Swaddling?

[Rhian82]

Has anyone else swaddled their baby (when sleeping) for the first couple of weeks? How did you find it?

I'd never thought about it, but DH is very keen on the idea. He's worked in hospitals with premature babies and talks very enthusiastically about how young babies settle and are much more relaxed when they're really closely held or wrapped.

All of my dd's have been happier when swaddled in the early days. I think all their arm-flapping un-nerved them!

we swaddled our dd - and we intend to swaddle the next one (coming next week eek). Dd used to get a bit bothered by her arms, so it def helped calm hr and help her sleep.

As much as I wanted to, both my boys hated it. They were always trying to break free. Actually when ds1 was a few days old, we heard him grunting in the middle of the night, I went to look and he was wiggling out.

Every baby is different though.

I knew my ds would not be one for swaddling before he was even born, did not like any restriction at all , used to kick everything of his bump.

it is good for premmies as they should not be out yet, but I believe that full term babies should not be swaddled. They come out still a bit curled up and they unfurl in the first few weeks, that is how it is designed. Most friends who swaddled had difficulty later unswaddling their babies.

But that is no expert opinion just mine. And I was proven right about my ds when mws on the ward swaddled him. He did not stop wailing until I was mobile enough to unswaddle him

Depends on the baby.

DD1 loved being swaddled and still at 4.6yrs when she is poorly she likes being wrapped up in blankets.

Now dd2 10mths hates it as she hates not being able to wriggle. mind you she needs a cot the size of a double bed for her to get comfy.

Ahhhh swaddling...It was our saviour DS (full term) never slept well unless he was swaddled. His flailing arms would wake him up and frighten him. As for Madmouse's "Most friends who swaddled had difficulty later unswaddling their babies" I have never heard of this before. I don't remember exactly what age we stopped swaddling DS, around 4 or 5 months I think, but there were certainly no problems unswaddling him..and if there had been, I would have just swaddled him again!

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bloody brilliant. Made my DS feel secure. Swaddled him till about 4 months for sleep..

My babies were all swaddled from birth until they were old enough to wriggle free. To me it's just the normal thing to do with a baby!

My ds loved swaddling, and we had no trouble changing him to a grobag once that funny reflex thing stopped.

Both my DDs were swaddled until they were turned 12 mths old, they loved it . They both slept really well and always settled themselfs to sleep.

leonie thats interesting DD1 also has ASD, but DD2 is NT. However DD1 now sleeps with a very heavy piggy thing (one of them things you put in microwave to heat up).

I swaddled DD upto about 3 months when she got her grobag, it worked well and she slept well until she enjoyed kicking too much.

Swaddling was something everyone recommended and I planned to do but neither of my boys tolerated it. They just fought until they managed to wriggle out.