Help your newborn settle down with swaddling.

The first few weeks outside the comfortable confines of the mother’s womb is unsettling for most newborns. Swaddling, or wrapping your baby snugly in a blanket (like a burrito) can help her transition this period. A good swaddling technique can also be crucial in letting you get a good night’s rest. When baby sleeps well, so do mommy and daddy. Many fussy babies have been calmed down by a good swaddle.

Swaddling keeps babies from being awakened by their own startle reflex. A newborn is not yet used to her own muscle movements so it often jolts her out of sleep.

Both my kids were soothed by swaddling. My daughter liked her arms inside the swaddle cocoon, my son liked his arms set free. Either way is fine, take your baby’s cues. I had used a swaddle blanket for them — the kind with velcro enclosures. There are many swaddle blankets to choose from these days so shop around and read reviews on which ones work best.

However, I did observe that a simple flannel blanket worked very well when my babies were swaddled in the hospital. The plain flannel blanket is still an option for you. You may want to take a swaddling lesson from the nurses who do it so well in the hospital. My friend’s husband became a swaddling pro by doing that. You Tube is also worth visiting to see if there’s a good instructional clip worth bookmarking.

Here we found a good, step-by-step guide to an effective swaddling method:

1. Lay the baby blanket flat on a bed or other safe, flat surface in a diamond shape. Fold the top corner down about 6 inches.
2. Place the baby on her back, so her head is above the fold.
3. Holding your baby’s right arm to her side, pull the left corner across her body and then tuck it under the right side of her back.
4. Pull the bottom corner up over her feet and tuck into the fabric stretched across her chest.
5. Holding your baby’s left arm to her side, bring the last corner across your baby’s body and tuck under the left side.

Now here are a few other tips to take note of:

1. Lightweight flannel baby blankets are great to use because the fibers stick together well.
2. Swaddling is only effective for a few weeks after birth. After two months, swaddling — which inhibits movement — can restrict motor development.
3. Do not swaddle a baby in a room that’s too warm. Adjust room temperature to consider the extra warmth that comes from the swaddle blanket. Overheating a baby is a risk factor for SIDS or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
4. Some babies do not like being swaddled at all. If the swaddling makes her even more fussier, then it’s not for her. Again, be sensitive to your baby’s cues.

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