The Magic of Swaddling

One of my very favorite baby products are my Aden + Anais swaddling blankets.  They are a MUST HAVE for newborns and my 9 month old still snuggles up in hers every night.  These Aden + Anais blankets are super thin and breathable, but are still able to keep baby really warm in the winter.  This is a big plus because overheating is linked to SIDS as one of the possible leading causes.


With Aden + Anais, you're in good company too--or at least rich and generally good looking company!  :)  Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, Patrick Dempsey, Naomi Watts, Gwen Stefani, Jason Priestley, Minnie Driver, Jessica Alba and Isla Fisher are all big fans of Aden + Anais cozy swaddle blankets too (to name a few). Once you see one for yourself, you will understand why these celeb parents have made Aden + Anais muslin wraps a staple accessory!

Swaddling seriously is essential to getting your baby to sleep through the night.  These swaddling blankets make that a lot easier.  They are big, enabling you to swaddle your baby tightly and easily.  This also enables the blanket to grow with your baby.  When you have a tiny newborn, you can fold the blanket in half in a full triangle.  As they grow you can expand it into more of a diamond shape.  It is truly the most wonderful swaddling blanket.  They come in a great variety of cute colors and designs too.  I think my favorite might be the giraffes.  :)  These swaddling blankets are probably my #1 baby necessity that I would not be without. 

$$ Saving TIP for Aden + Anais:  These blankets are a bit expensive, but I truly think they're worth it.  To purchase a 4 pack it is around $40.00.  To make it a little cheaper, break them up.  Share with friends or give away for showers.  I'd recommend having two, so that if one is dirty the other one can be used; but even one would be enough!  Also, Target sells Aden + Anais for a reduced price.  They are a little different than their usual blankets, but still do the trick.  They're a couple of inches smaller, but are still great.  Target used to sell them in their stores, but they may only be available online these days.  These reduced price blankets are available only at Target.

MORE INFO ON SWADDLING

(My opinion and what I know about swaddling...)

Why is swaddling so great?  Your baby just came out of an itty bitty space where he or she was snug and warm and could hardly move at all.  Being swaddled makes them feel more like they are back in that comfortable space that they loved.  I hear all the time, "But my baby doesn't like being swaddled" or "But my baby doesn't like to have her arms swaddled down."  As far as newborns go, I don't think this is true in any situation.  (But that's just my opinion.)  Yes, I think that 99% of babies will fight the swaddle, especially the arms.  However, I also think they'll all sleep better and be more comfortable if you just SWADDLE THEM ANYWAY, arms and all.  Just do it, I tell you, JUST DO IT!  :)


How to swaddle?

These are the instructions included with the Aden + Anais swaddlers.  These instructions are pretty much what I follow, however I have learned a few other tricks that I prefer to do.  First of all when I wrap the first side (left point under right side of body), I do not swaddle the arm down.  I think that tucking the blanket under the armpit and then under the body with the arm over the top helps it to stay tight.  The bottom then is folded up and tucked under the body on the side that you have not yet wrapped (under the right side of the body).  The second side then wraps over both arms and holds them both down tight (right point under the left side of the body) and tucked securely under the whole body.  The wrap does not cover the shoulders--this was one of my biggest confusions with swaddling at first.  The shoulders lie square with the blanket and the blanket wraps around the side of the shoulders and arms, not over the top of the shoulders at all.

When to swaddle?  Swaddling always helps baby to sleep better.  However, if you really want your baby to get used to sleeping through the night, it is best NOT to swaddle baby at nap time.  Bedtime needs to be very different from nap time.  At nap time we don't darken the room or hush the house, we also shouldn't swaddle.  That way baby learns there is a difference between nap time and bedtime and they learn that bedtime is the time to relax and sleep for a long time.

When to stop swaddling? I don't know!  I'll let you know when I get there.  :)  But here are my thoughts...I plan to swaddle my baby to a year (at least) although I am not certain if it is still completely necessary.  My baby usually pulls her arms out of her swaddle pretty quickly, especially if she isn't completely ready to fall asleep immediately.  Sometimes she is completely unswaddled when I go in to get her in the morning.  I am sure she'd be fine if I just swaddled her under her armpits instead of swaddling her arms down these days.  I do think that swaddling the arms down is essential for newborns.  This will greatly help simulate the womb much better than not.  But as your little one adjusts to living in this not-so-comforting world, I think you as a parent can determine at what point your baby will sleep just as well without his or her arms swaddled down.

I am sure that sooner or later I will stop swaddling my baby, but for now, it is still working well for us!  What I do know, is that even when we're done swaddling, she'll still be loving and snuggling with her Aden + Anais!  :) 

Colic Calm

When we brought our sweet little baby home from the hospital we were so excited to start a new chapter in our lives. We had no idea what we were in for, and wished she came with a handbook. There were lots of nights where we got little to no sleep because of an unhappy baby. At that time, my husband was in between jobs so we were able to switch off during the night and not be affected the next day.

Well...how long can you really do that without going crazy?  I had to take matters into my own hands and see what I could find. I started doing some research online to see what I could find. After days of searching and studying products that we could give our sweet little angel to help with her tummy aches, I came across a product called ColicCalm. After ordering it and giving it a try we were all feeling about a thousand times better. When we would give her the “magic juice” (as we call it) she would be calmed down and asleep within 10 minutes. It was heaven sent.

If you want to learn more about it click here, or want to order it now click here. If you want to see it to believe it click here. I hope this helps those of you that are having a hard time calming your baby down when he/she is freaking out.

P.S. I asked our pediatrician if it was something that was ok for us to give her, he said he didn't see anything wrong with it.   

Drowsy Baby to Sleeping Baby

My baby is six and a half months old.  The other day we were at church and I knew she was amazingly tired but I just could not get her to fall asleep.  My husband reached over and began softly stroking her eyebrows.  Immediately her eyes started rolling back in delight and she dozed right off.  She was sound asleep in seconds.  It was absolutely amazing!  I turned to my husband, astonished, and said, "How did you do that?!"  He responded, "It works every time!"  He continued to tell me that as long as she's drowsy and not ornery, she'll go right to sleep when you stroke her eyebrows.  After thinking about this for a moment I turned to him and asked, "I've been struggling to get her to sleep for SIX MONTHS and you haven't taught me this 'til NOW?"  He just laughed.  Apparently it was his "secret weapon."  At least he finally shared it with me.  Since then I've tried it on a few other babies and seriously, it works like a charm!

 

What can I say?  Daddy has the magic touch!  And now you do too!