How And When Should You Stop Swaddling Your Baby?
Swaddling is an art of snugly wrapping your baby with a blanket to offer the much needed security and warmth. A swaddle keeps your baby warm and ensures he does not get disturbed from his own reflexes. If you choose to swaddle your baby, you must know how to do it right. Here is what you should know about swaddling.
The age old practice of wrapping babies is known to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). However, if not done right, it can also increase the risks of developmental dysplasia in the hip.
Before you opt to swaddle, take a look at why you need it for your baby.
Why Swaddle Your Baby?
Swaddling babies is a common practice. Here are some reasons why you should swaddle your baby:
- You might find your baby waking up with a sudden jerk or twitch while asleep. These jerks, also known as myclonic jerks, are normal in babies. However, in some cases this delays the onset of sleep and you may find your baby struggling to get back to sleep. Swaddling may calm down the limbs that wake him up.
- Swaddling prevents your baby from scratching itches or eczema. Babies have a natural tendency of rubbing their hands on their face while being asleep.
- Swaddling helps the unsettled and fretful babies. It helps your baby enjoy some much needed security and comfort.
[ Read : How To Swaddle A Baby ]
The Safe Way To Swaddle:
While swaddling can help your baby enjoy a sound sleep, there are some risk factors associated with it as well. Here we shall have a look:
- It is better to swaddle your baby from the very time of birth, rather than starting it all of a sudden.
- Use cotton material to make sure the swaddling stops at the shoulder height. Your baby’s head must not be covered.
- You must not put your baby on your tummy while swaddling.
[ Read : How To Soothe A Crying Baby ]
When Should You Stop Swaddling Your Baby?
You need to remember that every baby is different. While some babies may easily get used to sleeping without being swaddled, others may take time. Here’s a look at when to stop swaddling a baby:
- While some babies enjoy swaddling for several months, others feel disturbed by restriction in movement caused by the swaddle from the second or third month.
- You must carefully consider your baby’s movement and safety. As your baby starts rolling on the front, it is better to get rid of the swaddling.
- If your baby rolls and cannot get back to his original position, you should be concerned about that. This is a sign that you should stop swaddling him.
4 Effective Ways To Stop Swaddling:
You may find your baby struggling to sleep when you get rid of the swaddle in the initial days. You may also see him drowsy the moment he is swaddled in a cloth. Some pointers that you should keep in mind in this case are:
1. Swaddling should not be the only sleep trigger for your baby.
2. Introduce some other sleep triggers during bed time to let him know it is time for sleep. Here is something that you can try:
3. Once you are planning to stop swaddling, you can begin by covering his or her body up to the height of the chest, leaving the arms.
4. You must also gradually change the tension of the swaddle. You can tighten the pressure of swaddle gradually and then loosen it again when he starts settling down.
- A warm bath
- Breast feeding
- Singing bedtime songs
[ Read : How To Bath A Baby ]
While it may be difficult for your baby to adjust to the changes, he or she will soon get used to it.
Tell us your ideas on when and how to stop swaddling a baby in the comment section below. Your experiences may be helpful to others.
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