Your Guide to Swaddling
Swaddling your baby provides a sense of safety and security – mimicking the environment of a mother’s womb.
Swaddling is beneficial to baby by promoting better sleep, to help calm them if they are fussy or overtired, and is a safe option to keep them comfortable and temperature-controlled. Let’s touch base on these in more detail:
Promotes Better Sleep
As mentioned above, swaddling helps baby feel a sense of security. Baby’s are very active sleepers, so they move around often in their sleep. This frequent movement can trigger their startle reflex – also known as The Moro reflex – which can startle baby and wake them up. When they are swaddled, it helps to muffle that startle reflex leading to longer, deeper stretches of sleep.
Helps Calm Baby
I always educate my clients on Dr. Harvey Karp’s 5 S’s when it comes to soothing a fussy baby. The 5 S’s include: swaddling, side-lying, shushing, swinging, and sucking. Dr. Karp recommends swaddling as the first step to soothing baby, and from there adding additional soothing methods. It’s really common for babies to increase their crying during the process of swaddling, or right after — especially if they are overtired! Once you start adding more soothing techniques, it should help bring baby back into a calm state.
Safety
Using a safety-approved swaddle or a sleep sack is a safer option to keep baby warm and cozy without using a regular blanket that could potentially cover baby’s face.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), “when done correctly, swaddling can be an effective technique to help calm infants and promote sleep.” The Canadian Pediatric Society agrees and states, “swaddling is safe when done properly.”
Now that we’ve covered the benefits of swaddling, you may be wondering how to choose a swaddle with SO MANY options out there!
Below you’ll find some of the most popular brands of swaddles, all of which I have used personally either with my own baby, with my doula client babies, or back in my days of working as an in-home overnight baby nurse!
1.Gunamuna Swaddle Sleep Bag: Allows you to have the choice to keep baby’s arms in or out with velcro and zipper option, plus use the velcro belly band to control startle reflex. Shop here!
2. Love to Dream Swaddle Up: The unique, award winning arms-up design of this baby sleep sack allows natural arms-up sleep, promoting self-soothing for longer sleep. This swaddle can be a great option if your baby is fighting his arms being velcro-swaddled. Shop here!
3. Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit: Designed to help your little one when breaking out of the swaddle but still seeking the safe and comfortable feeling that the swaddle provides. This sleepsuit is typically used by parents as a transition between velcro-swaddle and arms out swaddle. This is also commonly used to prolong baby from rolling on their stomach at night once they reach that milestone. This isn’t the first “sleep sack” I would recommend to parents, as it is transitional sleepwear and shouldn’t be used for an extended period of time. However, it can be helpful for those whose baby transitions out of the swaddle early. Shop here!
4. Sleeping Baby Zipadee-Zip: The slight resistance in the wingspan in this design (star-fish shape) creates the same comforting, womb-like experience as a swaddle, but with enough room for your baby to safely push up if they roll over. This sleep sack allows baby to rub their face, promoting self-soothing. Shop here!
5. Arms-free Sleep Sack: Basically a wearable blanket! This type of sleep sack is a great option to transition to after a swaddle around 3-4 months or as soon as baby shows signs of rolling.
6. Dreamland Baby Weighted Sleep Sack: This weighted sleep sack uses CoverCalm® Technology and claims to help your baby fall asleep faster, and stay asleep longer. I usually do NOT recommend the use of a weighted sleep sack, especially if your baby is under 6-months old.
There are safety concerns regarding whether or not weighted sleep sacks are safe. The CPSC urge families to not use weights blankets or sleep sacks for babies and stated, “These products are associated with concerning reductions in oxygen saturation levels in infants,” CPSC Commissioner Richard L. Trumka Jr.
All of the above sleep sacks are Hip-Healthy certified. Find a complete list of Hip Healthy Swaddles here!
Now leads to another question: When should I STOP swaddling?
It’s advised to stop swaddling your baby when they show signs of rolling over. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), we typically see babies begin to roll around 3-4 months. If your baby is in this age range but not yet showing signs of rolling over, there is no reason to stop swaddling yet.
Common signs of rolling include:
Controlled lifting of head and shoulders during tummy time
Ability to get their body up on their shoulder
Kicking legs and scooting in a circle while on their back
Rolling hips side to side
Using their legs to lift their hips
“Help! My baby is only 4-weeks old and is showing signs of rolling! Do I need to stop swaddling them?”
What you may be noticing is referred to as the “Newborn Curl” — which is a normal movement for newborns mimicking their time spent in the womb. It’s very common for newborns to have that instinctual feeling of going into a position of comfort, a position that protects them in some ways from the outside world, which can be very stimulating, especially in those very first weeks of life. This natural reflex fades between 1-2 months of age.
I am all about using evidence-based techniques to help get your baby to sleep, which leads to better sleep for the whole family! Every baby is different, and what works for one, may not work for another. The first few months is a period of trial and error to find out what your baby likes (and doesn’t like)! It takes time for you both to find your rhythm together.
Sources:
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/5/e20162938/60309/SIDS-and-Other-Sleep-Related-Infant-Deaths-Updated?autologincheck=redirected
AAP News on Weight Sleep Sacks: https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/28768/AAP-leaders-call-decision-to-pull-harmful-weighted?autologincheck=redirected
