Swaddling

A minute after I swaddled him up, he fell asleep

I've noticed that Gavin sleeps better when I swaddle him. Eversince we got home from the hospital, I make it a point to swaddle him up before he goes to sleep at night. Thanks to JL, who gave me a Swaddle-Up for my baby shower, I didn't have to learn the technique of swaddling using a blanket.

But now that he's a month old, my sister keeps bugging me to stop "restraining" (that's what she calls it) the baby since it looks like I'm torturing him. Although sometimes I do feel the same way, I still continue doing so since Gavin's restless at night unless he's swaddled.

So I did some research and here's what I found out about SWADDLING.

Source: Baby Center

Swaddling is the art of snugly wrapping your baby in a blanket for warmth and security. It can keep him from being disturbed by his own startle reflex, and it may even help him stay warm and toasty for the first few days of life until his internal thermostat kicks in. Most important, it can help to calm your baby.

Nowadays, you probably won't leave the hospital without a little lesson in this technique. Try it, after you've made sure your baby isn't hungry, wet, or tired. It can be used to help settle your baby down when he's overstimulated or when he just needs to feel something close to the tightness and security of the womb.

Once your baby is about a month old you might want to stop swaddling him while he's awake, as it may interfere with mobility and development in older babies. It's fine to keep swaddling your baby for naps and nighttime if he seems to sleep better that way. He'll let you know by crying or kicking when he no longer wants to be bundled up.

Source: Dr. Greene

Different babies are comforted in different ways. Some like to be swaddled, some feel better free. Some like to be rocked, some are comforted by suckling. Those who enjoy swaddling usually start to outgrow it as their motor skills are developing, often by 3 or 4 months. During the transition, they may have mixed feelings. At first they enjoy being swaddled, and then they struggle to use their hands or feet.

This is usually a good stage for transitioning away from swaddling, perhaps at first by wrapping the body securely, but leaving the arms out. This is unlikely to be a passing preference that he gives up, going back to the way he was before.

Source: About: Pediatrics

Swaddling, which was popularized in the parenting book "The Happiest Baby on the Block," is actually a very old and common practice.

Benefits of Swaddling:
Most parents say that swaddling helps their babies get to sleep, stay asleep, and get comforted quickly, especially when they are newborns. A properly-swaddled baby feels warm and secure, and the wrap can help prevent a baby from throwing his arms up and startling himself, or even scratching his face. Some babies don't like being swaddled, though. If your baby doesn't, you can try swaddling him a bit looser or leaving his arms out of the blanket altogether.

When to Stop Swaddling:
Most parents only swaddle their babies when they are newborns. Once they are one or two months-old, many babies don't need the extra warmth or security they were getting from swaddling anymore. Studies have shown that swaddling doesn't help infants with excessive crying once they are two months-old anyway.

Still, some parents say it does seem to help older infants who are particularly fussy or who don't sleep well. Swaddling a baby does become a safety issue once your baby is able to roll over. You don't want a tightly-swaddled baby to roll over onto his stomach, since that could be a risk factor for SIDS.

Keep in mind that babies often begin to roll over some time between two to five months, so that is a good time to stop swaddling and get your baby used to falling asleep on his own. At the very least, you can begin to loosen your baby's swaddling blanket to help him get used to sleeping without being wrapped tightly.

Other reasons to stop swaddling:

- Your baby may be getting overheated, which is also a risk factor for SIDS.
- Swaddling is beginning to limit your infant's movements, which is why many people who continue to swaddle their baby at night stop doing so during the day once their baby is about a month old.
- Your baby doesn't like being swaddled anymore.

Source: Wikipedia

Swaddling is an age-old practice of wrapping infants snugly in swaddling cloths, blankets or similar cloth so that movement of the limbs is tightly restricted. Swaddling bands were often used to further restrict the infant. It was commonly believed that this was essential for the infants to get a proper posture.

Mothers have swaddled their babies throughout history. Votive statuettes have been found in the tombs of Ancient Greek and Roman women who died in childbirth, displaying babies in swaddling clothes. In shrines dedicated to Amphiaraus, models representing babies wrapped in swaddling clothes have been excavated. Apparently, these were frequently given as thank-offerings by anxious mothers when their infants had recovered from sickness.

Probably the most famous record of swaddling is found in the New Testament concerning the birth of Jesus:

“ And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke: II: 6-7) King James Version ”

The oriental swaddling clothes consisted of a square of cloth and two or more bandages. The child was laid on the cloth diagonally and the corners are folded over the feet and body and under the head, the bandages then being tied so as to hold the cloth in position. This device formed the clothing of the child until it is about a year old, and its omission (Ezekiel 16:4) would be a token that the child had been abandoned.

A modified form of swaddling is still popular today as a means of settling and soothing irritable infants. The lengthy swaddling cloths of mediaeval Madonna and Child paintings are now replaced with receiving blankets or flannelette sheets. The confinement is supposed to provide warmth and security for a baby who has recently left the womb. Today, many midwives swaddle infants soon after birth and it is now a standard newborn care practice in many hospitals.

Some medical studies maintain that swaddling appears to be a positioning technique that can enhance neuromuscular development of the very low birth weight infant and that it might have a role in further lowering SIDS risk. Research has also found that swaddling helps infants sleep with fewer awakenings and stay in REM sleep longer.

I know that eventually, I have to wean him from swaddling now that I can see that his movements/motor skills have been developing pretty fast. But since he still finds comfort in it, I'll have to continue this nightly routine of swaddling just until he gets used to sleeping without being all wrapped up. I'll give it another month or so and then I'll have to pack up the Swaddle-Up for the next baby to use (if ever there's a next one.. IF) whether Gavin likes it or not.