Swaddling

[Annasarahlou]

Sorry If I have posted on wrong thing, after some advice please, I am 33 weeks first successful pregnancy, I have bought mostly everything only thing now is swaddle blankets, grobags etc I am beyond confused some people say not to swaddle because of complications some say to use muslins other people say no, also read mixed reviews on whether to use cellular blankets which was my original plan, my mum has had 3 kids and alwsys used a lightweight blanket no probs but here I am overthinking everything, baby will sleep in a next to me crib, any advice on the most effective thing to use?

Thank you x

Hey hun congrats on the pregnancy! From what I understand swaddling isn’t recommended for safe sleeping (in UK) but the reason for this is because people are unsure on how to swaddle properly and the swaddle ends up rising above the babies mouth. So if you want to do it maybe google the correct way x

Listening in... I'm confused about this too!!! I didn't realise that swaddling wasn't approved in the UK either. We have some sleep sacks but I'm still confused about what to do about arms!

I think swaddling is ok as long as it's loose around their hips and obviously secure enough that it doesn't become loose as then it would be a suffocation hazard. We used a grosnug - you can either have the arm holes closed off so it's a swaddle or open so it's a sleeping bag. Don't swaddle once they can roll though (and they may hate it long before that time anyway). FWIW we never swaddled DD, tried with DS but he still didn't sleep (and still doesn't 😂). Cellular blankets are fine, just tuck them in.

Hi - I think the recommended thing is the zip up/Velcro swaddles because there's no chance they can come undone (I'm sure if you swaddle properly it's secure but you may not do it properly at 3am when you're shattered!) I think the idea of sleeping bags is if your baby doesn't like the swaddle, or is a bit older, it's a replacement for the blanket, which I guess could come untucked during the night.

I've got a next to me crib too and the mattress feels quite lightweight so I think a tucked in blanket could come out relatively easily on mine.

I had the same questions regarding swaddling when I was pregnant with my first. As a pp said an issue with swaddling is due to hips being constrained. The Grobag swaddled are great for removing that risk. I had them for my son and actually didn't use the arm swaddle part to begin with, but when he started to struggle to sleep, my mum suggested swaddling his arms too and it helped him sleep better.

I also prefer the Grobag swaddle, again as a pp said, because with blankets etc, you might not swaddle correctly and the bag removes that risk. Saying that I used cellular blankets on top of the Grobag swaddle because it was winter and he needed the extra layers at night. I just used the blankets as a normal blanket and tucked them into the side of the cot, under the mattress. Hope that makes sense.

Grobag swaddles we’re fantastic. I found them so much easier to use.

I have 3 kids only 1 where swaddling was effective. The other two bloody hated it

Agree with grobag swaddles - then if it turns out your baby hates being swaddled (as some do) you can unzip that part and use it as a normal sleeping bag.

I bought proper swaddle blankets that had velcro to keep them in place. My little one was swaddled for sleep from about 6 weeks up until he could roll himself over

@Annasarahlou I used a breathable bamboo muslin and swaddled the baby till 6m. The massive positive was he slept nicely(ish) and he was generally more contempt. He disliked the swaddle (or maybe I did it wrongly) for the first 2 months, he cried and wriggled but I knew nothing of babies, swaddles, so I just gave up. When the sleep regression hit and me getting zero sleep for 3 months every day and night I thought I'll give swaddle a 2nd shot and it worked and I remember him sleeping for 2 hours straight and it felt like heaven.

100% recommend the love to dream swaddle suits. Tried loads of different ones, bought some of these second hand and they made the world of difference!

I swaddled my summer babies in big muslins with arms out. Don’t spend a lot on swaddles, whichever you choose. Some babies love it but others simply hate it and you won’t know until they’re here!

I use the love to dream pods and a cellular. She seems quite happy in that