Teo and I had a pretty busy day today, and once we got home he was a little fussy. Nothing major honestly, he's a good baby who only really cries when something needs attention, but this evening he had a little case of the whimpers from fatigue. I knew he just needed to fall asleep, but he seemed so over-tired that he wouldn't let himself do so.
Yesterday I had been reading about swaddling and decided to give it a go. I had never really had the need to swaddle him before, but I thought that his mild fussiness - which was not the result of hunger, a dirty diaper, or discomfort - presented a good occasion to test it out.
My God! I wrapped him up and - no exagerration - he was asleep in 45 seconds. I rocked him a little bit longer to be sure he was in deep sleep, and then I eased him into his crib. Normally, at that point, he does one of two things: 1) jolts a little and then hesitates between sleeping/wakening, but then opts for sleeping or 2) jolts a little and starts crying (and therefore remains awake). But this time? With the swaddling? No jolting, no thinking about waking up, no whimpering. Just direct sleeping.
It's like finding gold, people! He was an easy baby before the swaddling miracle, but this is just fantastic.
So for the BTDT mamas, what can you swaddle your baby with on a hot day? Teo is a hot kid (his skin is always hot and he sweats easily). All I have for swaddling is the receiving blanket my aunt gave me, which is great for a rainy day like today. But what about hot weather? Do you just avoid the swaddling altogether?
It's sort of embarrassing how excited I am about this, but it's really neat that it worked!
We used to call Will the baby burrito because he loved the swaddle so much...we used a light waffle-like blanket when it was warmer and that seemed to work ok for him. For him the warmth was less of a bother than the free legs and arms :)
Try some fine muslin - you could even just buy a couble of metres in a fabric shop, fold it in half and zigzag around the edge. A single layer might be a bit fine.
I had a couple made out of flanelette (brushed cotton used for winter sheets) - that was fine too.
Swaddling only works until they've got more control over their limbs - once they do, it just frustrates them. But then they hopefully can settle themselves more easily.
Good luck!
Lee- I have a miracle blanket and it's made of cotton that I used on Max for just a few weeks until he out grew it. I'd love to let Teo use it. It's great. When it was hot, I would just put Max in his diaper and wrap him up like a little burrito. He had the jolt thing too when he was little. He out grew it.
http://www.miracleblanket.com/
Check out the link on the miracle blanket and let me know if you want to borrow it.
I'd suggest using a cotton sheet for swaddling on warm days. If you don't have a baby sized sheet, just take an old flat sheet and cut it into quarters. Takes the fussies right away!
i still swaddle Ayva and she's 9 months now. i use just a regular receiving blanket i got from my mother-in-law. now that's older, i don't put her arms in and if she wants, she can kick herself out of it. it's really only part of the routine now of going to bed...swaddle, soother, rabbit, music...sleep. the blanket is a bit hot for her, 'cause you know it's hot here in Corsica, but like i said she ends up kicking it off her if she gets too hot. i've used a piece of cotton sheet too and that worked ok.
glad to know this really does work! they teach us that it is a miracle in nursing school but i've never heard someone get so excited about it. i will recommend with great confidence now...