How To Use SwaddleMe In a Few Easy Steps

BySusan Liming

How to Use SwaddleMe?

Babies are at their most sensitive and fragile in their infant stage. They need constant supervision to guarantee that they’re not in immediate harm. If you’re trying to find ways to keep your baby comfortable and soothed, swaddling is the right choice. You can use a SwaddleMe to reduce the discomfort and, ultimately, the crying of your baby. It’s easy to learn how to use SwaddleMe. Read on to find out what it is, what its benefits are, and how to use it while keeping your baby as safe as possible.

What is swaddling?

Swaddling is a method of wrapping your baby to make them feel safe, secure and comfortable. Some historians claim that it’s an ancient method that’s been used since the Paleolithic period.

Blankets and other types of smooth sheets are used to restrict the limbs of the baby. There are also swaddling bands that are used to have a tighter and more secure grip on the baby’s arms and legs.

Swaddling ultimately helps prevent the baby from rolling over to a prone position.  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that this a supine position is the safest for an infant to sleep to decrease the chance of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Pros of swaddling

What are the benefits of swaddling?

According to a study in 2002, swaddling greatly lowers the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). We’ve also listed the conventional benefits of swaddling below:

  • Swaddling helps babies fall asleep. It’s easier for your baby to fall asleep when they are swaddled. In colder regions, the garment used to swaddle a baby will make them feel warmer and more relaxed
  • The baby’s limbs are secured by the cloth. Instead of flailing around and inadvertently hitting something, the arms and legs of your baby are held in place by the cloth
  • The swaddling of a baby mimics the sensation of being back in the womb, which is what a baby has been used to
  • Premature babies feel less tense. Babies of premature birth have lower weight. This makes them prone to feeling tense due to weightlessness. If you wrap them with a comfortable cloth, they’ll feel more comfortable and will be able to sleep easier

What are the psychological effects of swaddling?

According to numerous studies by Lipton in 1965, the modern form of swaddling leaves the baby “motorically calm” and able to fall asleep faster. This has been confirmed by a study made by van Sleuwen in 2007.

What are the physiological effects of swaddling?

Thanks to swaddling, parents like you are less likely to be disturbed in the middle of the night by a crying baby. You can get a longer night’s sleep before a busy day with your baby. Active sleep is enhanced when a baby is wrapped with swaddling bands. Research by Chisholm in 1983 also concluded that babies sleep for longer durations when they are tightly swaddled.

It’s a common myth that swaddling a baby stunts their motor development. There’s not much evidence to suggest that swaddling a baby has an impact on the development of their motor skills.

Cons of Swaddling

What are the negative effects of swaddling?

Though there are many benefits that you can get when you swaddle your baby, you also have to keep in mind that there are studies that prove the opposite. We’ve listed a couple of the most alarming studies below:

  • Traditional swaddling increases the risk of hip deformation in babies. Due to the amount of restraint involved with traditional swaddling, the hips of a growing infant might be inadvertently affected which leads to hip dysplasia

Tight swaddling can lead to hyperthermia. There’s a risk involved when a baby is covered since it reduces their ability to cool down their body temperature

How to use SwaddleMe

There are only a few steps that you have to take to use a SwaddleMe blanket. It’s already designed to secure your baby within a pouch so there’s not much effort needed from you.

  • Spread the blanket on the bed. Flatten the right and left wings before you adjust the wrinkles in the middle
  • Place your baby on the blanket and align their shoulders to the top of the SwaddleMe blanket
  • Tuck your baby’s legs into the pouch. Make sure that they’re secured
  • Straighten your baby’s arms to the sides and secure them with the wings of the blanket. Use the Velcro loops to tighten the grip on your baby’s limbs
  • Wrap the left wing of the SwaddleMe blanket across the torso of your baby and fasten it with the Velcro hooks.
  • Make sure that the blanket fits tightly on your baby’s chest. Adjust it if necessary

Things to keep in mind when swaddling

Before you proceed with wrapping your baby with a SwaddleMe blanket, take note of the dos and don’ts of swaddling below:

  • Make sure that your swaddled baby is sleeping on their back once they’re swaddled securely
  • Use the appropriate thickness of the blanket to prevent your baby from experiencing extreme heat or cold
  • If your baby becomes restless when their arms are swaddled, try letting them sleep with their arms free. Keep an eye on them for a few naps and see if it’s better
  • Don’t wrap your baby too tightly; just make sure that the blanket is secured. Wrapping your baby too tightly might decrease the circulation of blood and air in their body

Conclusion

It’s easy to use SwaddleMe blankets. You just have to keep in mind that there are many pros and cons to it. Checking with your baby’s doctor is also very important since they can provide you with what you need to know before you purchase a SwaddleMe blanket. Though keeping your baby comfortable is a great thing to think about, you also have to know if what you’re going to do is safe.

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