Strollerderby
Babble Talk: To Swaddle or Not to Swaddle?
The kid simply would not sleep without a full swaddle, and it was driving us mad. A little duct tape around her mid-section, I figured, wouldn’t hurt her. Would it? In the end, I was too tired to make it all the way to the kitchen for the tape, so I just readjusted her swaddle and went back to sleep — hoping for at least 10 minutes of peace before she broke free again.
Still, the swaddle was great while it lasted — allowing her to sleep soundly for much longer stretches than we could have hoped for. We were turned onto the swaddle by the book “Happiest Baby on the Block” (which actually included an anecdote about a dad who used tape) but didn’t do much research beyond that. Turns out pediatricians approved anyway.
According to a new Babble survey, 80 percent of pediatricians say the swaddle is just dandy, while 19 percent really couldn’t care less either way. What do you think? According to the poll, 77 percent of parents say “yes.” Cast your vote here.
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5 Comments
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 ammy son (2 months) loves being swaddled at night. we use the “miracle blanket” which a friend of mine gave me. it is made of strechy material and doesn’t come undone like flannel blankets. he went from sleeping 4 hours to 6 hours straight (9pm-3am ish).
i’m curious also about when to stop swaddling him. he still wakes up from his reflexes if he is not swaddled.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 ammy son (6 weeks) likes being swaddled, but only if he can have at least one hand outside. actually, no.
he liked being swaddled. for the first week or two, tolerated it for the next three. now we don’t really swaddle him much, but he’s still good with it.
but he absolutely had to have that hand free
nancyt commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amMy son is the worst kind of swaddle baby–he cannot fall asleep unless he’s wrapped up tightly, but he fights it until that last second when he dozes off. I’ve wrapped and rewrapped him some nights dozens of times. I’d swear that he hates it, except for the fact that swaddling=sleep (eventually) and no swaddling=crazy screaming and pathetic flailing.
Does anyone have any advice/thoughts on when they outgrow this need? My son is three months old and while I realize I’m lucky for having ONE strategy that works, I’m also looking forward to not having to re-wrap him in the middle of the night.
RachelZ commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amJillian couldn’t be fully swaddled for the first few weeks because she had an IV insert in her right hand. So that arm had to be free, and wouldn’t you know it, that’s the arm she used to hit herself in the face. Grrrrreat! By the time the IV thingy came out, she refused to be swaddled. Instead, we got extra-long blankets and tucked them under her mattress, imprisoning her fairly successfully.
Then we discovered sleep sacks and life has been great ever since!
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amMy first baby hated, hated, HATED the swaddle. Even in the hospital, we would try to swaddle her, and she would cry and fight and swing her arms like a little boxer until her arms were free, and then she would calm down and go to sleep.
My second was the exact opposite. Adored the swaddle. She actually almost got diagnosed with a fever when her temp went up a couple degrees from spending so much time swaddled.
So I think it all depends on what works for your kid.
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