If you have a baby (or a child that was once a baby), chances are you have a few of these hangin' around your house: the all important swaddle. Helping babies (and parents) sleep for the last millennia. Or, however long woven fabric has been around. A really long time, ok?
One of the first things that you hear about when you are registering for baby gear are swaddles. I know I heard dozens of people tell me about the wonders of swaddling. Heck, one of the 5 "S's" (Happiest Baby on the Block) is devoted to swaddling. It was the first thing we had the nurse teach us how to do once Miss Kaitlin arrived. Doctors actually recommend that you swaddle newborns for the first few months of their lives to help them sleep as it reduces the chance that they will wake themselves up accidentally (newborns have a huge startle reflex - twitching, jumping and scaring themselves for no reason other than the fact that they are in a big wide world now and not comfy cozy in their moms tummy).
Kaitlin has always been a mover and a shaker - especially with her arms. From the beginning we knew we were going to have to swaddle her for a while since not only did she startle herself a lot, she also liked to have her hands by her face which distracted her from going to sleep. We knew how to swaddle her, thanks to the nurses who gave us lessons, but no matter how tightly we swaddled her she always broke free. Sometimes it took her a couple minutes, sometimes an hour, sometime we wouldn't find her arms out until morning, but as sure as the sky is blue her arms were getting out of that swaddle.
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| nice tight swaddle thanks to the nurses |
We started calling her Houdini because no matter how tightly we swaddled her or what type of swaddle we used those arms would always make it out. Sometimes it caused a problem - she woke herself up in the middle of the night or a nap - sometimes it didn't. Some babies love to be swaddled and will wear them for many, many months (provided they aren't rolling over in them) and some babies can sleep fine without them after the first few weeks.
After those first few days at home and her breaking out of every swaddle we put her in (using the swaddle blankets) we decided it was time to break out the big guns. The velcro swaddlers. These are the real deal, and basically like Swaddles for Dummies (the inside of one even has picture instructions, it doesn't get easier than that). Not only does it help if you don't know how to swaddle properly but it also gives a much tighter hold, making it even harder for babies to break out. The first time we put her in a velcro swaddle I kind of felt bad. I felt like I was putting my newborn child in a straight jacket. And then she broke out of it by the time she woke up for her middle of the night feeding and I didn't feel so bad anymore, clearly she was a woman on a mission.
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| freedom! |
We've tried a few different types and brands of swaddles - here are the ones I love the most:
These guys famous for their swaddles and are massively popular due to their swaddle blankets loose weave. They are lightweight and very breathable, which was important for us during this Texas summer. They are extra big, which makes it easier for newbie parents who aren't as well versed in swaddling as delivery room nurses. We don't really use these for swaddling very much any more since there is a 99.99% chance that Kaitlin is going to break out of them. Sometimes I use them for her naps, but thats about it. However these blankets are useful for a ton of other things! I use it as a blanket for when we go into air conditioned stores. I use it as a cover for her stroller/car seat to block out the sun and the outside world. I wrap her up in it when sitting her in the boppy so she doesn't slip down. I've used it as a burp cloth, a nursing cover and during one unfortunate accident on a recent plane ride back to Houston, as a diaper. I have a set of the classic muslin and the bamboo (which are ultra silky and soft...think I can use it as a scarf for me??). They are a must have for any new parent.
This was the first velcro swaddle we used on Kaitlin, and man do we love it. It is a sleep sack and a swaddle so you can use it in a variety of ways (swaddle arms in, swaddle arms out, swaddle one in and one out - you get the point). It also has a reverse zip closure which makes changing diapers once they are wrapped up easy as pie. Brian called this her baby burrito since she was wrapped up so snug and tight in this thing, just like a burrito! I am convinced that this swaddle helped her sleep so long at night so early. We have a few of these in 100% cotton (again, Houston summer) but they also make them in fleece for those of you with winter babies in cold climates.
About a month ago Kaitlin started to outgrow her HALO SleepSack and I was desperate for a replacement. Even though we use the 100% cotton HALO I was still concerned that it was a bit too thick and that she would over heat in it. I found the Summer Infant SwaddleMe collection at my local Right Start and decided to try them out. Brian wasn't a big fan of them but I liked them. They are made out of light jersey fabric and are very stretchy. They conformed to Kaitlin a little tighter but she could still stretch around in them. They are now getting a bit too small on her so I think we will be going back to the HALO, but I thought these were an excellent option.
Recently I had the thought that it might be a good time to start transitioning Kaitlin away from the swaddle. She is trying to roll over now and when she's in the swaddle it's that much easier for her. When we use the swaddle blankets chances are they come undone to some extent and I didn't like the idea of a loose blanket in the crib with her, especially if she starts to roll over. And then she discovered her hands. Like, really discovered them. Like, looks like she's tripping on acid discovered them. And that just caused more problems. I can see a big difference in the length and quality of sleep she gets when she's swaddled nice and tight, and I'm not ready to let that go yet. She fights the swaddle a lot more now when I'm wrapping her up, but after a few minutes she normally calms back down (except for this last week when, for a couple days, she was pushing furiously against the swaddle grunting really loudly).
(What a weird kid)
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