Swaddling a new born baby is said to be "dangerous."

[Xenadog]

I read in the Daily Fail this morning that the new Prince George is being swaddled and that this is considered dangerous as children can overheat and then be put at risk of SIDS and also that it prevents their legs and hips developing properly.

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2404754/Can-swaddling-baby-like-Prince-George-raise-risk-cot-death.html

I was planning on swaddling my newbie when I have her in December so this news is a bit disconcerting. As a first time mum to be have no idea what is the right or wrong thing to do although swaddling seems to make sense and has been done for ever. Any thoughts ladies?

See here only use something thin to swaddle so baby doesn't overheat, and don't swaddle tightly around the hips and legs, it should only be tight around the arms.

Just be aware that it depends on your baby - I planned to swaddle but DS hated it, best laid plans!!

I've read that swaddling a baby after the newborn stage can cause mobility problems. I'm not sure how true this is as I never swaddled mine, just tucked the blankets in so that they couldn't pull them over their heads.

My babies loved swaddling. Mind yiu, they were all winter babies so less overheating problems. If you are worried, take certain precautions, use a nice breathable lightweight material such as a jumbo muslin, leave the head exposed, keep an eye on room temperature as usual etc

I've swaddled all three of mine from birth to at least 5 months.......youngest is 11 months and oldest 5 and a half at the moment so all fairly recently! All loved it and they are all fantastic sleepers......swaddling helps keep them settled through any 'jumps' and stop their arms waving about out of control when they are very young. As long as you keep the room temp sensible all should be ok.

Like everything else, the advice is there to help BUT it's your baby and what works for others might not work for you!

I used a miracle blanket to swaddle DS until he was about 5 months, he loved it.
His hips weren't bound though and given I live in a hot country, I'd just swaddle him in the blanket and pamper.

Plan to swaddle DC2 when it arrives as well, I swear by it for restful nights. HOpefully this one plays ball...

Thanks for the comments guys. That has put my mind at rest (there is sooooo much I do not know!) and as my DD is due at Christmas I think the worry about overheating might not be too big a concern especially if we keep the heating low.

I will definitely try swaddling with a thin muslin and be careful with the hips/leg areas and just see how the baby takes to it.

I keep reading so much about caring for babies, the changes my body will go through and what is right and wrong that I honestly have no idea how the human race has survived as it all seems too complicated!

I'm sure that i read about a new way to swaddle that doesn't risk mobility problems. Try googling new way to swaddle xxx

I you tubed it to see how to do it. My baby kind of liked it but I didn't do it religiously (December 2012 baby so overheating definitely no issue). It stopped her smacking herself in the face and waving arms around (which invariably meant she hit the side of the basket and woke up). In fairness, she never slept really unless in our arms or sling in the early days (liked to be upright) so swaddling neither here nor there.

We used blankets layered over her too if I ever did manage to get her into a basket/pram - bloody cold start to 2013 and heating not that high mainly due to cost as much as anything else.

I bought 3 cotton cellular pram sized one cotton cellular cot sized and had 2 granny knitted ones (acrylic baby wool I expect) and one mamas and papas cotton knitted one. These were all used in various combinations. The knitted by granny ones were best for swaddling as stretchy enough for her to wriggle a hand out up to her face when she wanted to (appreciate this slightly defeats the object of swaddling but hey ho).

Good luck :-) I already vaguely miss those early newborn days and it was only 8 months ago! Enjoy it, take hundreds of photos, find your own way/trust your instincts.

I will Fraggle thanks for that!

www.hipdysplasia.org/developmental-dysplasia-of-the-hip/hip-healthy-swaddling/

Just had a brief look but looks ok x

Just looked at all the links you have posted. It's given me loads to think about - I will try swaddling but I had no idea how loose the blanket had to be around the baby's legs. I feel more confident with doing this now. Thanks.

I swaddled ds and he slept brilliantly, it even helped settle him if he was a bit grouchy, it was as though if he couldn't express his frustration with movement it just went away! Will definitely do again with this baby! Never even knew about the hip thing but ds is absolutely fine. Just do what you think seems the best. I read loads of books and just picked out the bits that I liked the sound of and ignored the rest. There's so much conflicting advice so you just have to make decisions and hope you get it right. Trust yourself when it comes to your children, nobody wants the best for them more than you do! x