When a baby is swaddled during the night to sleep (wrapping a baby like a little burrito), they will sleep longer and sounder. They also learn that this is a sign of a long sleep ahead. Your baby will take best to this swaddling if it is done from day one when you arrive home. Training your baby early is important although you can start swaddling at any time. It is not necessary to swaddle your baby for naps. I found that my baby slept whenever she was tired wherever she was in the first few months of life, so a nap schedule was not necessary until later. Swaddling becomes part of your bedtime routine only. On benifit that I only realized after swaddling for a few months was I never had to worry about my baby getting cold or kicking their blanket. I know many parents that check on their baby a few times each night to make sure they are covered. Swaddling will put an end to this.

I only leaned how to swaddle by asking every nurse in the hospital's postpartum unit to demonstrate. Their demonstrations were critical. Other cultures around the world have been doing this for centuries. I found that each nurse had a variation but one had shown me a way to tuck the blanket under the arm or pin before pulling it across the chest. This I soon found was essential for the infant to stay wrapped. It is easier to swaddle a one month old than it is a three month old due to the typical size of a swaddle blanket. So a good technique is important as your baby grows, if you plan to swaddle them longer than the first month, which I definitely recommend.

Another benefit of swaddling is that newborns have a startle reflex that causes them constantly to wake themselves up. Some have it worse than others. It usually starts to decrease by about 4-6 months old. Swaddling helps a baby sleep longer and sounder since it manages the startle reflex. When swaddling a newborn, you include the legs in your burrito. At 2 months old when the baby's legs no longer fit, you just bring the blanket up between the legs and tuck under the stomach area so the baby has room to move their legs freely. This is what you will see in the pictures below - a 15 week old being swaddled.

It took me about 10 nights of practice trying to swaddle my baby tight enough so she stayed wrapped as she got bigger. At one point I wanted to make it easier on our baby-sitters who had not mastered swaddling by purchasing one of those swaddle blankets online w/ velcro to secure it. Yet the velcro was not properly placed for a secure wrap, so I was back to the old fashioned way.

I found that swaddling in combination with using a sleep positioner (see picture below), was a great way to place a baby to sleep in the crib on their side or back which makes both these positions very comfortable. When talking to a baby nurse who came to our house for the first 4 days after we left the hospital because our baby had jaundice, she said side-sleeping is very comfortable and safe for a baby. But without a sleep positioner, side-sleeping is impossible and back-sleeping is less comfortable. As you can see, I really recommend the positioner. Choose one that is adjustable as your baby grows. One benefit to side sleeping is if a baby spits up and they are on their side, the spit up just leaks out the side of the mouth onto a soft burp cloth or crib saver mat (see pictures below).

To make a swaddle blanket, 42 X 42 inches works well. So just get a light weight reversible cotton or flannel fabric at 44 X 44 so you can hem around corners. Does not have to be exact to work well. It will cost $3-5 to make!