Truth: I swaddle my babies. When our first child, Layne, was three months old I was at my wits end. He screamed all day and night. The longest stretch of sleep I’d gotten out of him was three hours. I had no help nearby {besides HH but I was trying to let him stay rested so he could function at work during the day}. I was frustrated and exhausted and looking for a miracle. I found one in the way of swaddling.
The first night I swaddled Layne properly {i.e. snugly in his Miracle Blanket} and used a sound machine in his nursery, he slept eight hours straight. I felt like a new woman the next morning. His stretches of night sleep lengthened week after week until he was sleeping a solid 10-12 hours consistently. I thought “Holy cow. Why didn’t anyone tell me to do this the day he was born?!”
Since then, I’ve been a swaddling fanatic. I tell anyone who will listen to swaddle their babies when/if they have ’em. The Happiest Baby on the Block is my mama manual. Swaddling mimics the womb, promotes sleep, keeps sharp baby fingernails from wreaking havoc on delicate skin and hinders the Moro reflex.
Even after three kids, I still catch flak about my swaddling methods from some onlookers – family members included. I’ve had people tell me swaddling is claustrophobic, torturous, constrictive, unnecessary, mean, harmful and outdated. I disagree. My boys are now ages 7 and 4 and aren’t claustrophobic. They are perfectly healthy kids, physically and mentally. If anything, there are days I wish I could swaddle them and keep them still again!
I swaddled Layne until he was nine months old. He was an extremely sensitive baby. I swaddled Everett until he was five months old. He was an extremely easy baby. After giving up the swaddle, I moved onto a sleep sack for naps and night time.
Mabrey is almost seven months old and I’m still swaddling her. Albeit with one arm out because she likes it that way. {She’s doing this weird thing now where she squishes her lips inside her mouth so that it looks like she doesn’t have any. Cute and strange at the same time. That’s my girl.}
And I’ll continue to swaddle her as long as it makes her happy. You should see her melt when I start wrapping her up at naptime and bedtime. It’s a cue to let her know sleep is coming. You sleep away ‘lil one. And I will too.
What are your thoughts on swaddling? Ever done it first-hand? Which method or blanket worked best for your baby? How long did you swaddle? Would you do it again?
image: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
family life, kid-friendly