barney
    December 26th, 2007 at 4:34 am

    James,

    You claim that the parents who say “Spanking is abuse” have that kids that end up being the ones who deserve spankings the most. Do you have any records on hand to back this up or is it just anecdotal?

    Really!

14. James
    December 26th, 2007 at 7:36 am

    #13:

    How's this?

    http://faculty.biola.edu/paulp/spare_the_rod.htm

    Argument #10: Spanking leads a parent to use harmful forms of corporal punishment which lead to physical child abuse.

    Counterpoint: The abuse potential when loving parents use appropriate disciplinary spanking is very low. Since parents have a natural affection for their children, they are more prone to underutilize spanking than to overutilize it. Both empirical data and professional opinion oppose the concept of a causal relationship between spanking and child abuse.

    Surveys indicate that 70 to 90 percent of parents of preschoolers use spanking,[22] yet the incidence of physical child abuse in America is only about 5 percent. Statistically, the two practices are far apart. Furthermore, over the past decade reports of child abuse have steadily risen while approval for parental spanking has steadily declined.[23]

    More than 70 percent of primary care pediatricians reject the idea that spanking sets the stage for parents to engage in forms of physical abuse.[24]

15. Nicholas Dollak
    December 26th, 2007 at 11:19 am

    Wow, arguments break out easily here. My two bits re: spanking... If done judiciously, with clear understanding on the part of the child that he or she knowingly broke a rule and that this is the punishment, it hardly constitutes abuse. When children know that Mom & Dad mean business, they are more likely to listen and obey. Balance this with opportunities for fun outings and treats (which can be witheld by the parents as non-corporeal punishment if necessary), and a healthy parent-child relationship ensues, with the children causing a minimum of grief. The kids, knowing that they might lose their trip to the mall on Thursday if they misbehave, will have a vested interest (albeit rooted in hedonism) in pleasing their parents.

    And now on to swaddling. In Medieval and Renaissance England, so I've learned, babies were often swaddled and kept wrapped up all week long! Each Sunday the wrap would be changed. This of course resulted in horrible diaper rash that probably left lasting scars. I imagine that the occasional bare-butt one sees in period movies probably looks much smoother than the real thing (Same goes for those straight teeth).

16. Leah
    December 26th, 2007 at 1:35 pm

    I learned with my boys that spanking worked depending on the situation. When they were young, we used it sparingly, and it was effective. We never smacked faces, and only a few times smacked hands that were engaged in very dangerous situations (touching a hot stove, trying to soemthing in an outlet, that sort of thing). Usually, we swatted their well-padded bottoms (above clothes) a few times a month.

    As the boys grew, we found success in putting their toys and other fun activities in time out. For instance, if someone misbehaved, their toy(s) would be put in time out for a certain amount of time or until their were ransomed by the child's good behavior.

    In other words, "If you fight over the nintendo, it goes in time out for the rest of the day." This works because its not the child himself, but his beloved item that is in time out. Best if all, the item doesn't cry in the corner, begging to get out of time out.

    As for blanket swaddling, I did it, and my kids were comforted by it. However, I didn't do it as often with my young son, as he was often "swaddled" and nursing in the baby sling, allowing me to have free hands with his brother.

    Both boys are nice young men, well-balanced and a joy to us and others around them.

17. MoniA
    December 27th, 2007 at 6:36 am

    My husband was big on swaddling when our babies were small newborns and it seemed to work pretty good. I wasn't too good at the whole wrapping thing and was always afraid I'd make it too tight.

    Nicholas, that's creepy about Medieval times and swaddling. Gosh, wouldn't those babies have cried all the time if their butts were raw? And they didn't bathe a whole lot either from what I recall. Soaking in water is the best thing for diaper rashes I've found.

18. BearFeat
    December 28th, 2007 at 12:42 am

    I've got two kids, and I tried swaddling for both. The older loved it, he calmed down as soon as he was put on the blanket. He was a bit colicky, and the swaddle calmed him right down. We kept him swaddled for the first three months (with frequent diaper changes!), and then he got active and didn't need it anymore. The younger was ok with it for the first week, and and then flat-out refused to cooperate, so we stopped and she was happy. I'm glad to say that they're both doing fine.

    As for the baby in the video, it's obviously older than three months and used to being unconfined. Of course it wouldn't be happy with the whole proceedings. Also, the blanket used was far too small for a good wrap, and the technique was sketchy.

    I'd recommend for any new parents to try swaddling - if you have a fussy baby, it can be a life-saver! Just use common sense, pay attention to your child, and remember that every child is unique! Happy parenting!

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