Swaddle to the Rescue
When I brought my daughter home from the hospital, I was determined to do things differently this time. This baby was not going to be held 24/7. She was going to learn to soothe herself when upset. Baby #2 was going to sleep through the night well before 9 months. And she was definitely going to learn to fall asleep (and stay asleep) in her crib, rather than in my arms.
Maybe you have two children, and are thinking, ‘HaHaHa. But before you chide me for my obviously well-intended but misguided idealizations, let me defend myself. It’s going pretty well (it helps that my daughter is the most laid-back, easy-going baby God ever created). But maybe some of itjust a teensy bit – is due to some things I’ve learned. One thing in particular has helped with all of these goals: I swaddled her.
And when I say swaddle, I don’t just mean I wrap her in a blanket. I mean she is practically in a straight jacket.
It started when my friend sent me a blanket as a baby gift that was twice the size of normal receiving blankets, with this little tag of swaddling instructions and the phrase, ‘Swaddled babies sleep better.’ Always one to ask the question, ‘Who said it and why should I believe them I looked it up. Turns out, it was the American Academy of Pediatrics.
In May 2005, they again published research indicating that babies who are wrapped sleep more efficiently; that is, they wake up less often (unless there is noise). And then there was that phrase about how swaddling helps excessive crying. That was good enough for me to try it.
On her second night of going to bed drowsy but awake (let’s not talk about the first night), I bundled her awkwardly, stuck a pacifier in her mouth andvoila! It worked. She was out cold in 15 minutes. She’s three months old now and she still can’t resist the ‘burrito’. If she wakes up in the middle of the night, I rewrap her, find the pacifier, and we’re good until 5:00 am.
Now I just have to figure out what I’m going to do when she’s old enough to turn over
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Dawn says...
Great tip! I registered for several of these and they look great!
Dawns last blog post..90 Minutes in the Morning
Holly Tried It says...
I swaddled my daughter, too. Her babysitters couldn’t believe how fast she fell asleep. Wrap her up, and it was lights out. (Most nights!) I absolutely love the Miracle Blanket. I even gave two away on my blog so other parents could try them out.
Holly Tried Its last blog post..Keep Track of Your Favorite Blogs with a Feed Reader like Google Reader or Bloglines
Kim says...
I worked in a Labor & Delivery unit for 3 years, so I know how to burrito a baby pretty good. But my newborn daughter seems to be the Houdini of the swaddle blanket. I was at Babies R Us and found the “baby straight jacket” (the one in the picture). It is amazing! She can’t get her hands out. I am going to give it as a gift at every baby shower I attend!