Swaddling cloth

[northlondonchoclover]

Should I get a special swaddling cloth or can I use a flat cotton cot sheet / muslin cloth?

Thanks!

I thought we might need one of these before I had any littlies, and was glad I waited until the first arrived. Any attempt at swaddling, was responded to by LO going absolutely ballistic - even now, years later, she hates being restricted.

The theory is that swaddling can make a child feel more comfortable, however that is not the case for every child. Although all children are different, if I were you, I'd wait until the baby arrived, try swaddling with a cot sheet/blanket and if that works, think about a swaddling cloth.

Thanks KarenHL - don't want to buy unnecessary things, tough to know what one really needs with a first baby! :)

I'd recommend these. They are the only ones I have found that are big enough to wrap a baby properly. Because they are just a big square blanket you can use them as a regular blanket if your baby objects to being swaddled. They are quite lightweight brushed cotton and have a bit of give but not too much. I've found sheets a bit stiff and no muslin I have found is big enough.

Some people buy those things with the velcro or that are specially shaped. I don't like them because the baby grows out of them and there is one that seemed something like a baby straight jacket but with yards of material which made me worry about overheating.

The other thing you could do is just get some cotton jersey fanric (from John Lewis, for example). Cut it into a couple of squares (say 120 x 120cm) with pinking shears and there you have it: cheap swaddling blankets you can chop up and use as dusters when you are through!

HTH

I would have a couple of cheap options on standby, DS loved being wrapped and we kept it up til around 6mths (one arm out by then). In the early days I used a very large muslin sheet, then as he got older and more wiley about getting free and consequently wake him self up with the excitment of being able to bash himself in the face with his hands, I used the shaped wrap from Mothercare - it is a bit like a mini straight jacket LOL but it works brilliantly!

My DS hated being swaddled so much to my surprise when DD came along she loved it!

We just used flat crib sheets which we were well stocked with by then. The best were the cotton ones with the flannel/towelling type finish. Unless you have an enourmous baby I'm sure these will be big enough for a while and like one of the previous posters says if your baby doesn't like swaddling then you just use it was the sheet it was intended for. When they get bigger you can progress on to cot sized ones - I'm pretty sure DD was done being swaddled by about 12-16 weeks.

We were given a purpose designed swaddling blanket with velcro that was a waste of time, DD wriggled out within 5 minutes! A sheet or whatever material you choose that is cotton and easier to tuck in tightly will be better.

Flat cotton sheet worked well for us.
Small moses basket size for newborns and moving to cot sheet when the small one got too small.

We used a £5 Asda cellular blanket which worked fien and is now tucked away with other baby things... just incase (but don't tell DP I said that :o)

As someone else said not all babies like it but we found it a godsend until about 3 months then we used baby sleeping bags which I would highly recommend for ANY child!

North I'd buy 1 or 2 cheap ones and if you/baby does'nt like then you'll know whether more explensive ones would be better for you.

It is so hard trying to buy without going OTT, we went over board with DS but now I know all you need is something to transport baby, somewhere to sleep and obv feeding equiptment if bottlefeeding. Although I would say the one thing I would buy lots of regardless of what your baby is like is muslin squares they are useful for almost everything! Feeding, washing, wiping, wrapping round moses basket matress for pukey baby (this was a godsend for us), drying, comforting and lying on if using a cold changing mat.

Sorry am wittering LOL

Thanks for the advice.

Will go for the flat sheet option - is a pure cotton sheet (like adult bedsheets with no stretch) better or something with a bit of give (t-shirt/ jersey type material)? Makes sense since we can use them as cot sheets as well if baby doesn't like to be swaddled.

Baby will be sleeping in his cot straightaway, next to our bed of course rather than a basket since friends tell me they grow out of the baskets very quickly.

Bought 2 baby blankets from John Lewis too - really lovely quality. Sorry, going on and on here... can't help it! Just so excited..

I'd use a small one first as a cot one would SWAMP a newborn.

Very true about baskets, we were lucky and were given one but I would'nt buy one given the choice. The only time you can get away with not overspending on children si when they are born, I learned this far too late :o

Congrats by the way and go on all you like tis perfectly normal... :)

I've been finding cellular blankets too bulky for feeding. Am using a small flat sheet just to swaddle dd2's arms in the day & have just bought this for night which is fab.

Bought loads of muslin squares already , planning to use these as newborn nappies during the day too. The jl blanket is quite snuggly and has a bit of give too so could try using that first and see how it goes.

I found sheets with flanelette/towelling type finish best. Lots of crib sheets come in that finish (just being dumb and can't remember name!). It's not that they give more just they are maybe a bit more substantial when tucking around the baby and made me feel baby was a bit more snug :)
have fun shopping!
The other thing I found useful was plain white flannels, I bought ultra cheap packs from Ikea - useful for pukey babies like mine and then later for messy faces when they eat!

i agree with others you need to see if your baby likes being swaddled.

if he or she does, then a muslin or even a bed sheet if it's colder will do, i wouldn't bother with a special swaddle cloth because its expensive and also for us it didn't swaddle tight enough.