Don't Do This at Home Folks!
Don't Do This at Home Folks!
Every family I’ve ever worked with has bought a few swaddling blankets, learned about swaddling (most new baby books cover this nicely), and maybe even taken a newborn baby care class that covered baby swaddling. And this is BEFORE they actually give birth! Given that most of you have probably read one or five newborn care baby books and that the internet is awash in “how to swaddle” articles I’m going to focus on what you probably DON’T know.
The Right Way to Swaddle
You’ve done it correctly when they don’t pop out. Also, if you’re attaching them to a board of some sort (see pictured), please stop. We now know this can lead to hip dysplasia although I’ve never ever seen a parent do anything remotely like this and am assuming that you are not part of a nomadic tribe and thus won’t be strapping your swaddled child to your back for 14 hours a day.
Dr. Karp (Happiest Baby) suggests the “dudu” or down-up down-up method which does work well. If you’re interested SUNY University hospital has a nice PDF that walks through this method.
I’m also including two videos here that provide a nice visual of swaddling a newborn baby. I particularly like these because they show that MOST babies DO complain when being swaddled. Newborn babies especially dislike being placed on their back and will let you know it. So when you go to swaddle your (tired, hungry, gassy, cranky) baby they will fuss and complain about it.
Bottom Line: Whatever method of baby origami you prefer is fine as long as it works. If their arms are popping out or they are able to push the blanket up over their heads then it DOESN’T work and you need to find another method.
Swaddling for Dummies
If you’re struggling with the baby origami I recommend you try one of the various velcro (or swaddling for dummies) alternatives. Frankly I love these and don’t understand why anybody would struggle with baby wrapping when there are nice inexpensive alternatives for exhausted brain-dead parents who have better things (like eating, sleeping, or maybe the occasional shower) to do with their time.
There are many good swaddle-for-dummy products but my top pics are:
- Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe
Pros: Cheap and easy. You can leave their little feet OUT of the bottom of the swaddle blanket (recommended) for sleeping in swings, car seats, and for when its hot outside.
Cons: The velcro does seem to wear out with washing so if you find your little one popping out its time to buy a new one. It also helps if you wash them infrequently (only run them through when you really need to). Also they run LARGE – I can swaddle even a 20 lb baby in the small size blanket. Their large size swaddle blanket would be appropriate for a 10-year-old. Or maybe a golden retriever.
- Halo Sleepsack
Pros: The Sleepsack is a great way to keep baby warm when they are too young (under 2 years old) for blankets. Also features velcro for the swaddling challenged among us.
Cons: You can’t use the sleepsack WITHOUT their feet being IN the sack. Thus it is impossible to use a sleepack in a swing, car seat, etc. As most babies sleep far better in the swing, this is a very limiting feature.
- Miracle Blanket
Pros: Even the most talented baby Houdinis seem stymied by the miracle blanket. Unlike most, the miracle blanket doesn’t use velcro and instead wraps repeatedly around their body making it almost impossible for arms to escape.
Cons: Like the Sleepsack, the miracle blanket doesn’t work well with their legs out. Also getting the miracle blanket on is a bit more involved than the simpler SwaddleMe option so if your baby gets REALLY angry at you when you swaddle them, you might want to hold off on a Miracle Blanket. Also it is a lot of fabric which can lead to overheating in the summer.
Swaddling Troubleshooting
Baby Hates the Swaddle
Every baby I (or the fantastic team I work with) have worked with has responded well to being swaddled even if they protested viciously at the point of actually BEING swaddled. When I met with Dr. Karp of Happiest Baby fame I asked him explicitly if there were just some babies who really shouldn’t be swaddled because they hated it. His answer was brief. “No – swaddling is almost universally good for babies.” Babies fight the swaddle but still are more readily soothed and sleep better when swaddled.
But if your heart of hearts screams at you that swaddling just isn’t right for your baby, then you need to go with that. But I would suggest you approach swaddling from the perspective of, “prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that this isn’t working.” Don’t swaddle a cranky baby 2-3 times and then shrug it off if it doesn’t seem to work as promised. It can be a very powerful tool to reduce crying and improve sleep and you don’t want to readily remove that sort of heavy artillery from your arsenal.
Swaddling Houdini Babies
You’ve just rocked your little one to sleep and are already savoring the delivery pizza on its way to your door and the promise the hot bath to follow, when the swaddle pops open and your beloved little angle and screaming at you. It’s a horrible feeling and we’ve all been there.
Keeping a squirmy baby swaddled securely is a real challenge. My first suggestion is to make sure that the arms are flush at the sides of their body. If the elbow is bent or they have wiggle room in there, they’re going to break free (or ineffectually fight the swaddle which defeats the purpose of using it in the first place).
Assuming you already have that down, my second suggestion is to let the legs out. Baby’s legs don’t need to be swaddled, there is no benefit to it (other than warmth which can be addressed other ways). Having the legs out also enables you to put a swaddled baby in a car seat and more importantly, swaddle babies safely in the swing. But as it relates to Houdini babies, keeping the legs unswaddled removes the ability for kicking feet to dislodge, loosen, etc. the swaddling blanket. Even little baby legs can do a lot to mess up a quality baby wrap so and keeping the legs out of the swaddle removes this as an issue.
If you’re struggling with blankets you should definitely check out one (all?) of the swaddling-for-dummy options listed above. Velcro is less subject to user error and generally is pretty Houdini-proof. If even a new SwaddleMe blanket is insufficient to the task you may need to upgrade to a Miracle Blanket (although this is not an option for swing sleepers). If none of the commercial-grade products work for your extra clever baby you could discuss some off-label products with your pediatrician. Mine suggested we wrap ours up with ace bandages. You would be surprised with what sort of clever ideas those pediatricians have in their back pocket. After all, it’s not their first trip to the dance.
If your Houdini is slightly older (at least 4 months old) you could also try swaddling their body but leaving one or both arms free. Some babies respond really well to one arm in, which is still very soothing but removes 50% of their power to break free. Also for older babies who may have realized that hands make great sucking/chewing devices, this leave them free to do so (which is ALSO enormously soothing). Yes even having just the body swaddled with both arms out can be very soothing to slightly older babies.
Saying Sayonara to the Swaddle
Most babies need to be swaddled when they are upset or sleeping until they are at least 4 months of age. Some will need to be swaddled for as much as a year but most are done between 4-6 months. There is no issue of “weaning them off” the swaddle. You simply test the waters now and then to see if they are done. If they’re not done, they’re not. Wait a few weeks and then test again.
The swaddle test is simply this – pop an arm out when they go down to sleep and see what happens. If your 2 hour napper wakes up 30 minutes later, you’re not done. If however the nap proceeds without issue, stick with one arm out for a few days. Then test swaddling with both arms out (so his body is swaddled but both arms are free). If this also has no negative effect on sleeping than congratulations – you’re all done! Although don’t donate them to the pregnant neighbor yet, teething, sleep regressions, etc. can all have you scattering back for that swaddle. So give yourself a good month or two buffer to be sure that you’re REALLY done.
Swaddled Baby Flips Over
Swaddling is ONLY for babies sleeping on their backs. Never EVER put a swaddled baby down on their stomachs. Once your baby is capable of flipping over from their back to their stomach while swaddled you are DONE with the swaddle. This is non-negotiable. Absolutely no swaddled babies on their stomach for any reason. Ever.
Luckily this is unlikely to happen unless your baby is older than 6 months as flipping while swaddled requires some significant gross motor skill development. Thus it is likely that your baby will be done with the swaddle before this happens.
Got any other magic swaddle tips to share with other tired parents?
Linda on 
Laura on 
I love you! lol
I am loving your blog… and as my baby is napping in the Bjorn (part of my napping problem… will be emailing you for advice!) I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud and waking him up (God forbid…)! If you search “double swaddle” on YouTube, you’ll find videos on how to do a swaddle just like the Miracle Blanket but with legs sticking out! All you need is a large blanket. Hope this helps a tired parent…
Some people think I’m anti-baby wearing which I’m NOT. I love it if YOU love it. I just don’t love it if you’re stuck with it (ie. you would like to nap yourself but can’t because you have a baby strapped to your body). Just to clear that up
Thanks so much for the kind word! Also thank you for the heads up on “double swaddle” – have never heard of this. But in case anybody is interested, check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4VdZxwsu4
Alexis recently posted..Baby Sleep: What is Normal?
My first son LOVED to be swaddled. Didn’t complain one bit, so I was surprised to read that most babies do. My second son? Not so much. Complained while being swaddled, after having been swaddled, while being undone from said swaddle. We used both swaddling blankets and Kiddopatomus (sp?) as you suggest. We ended up using a sleep sack for my second son, as this was the only thing he would tolerate. Swaddling can be a scary thing for parents. Good advice here.
Laura recently posted..Ghosts of Blogging Past
Gotta love those complaining babies! Generally babies popping out is the big issue. So you sweat for 20 minutes helping your 12 lb peanut fall asleep, seconds later they pop out of the swaddle and the party starts all over.
Also? Sleepsacks are great. Must buy here in VT where winters last forever.
Alexis recently posted..Don’t Have a CIO Panic Attack
Wow! You’re a wealth of knowledge! Surprisingly enough neither of my kids liked to be swaddled when they were infants. Both wanted to spread out right out of the shoot! Guess they were tired of being all cramped up.
Thanks so much for sharing this with all of us for Ghosts of Blogging Past!
Mommy2¢ recently posted..Ghosts of Blogging Past!
Thanks for the organizing the Blogging Past party!
Alexis recently posted..Don’t Have a CIO Panic Attack
Took me 3 kids to finally figure this out fool proof. Also took me awhile to realize tighter IS better. First kid I thought I was going to break him, turns out, you won’t. Baby #3 is now 4 and she STILL loves to be held tight, or wrapped up tight, especially when she is upset.
Danielle recently posted..Looming Shadow
Yes! I should add that to the post – tighter IS better! With #1 we thought we were swaddling but really we were just loosely wrapping him with a blanket and wondering why it didn’t work
Alexis recently posted..Don’t Have a CIO Panic Attack
Talking about Vermont nights. We have a great 2.5 tog sleepsack and PJ. Just started to swaddle with one arm out. It went well last night except that the exposed hand/arm seemed really cold. The room is 68F. Any tricks?
Nothing major. One option would be to put baby socks on his hands to keep them warm. That’s probably would I would do. If they don’t stay on (they should) you could use thread to tack them on to his jammies.
Actually if the baby socks don’t say on maybe you want to get some size 2-3 socks which would probably have better elastic to keep them on his hands.
Hope that helps!
Alexis recently posted..10 Best Picture Books for Boys
What do you think about the ‘Woombie’ as a swaddling device? We have two of these and I haven’t really used them yet. I kept thinking my baby doesn’t like being swaddled, but I’m going to do it anyway tonight to see if it makes a difference. He is almost 4 weeks old and seems to be an ‘easy’ baby. Compared to my first anyway! He grunts a lot and has a ton of gas. The first time I used a swaddle for a few hours one night he grunted almost the entire time he slept! I wasn’t sure if he was resisting the swaddle or if it was a coincidence of a bad tummy night.
I don’t have personal experience with the Woombie (although feel free to share yours here!). My only concern (looking at the reviews on Amazon) is that it may allow the baby’s arms to move. Basically with a swaddle all you really care about is that the arms DON’T move. So if they’re wiggling around in there, it’s not working. If not then great!
Babies are really noisy. I wouldn’t consider grunting to be a “problem with the swaddle” but simply what babies do. They are gassy grunting noisy sleepers.
Let me know what you think about the Woombie!
Alexis recently posted..Your Nemesis, The Short Nap
So, the Woombie DOES allow their arms to move, although I don’t see how some parents were saying that their kid could get their arms out the top! That seems impossible, but we all know with babies, anything is possible! We have had luck with the Swaddle Me’s, although I seriously think my child would sleep quietly in bassinet if he weren’t grunting and struggling out gas all the time.
I think the Woombie would be great for babies who already sleep pretty well and don’t need a full out swaddle. They are super cute though, and SO EASY to change diapers without un-swaddling. That is the only think I don’t like about the Kidapotamus swaddles.
You CAN use the swaddle me’s with their legs out (for diaper changing). Admittedly it’s a little awkward for older/bigger babies.
Thanks for the Woombie tip!
Alexis recently posted..The Sleep Scandal of 2012
I’m absolutely extatic after finding your blog, can’t stop reading it.
My twin girls are 6,5 weeks now and we started to use swaddling just a week ago – it wasn’t recommended to us in the hospital (we live in Sweden), so we tried to survive through the nights with kids waving their arms and waking themselves up. So by that time me and my husband started to look like zombies and he decided to try swaddling – and it worked! It’s a real life saver, even though girls still sleep about 3-4 hours in a row, but at least I’m hopeful that soon it will get better.
It even works when feeding our older twin who is a very fussy eater, after just 20-30 ml of milk she would start crying and pushing the bottle out of her mouth staying hungry and cranky. But now I swaddle her when she starts to cry and refuse the bottle in the middle of the feeding and Voilà! she finishes her meal! I really hope I won’t jinx it.
Thank you for this blog, I’ve already learned a lot from it.
So glad to be helpful! About 50% of my visitors are not from the US and I’m always surprised by how different things are globally. Like I went to a pediatric conference and there were a crew of Norwegian pediatricians there. Dr. Karp was talking about baby swings and they said that baby swings don’t exist there. I had no idea!
But I try not to be too US-centric (or at least sensitive that we may not all be coming from the same cultural perspective). Still a bit shocking that it wasn’t recommended in the hospital because I’ve never seen an unswaddled baby in our hospital here
Alexis recently posted..30 Practical Parenting Tips You Will Never Learn from the Movies
Well, there was 4 different shifts during our stay in the hospital and all of them had their own stories. Don’t let me start on the feeding subject.
) is working for us. And thank God for Amazon. 
Babies were swaddled but not so tightly and could get out of the blankets if they wanted to. So in the beginning we continued with that loose swaddlling and it really didn’t work at all, as I wrote to you before. But now I’m happy to report that using special sleepsacks (not mentioning the brand
Seriously. When my kids grow up and find that they don’t have any money for college I’ll just have to explain to them, “Listen – Mommy spent all our money at Amazon.”
Alexis recently posted..The Ferber vs. Weissbluth CIO Smackdown
Is there a rule on how long (hrs throughout day) a baby can remain swaddled?
Not a hard and fast rule. Newborns (especially of the fussy variety) may need to be swaddled most of the day. As they get older and less fussy they’ll be able to grab toys, bat at things, etc. – they won’t need to be swaddled as much and frankly they won’t want to be. Although I still encourage swaddling at sleep time.
Maybe a good general rule of thumb is for newborns – swaddle as much as needed for sleep and soothing purposes. After a few months, you may only need to swaddle when it’s time to sleep.
Alexis recently posted..30 Practical Parenting Tips You Will Never Learn from the Movies
So I have a question about weaning off the swaddle. Our daughter is a little over 5 months and still sleeping at night in the swaddle. We have weaned her off the swaddle for her naps–she hasn’t been swaddled at nap time for at laest 6 weeks–and that has gone well and she is still napping well. But when I tried to put her down for the night unswaddled it was a DISASTER! she was up every hour! the next night I tried with 1 arm in 1 arm out, but that didn’t work either. So how do we wean her off the swaddle? Our concern is that:
1. she is starting to get *really* close to rolling from back to tummy while swaddled, and that scares us
2. she is fully capable of sleeping through the night (did it consistently from 6 weeks until 3.5 months, not doing it AS consistently now, but still does, generally), but when she manages to bust out of the swaddle it wakes her up.
3. She hasn’t been sleeping consistently through the night like she used to, and we want to get her used to self-soothing…but being swaddled doesn’t seem conducive to self-soothing. Wouldn’t she need her hands free to suck on a thumb/finger, or some other soothing technique?
Thank you for your insights!!
Kathleen
Sometimes babies need to be swaddled longer than we can effectively KEEP them swaddled. My youngest was swaddled for a horrifying 13 months. It was CRAZY. I wondered when we would have to resort to duct tape to keep him in there (please note: this is just a joke, don’t actually duct tape your baby to sleep, or really any other time either).
I would keep swaddling. What you describe tells me she isn’t ready to be unswaddled and that’s OK. Maybe you need to purchase more swaddling tools (miracle blanket?) and I know it’s a hassle but this is temporary. Babies change so quickly – what is a disaster today can be easy peasy tomorrow.
I wouldn’t worry about the self soothing. Some babies NEVER figure out how to suck on their fingers so you may be giving up swaddling in exchange for self-soothing that never really happens. Access to fingers does not guarantee happily self-soothing baby.
The only issue is yes – the rolling over. Now I will say that it’s actually quite tough to roll over while swaddled (don’t believe me? Try it yourself!). And you’re right – the minute she flips over your swaddling days are over EVEN if it means you are all going to be up all night.
If you MUST loose the swaddle, make sure you’re using as much soothing alternatives as possible to make up for it. I know she is older but everything here still applies:
http://www.troublesometots.com/newborn-baby-sleep-survival-guide/
Good luck!
Alexis recently posted..30 Practical Parenting Tips You Will Never Learn from the Movies