Swaddling Your Newborn

Swaddling is a popular term heard when you have a newborn.  I mean swaddling is even done from day 1, in the hospital when they are wrapped tightly like a burrito. It’s most commonly suggested as a means to calm your newborn. When you swaddle your little one, you are tightly wrapping her in a blanket, with arms in, to restrict the sudden movement of her arms and legs. It helps avoid the Moro reflex (startle reflex) from waking her up. The idea with the swaddle is to help re-recreate the feeling of being in the womb; all warm and tight. It’s suggested to not only help calm your baby but also help her sleep longer and better. But don’t worry if your little one doesn’t like it. Not all babies, including my first son, don’t enjoy it and that’s OK! Here are a few of my favorite swaddles.

 I will caution that swaddling can also come with some risks. Some safety concerns such as overheating, SIDS, and hip dysplasia. You have to make sure you are wrapping your newborn correctly, and you don’t want to overheat your baby.

Safe ways to swaddle:

• Always put your baby on her back when swaddled and never on her belly.

• If you are using a blanket, make sure it’s light and breathable.

• Make sure to wrap tightly enough so that the blanket won’t come undone the minute she starts moving around.

• The arms should be wrapped inside by her chest. Or some like them by their sides.

• Make sure that her legs can still move. She should be able to move her hips, knees, and feet freely up and down. This helps avoid hip dysplasia.

• Make sure not to over-layer! Remember, the swaddle is like a blanket, so try not to dress her in too many layers to avoid overheating.

• Make sure to leave your child unwrapped for playtime and feeding times. You want your baby on tummy time playing and exploring without it.  

Signs your child is ready to wean from the swaddle:

• Your baby is between 4-5 months old.

• If your baby starts rolling over, you will need to stop swaddling. This can become a safety issue because if your child rolls over while in the swaddle, she will be on her tummy without being able to use her arms to push herself up, which can be dangerous.

• If your baby starts fighting you with the swaddle and doesn’t want it anymore.

Weaning your baby from the swaddle:

• When you remove the swaddle, there may be some sleep regression, as your child is learning how to sleep without it.

• You can start off by swaddling with one arm out and one arm in.

• Once she gets used to one arm out, you can then continue swaddling only her legs and leave both arms out.

• At this point you can transition to a sleep sack and offer a lovey.

Newborn Sleep

Bringing home a newborn can be overwhelming. Whether you are a first time parent or repeat, it’s exhausting. So many emotions combined with a lack of sleep can really take a toll on parents. I often get calls from desperate mothers on how they are ready to do sleep training ASAP. The thing is, your newborn can’t and shouldn’t go through any form of sleep training at such a young age. Those first few months (0-4), your baby does not produce melatonin (a calming hormone that helps control his awake and sleep windows), so they will need assistance in falling asleep and staying asleep.

Sleep is necessary for newborns (and really anyone), as they work on their immune system, growth, and memory. Newborns shouldn’t be awake for more than 1-1.5 hours at a time, as being awake for too long can overstimulate your child. That is why for those first few months while your newborn relies on you for EVERYTHING, I always tell parents do whatever you need to do to get your child sleeping. There is no such thing as creating a “bad habit” at this age. You want to take advantage and rely on all of those sleep crutches to assist your baby in falling asleep and staying asleep.

Dr. Karp’s 5 S’s:

Dr. Harvey Karp, author of Happiest Baby on the Block, developed the “5 S’s” method, which helps your newborn sleep. Try to use one (or all) of these methods in helping your newborn to fall and stay asleep as needed.

1.     Shushing

2.     Swing

3.     Side lying

4.     Sucking

5.     Swaddle

Your newborn will also wake often in the middle of the night. Research suggests that these frequent wake ups are essential for their survival, as they are a signal for a need to be met - for feeds, help in regulating their temperature, and regulating their breathing.

On average:

1 month – 3-4x a night

2 months – 2-3x a night

3 months – 1-2x a night

And remember, while these days and nights seem never ending, try to enjoy it all as much as you can because when your child gets older, it is recommended to remove these crutches and teach your child how to fall asleep (and stay asleep) without your assistance.