Swaddling Baby; A way to give your baby a cuddle like feel!

Swaddling babies is one of the most obsolete practice that is still valuable. No matter if you are a mother from 80’s or one from the 20^th century, you would always find swaddling as one of the most reliable things for a baby who is less than a month old. Also, it is one of the traditional practices that has been confirmed helpful by modern researches too.

Swaddling is an art of wrapping your baby in a cuddle some way to make her feel womb-like presence around her initially for a month. This is done through a diamond shaped blanket or warm, soft and easy to handle cloth. Also, your troublesome, hyperactive or fussy newborns are easy to handle once swaddled.

Mothers bearing their first child are provided with some pro tips at hospitals. These tips may also include a little training session on swaddling. However, If you know how to swaddle your baby in a perfect way than Congratulation! You can easily handle the new born tantrums.

WHY SWADDLE YOUR BABY?

You may wonder, why there is a need to wrap a baby tightly in a blanket. Well! Here are a few reasons that would explain that why wrapping your baby is important in that cozy cradle like wrap that gives the feeling of being caressed.

1. WARMTH: 
   Your baby is just too young to adjust herself with the changing atmosphere. The temperature inside your womb was perfect for you baby and adjusted accordingly. But as soon as your baby is out, she may need to wait before she can get her thermostat ready to adjust with her surroundings. Therefore, during this time swaddling a baby keeps them warm and cozy enough.
2. SAFETY:
   Swaddling your baby in a blanket or cloth keeps her safe from her own reflexes. Also, it provides a warm cradle like feel and least are the chances that your baby may feel scared or alone.
3. CALM & COMPOSED:

            Swaddling helps in keeping your baby in control. Therefore, if your baby is hyperactive and                never stays calm and composed, swaddling may help a lot. Your baby would be bound to stay              in place. This feeling of being under control or in a strong grip may make them fall asleep                    easily. Try it and see it yourself.

HOW TO SWADDLE YOUR BABY?

 Swaddling a baby is a good option to keep your baby “handy”. Here are some pro tips to nail this one for your baby. Follow the steps below to reach the final stage of a “swaddled baby”.

YOU NEED:

All you may need is a swaddling blanket or cloth. It is a diamond shaped piece of cloth that probably has some buttons too. While the get one from the market would have buttons to make wrapping easier for you. However, don’t worry if you don’t have one. Just make it at home.

 STEPS:

1. Place the diamond shaped blanket on a straight surface. Better to place it on your bed or a shelf.
2. Fold the top corner of the diamond shaped blanket inward towards yourself. Now the blanket attains the shape of a triangle with a straight top and a pointed bottom.
3. Place your baby on the top of this blanket in a way that the head of your baby rises above the straight line while her legs are towards the pointed bottom.
4. Fold the right corner from top in a way that the arm of your baby towards your right is out of the fold where as the baby’s arm towards your left comes inside the wrap. Wrap the cloth underneath your baby’s body.
5. Now pick the cloth from bottom and fold it over the right shoulder while tucking in the baby’s arm towards your right side.
6. Wrap the leftover cloth around your baby.
7. Here comes your swaddled baby!

THINGS TO TAKE CARE OF WHILE SWADDLING A BABY:

Swaddling a baby may seem as simple as 1 2 3 steps shown above. However, in reality it is a tricky job to do. Also, you may feel as if there is no rocket science behind it, while there are certain things that you really need to take care of.

1. DO NOT WRAP TOO TIGHTLY:

    Make sure you don’t wrap the cloth too tightly around your baby. As it can put pressure  

    on her weak bones or even muscles. Your baby is fragile therefore handle her with care. 

    However, even a mild pressure can be really dangerous.

2.             2.    KEEP THE HIP AREA LOOSE:

              While you wrap your baby, make sure that you keep the blanket/cloth loose from the hip area. 

               As a tight cover around hips may lead to hips dysplasia (abnormal development of hip joint).

3.      AVOID OVERHEATING:

               Make sure you don’t overheat you baby by using a warm blanket. This may lead to suffocation.           Also, suffocation may lead the chances of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

4. POSTURE:
   You specifically need to care about your baby’s posture while she sleeps. Make sure you don’t make her lye on her stomach. A swaddled baby should always be laid on her back.
   
   
5. WHEN TO STOP?
   Swaddling is good but only as long as your baby is a month old.  However, swaddling may be a hindrance in their growth if carried for longer durations.

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SEE IF YOUR BABY HAS A HEALTHY GROWTH

Your efforts to ensure the healthy growth of your baby are not yet over. The first year of your baby’s life is very important as it marks few of the most important developments of your baby. Your baby is very intelligent. She began to sense the world around her from the time she was in your womb. As soon as you baby arrives into this world she can sense and recognize all that she heard. Therefore these 12 months soon after the birth of your baby mark the most important era of her growth. 

Have a look at some of the points that explain how your baby grows during the first year of her life:

·         Initially your baby may lose weight but this is nothing to worry about as it is completely normal. Your baby is prone to a number of problems initially so she may lose weight. However, they gradually make up for the lost weight. During the first month your baby may gain up to 2/3 ounces and grows up to 1-1.5 inches.

·         From the first month to onwards 4 months the baby gains around 1.5-2 pounds. This phase is the cutest phase of your baby as she may begin to form those all so puffy hands and feet with probably bloated cheeks. All this time the baby is working on her senses such as looking and tracking objects around. They are also working on their cooing these days.  Your baby may also learn some really cute gestures such as moving her head while lying on her stomach. Your baby may also start smiling at the faces they recognize or may begin to give unpleasant expressions on the arrival of a stranger.

·         From 4 months to onwards your baby may not show a noticeable increase of growth in terms of size but is definitely growing. Your baby has begun to form a colored vision by now and may sit without support for some time. The bones are becoming strong enough to provide this support to your initially fragile baby. Around 6 months is the time when your baby begins gulping solid foods such as a mashed banana. This may lead to a little more weight gain of your baby as the improved diet provides nourishment.

·         It is no sooner than  6-9 months when your baby starts making little whispers and may respond to you with a laugh or babble sometimes. This phase of watching your baby grow would really put you in relief. This is the perfect time to start calling out names of things that you want your baby to identify. During all this time your baby is working on her expressions and speech.

·         9-12 months is the duration when your baby may again  lose a little weight due to the her growing physical activities. The growing baby is able to call out the names of most frequently called people or things. The most common words can be mama / daddy. Your baby now begins to pronounce these words in the way she can.

·         Your baby is working on her crawling and walking skills. This is the time when you would need to take an extra care of your baby. She is beginning to take steps and will be exploring every new and old corners of your house. By this time your baby has probably tripled her birth weight and would have grown 9-12 inches from their original birth length and height.
 
 This one year marks the achievement of your baby on various milestones. You may feel as if your concerns regarding the growth of your baby may begin to ease. However, they may increase as your baby grows.

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HOW TO GET YOUR BABY IN A SLEEP ROUTINE

Getting a sleep sense in to your newborn is one of the hardest tasks to accomplish. It may require your complete attention, patience and lots of sleepless nights to get your baby in a sleep routine.  Once it is done, you and your baby can enjoy peaceful nights followed by fresh mornings. This can help your baby maintain a good mood and keep you active and attentive around your baby all day long.

By the time your baby is 2 weeks old you can introduce him with the difference of day and night. The earlier you begin the better it is. You can do this through following steps:

·         Bath your baby during day and change her clothes, make her feel fresh.

·         Talk and play with her during day to make her feel active.

·         Make sure you keep her in a lively environment around other family members, during the daytime

·         Keep your baby in a well lit room during the day

Likewise:

·         Make the room quiet and slow few minutes before the sleep time of your baby.

·         Try to change you baby’s attire with comfortable pajamas or a sleeping suit

·         Speak or play less with your baby before her naptime. Make sure your baby realizes that the day activities are over and night time is all about rest and sleep.

As your baby grows older, you might find it hard to restrict her to a sleep routine. As a toddler would be more involved in activities around him. Therefore, it is relatively hard to set a routine for your toddler. But then again, little efforts from your side can solve this issue. Try the following things:

·         Arrange a playtime for your baby half an hour before bedtime:

This would help your baby release the energy before bedtime which would help her fall asleep earlier. Also a playtime before bedtime would make your baby happy and sleeping in a good mood guarantees a happy mood when your baby wakes up the very next day. You can also play on a condition of going to bed soon after you finish. This makes your baby’s mind that the day is coming to an end and this is her last activity for the day.

·         Feed your baby 30 minutes before bedtime:

Feeding your baby before bedtime will help your baby sleep for longer hours without having the need to wake up in between. Also your baby would fall asleep earlier than she would have been with an empty stomach.

·         Change clothes and brush up:

Getting dressed for bedtime is very important for the baby. This helps her acknowledge that the day is over and the only final thing she is left with is to sleep. This would also help in making up your baby’s mind that she is all ready to sleep now. This psychological effect can make her fall asleep earlier than random attempts of making her fall asleep.

·         Read a Story:

It can be really hard at times to get your baby in bed alongside you. Try bribing your baby with a story time. Make your baby lie next to you and read a story. Your baby may love to snuggle around especially during story time. Not only would she learn new words but this would also bring you closer to your baby.

Try to follow this routine with your baby even when you are not at home. This would help your child adopt this sleep routine regardless.

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