While I was pregnant with my son E, I was obsessed with reading books about getting babies to sleep, creating an environment where babies will want to sleep and putting babies on a sleep schedule.
Soon after delivering it all became just a pile of Crap I Wanted to Believe But Didn’t Actually Work for Us.
One of the few tidbits that did shake out quite well was the swaddling. Oh, the swaddle. How I (heart) you so.
I know that for some babies swaddling just simply pisses them off more. The gall of being wrapped up tight is simply a trigger for the rage. For others it is the highway to peaceful being.
E loved it from day 1 or…er…day 3 once we were home.
In fact he loved it so much that there was some concern brewing that he would be 12 and still want to be wrapped snuggly in a large blanket. Thankfully, this shook out around month 4 or 5–about the time he could sleep on his side and feel cozy.
There are many swaddling options on the market. They range from the ever popular Miracle Blanket (which I think Sam used for her son Theo) to just using a homegrown super effective technique with a standard blanket.
Husband and I wanted something fairly dummy proof and inexpensive so we went with the Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe Adjustable Infant Wrap.
With its velcro-y strips on both the side and bottom of the flaps, it allows parents to wrap their baby as tight or as loose as warranted for the baby’s comfort.
What we also liked is that baby’s upper body can remain warm and burrito-ed, while having the lower pouch unvelcroed for easy diaper changing.
Simply lay the baby down and line their shoulders up with the two seams at the top; put their legs in the lower pouch; wrap the left hand flap over the baby and secure the velcro at the bottom; then wrap the right hand flap over the rest of the baby, securing it to the other fabric-y side. Voila! Baby burrito.
Other features we loved about the Kiddopotamus:
–Ridiculously affordable at usually only $9.99 a pop
–Available in organic and bamboo fabrics (for only a slight increase in cost)
–Also, available in many colors, patterns, plain cotton or toasty fleece
–Works well on the lower 1/2 of the body when a baby would like his/her arms free to drape dramatically over their eyes
We adored the Kiddopotamus and can’t wait to use for future babies.
Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe Adjustable Infant Wrap, price ranging from $9.99 to $15.99, most widely available at Babies R’ Us.
