How to Swaddle a Baby: Step by Step Guide
It's been hours, and your bundle of joy has been crying and sobbing with no end in sight. You begin to wonder what you can do to soothe your child and save the last few nerves you have.
Before you become a parent, people talk to you about the life-saving effects of swaddling your baby, but they don't always tell you how. That's why we've created a guide about how to swaddle a baby step by step and many other things you might be wondering about.
Benefits of Swaddling
Swaddling a baby isn't just to control the jerking movements they make that startle them awake at night. There are several beneficial reasons that swaddling is used by parents worldwide. The first benefit is safety.
When your child is in the womb, they are held and protected by your body, where they are warm. Swaddling mimics being in the women and helps remind your child of the safety they were used to before making their grand entrance into this new world.
The next reason swaddling is a great tool is that it helps control the start reflex, as we mentioned earlier. When babies are asleep and young, they tend to flail their body parts without warning.
While it's not a cause for concern if your child is sleeping, the movement could be enough to startle them out of their sleep. Swaddling helps to minimize the effects of these movements helping them to sleep peacefully longer.
The last benefit of swaddling is it helps save frazzled parents from becoming more overwhelmed. Sometimes your child will go through periods where they experience what is known as colic.
This means unexplainable crying, and the only thing that will settle them is being swaddled. These are just a few of the benefits that your child will reap from swaddling.
Is Swaddling Safe For Babies?
You need to know how to swaddle your child, but you should also know about baby swaddling safety. One thing you're not supposed to do is place babies in the crib with any sort of blankets.
This leaves you thinking, ' why is waddling a baby highly recommend if blankets are off-limits?' When it comes to swaddling, it's got to be done the right way to prevent any issues.
The main rule of swaddling your child is once they can begin rolling over on their own, it's time to stop swaddling them. The reason for this is if your child should roll to their stomach while being swaddled, it can make it challenging for them to use their arms to turn back over to a safe position.
3,500 infants die each year due to sleep-related deaths, and one way is suffocation caused by blankets and not being able to roll over. Now that we've given you some more information on swaddling, it's time to learn each step essential for wrapping your baby in comfort and love.
Choose Your Surface
The first step to swaddling your child properly is finding a flat surface to wrap them in. The flat surface will ensure that the blanket is wrapped evenly and that your child doesn't go rolling off the table.
Spread the chosen blanket over the surface like it's a diamond. Take the top point of the diamond and fold it towards the middle of the blanket.
Place the Baby
The next step you're going to take is placing your little one in the center of the blanket with the folded piece on their back. Ensure that your child's head is well above the piece that you've folded down.
Keep the baby in the center of the blanket as it will help make the swaddling process easier to do.
Move the Arms
Next, you're going to lift the left or right arm of your child, whichever you choose first, and place their arm across their chest. Take the blanket on the same side and wrap it across your child's torso, tucking it underneath their opposite arm.
Bottoms Up
Take the bottom of the blanket and pull it towards the center, tucking it inside the first fold you made. Next, you'll take the free arm of your child and put it across their body, pulling the last side of the blanket across and tucking it again.
If there are any pieces of the loose blanket, ensure that you take the time to tuck them and then take some time to check and make sure your child is comfortable. The swaddle shouldn't be too loose or too tight.
Depending on your child, they might enjoy having their feet out or one arm out when they are swaddled, and that's perfectly okay. All babies are different, and some don't like being swaddled at all.
It might take a couple of tries, but eventually, you'll be swaddling your baby like a professional.
How to Swaddle a Baby Step by Step 101
We've answered how to swaddle a baby step by step and other things like it is safe to do. You've got to take your time to swaddle your child correctly and make sure it's not too tight, and there are no loose pieces of the blanket left out.
If you're looking for some blankets to swaddle your baby in if you want to add some delightful pieces to their wardrobe, contact Stevie J's. We've got tons of collections that we know both you and your little one are going to love.
Not to mention you can check out items on our Instagram before making your final purchases.