How to Swaddle

Rachelle, this is for you since I totally forgot to show you how on Saturday!  Just pretend that George the Monkey is Garrett :)

Both of my babies liked being swaddled.  Lane was only swaddled at night for about 6 weeks (in hindsight, I probably could have kept him swaddled longer and he would've slept better).  Katy, on the other hand, loved to be swaddled and often that was the only way she would be calmed in those early newborn days.  I have several pictures of her swaddled in her bouncer...if she wasn't swaddled, she was screaming.  So I got lots of practice those first several weeks!  I found that the best thing at night for her was a Swaddle Me...with the velcro, I didn't have to worry about it coming undone.  I almost tried the Miracle Blanket, but I thought they were a little pricey.  During the day, I just swaddled her in a blanket since it was July and pretty warm out!

Here's step-by-step instructions for my sis-in-law:

Using a Swaddle Me

Lay the baby (monkey) on the Swaddle Me with feet in the pocket...

Hold right arm flat against body (try to get it as straight as you can - if they can bend it, they're more likely to bust out of it).

Pull the right arm flap across body (tightly!) and tuck under the left arm.

Make sure the left arm is tight against baby's body, pull across, and secure the velcro.  Done!

Using a Blanket

Lane was a pretty willing helper to show how to swaddle with a blanket.  He loves to be swaddled...well...for about 1 minute, then he's had enough :)

Lay the blanket on the floor with one corner pulled down.

Lay the baby on the fold - top of shoulders even with the top of the blanket.

Keeping right arm straight, pull the flap across the body and tuck under the body.  Then, pull the bottom of the blanket up and either tuck under the left shoulder or under the left arm (Lane was way too big to show you this step!).

Then, pull the other flap across the body, tucking under the body and wrapping around if possible.

Enjoy your happy, content baby!

I've found that the key to their happiness is tightness.  I've read that you really can't swaddle them too tight (unless, of course, they can't breathe!) and Katy would definitely bust out of the swaddle if it wasn't tight enough.  Obviously don't keep them swaddled 24/7, but it works great for naps and nighttime.

Hope that helped, Rachelle!