Dear Dr.MOZ,
I’m about to be new dad (a boy!) and I’d appreciate any lesson that you or the GoodFather can provide to help me get a handle with swaddling. I’ve read that it helps newborns feel comfortable and it looks fairly simple, but I’ve had no experience doing it. Swaddling sounds pretty easy but I think I’d need to see it to learn how to do it.
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Hello Craig,
I’m always proud to see a soon-to-be GoodFather brushing up on his skills before the big day! It’s true, there are a few ways to do it but here’s my favorite 5 step method with illustrations help achieve super “swaddledom” GoodFather style.
1) Fold one of the corners down on a receiving blanket. Your baby should be positioned in the middle of the blanket with the top of the blanket laying at the top of his shoulders.
2) Now fold the left side of the receiving blanket firmly across his chest with his right arm wrapped comfortably to his body. With his left arm lifted, tuck the blanket under his body so the wrap is slightly firm, but not tight.
3) Pull the bottom of the blanket up and tuck it into the first fold.
4) Put your baby’s left arm at a comfortable spot on his body and wrap the remaining blanket corner across his chest.
5) Again, tuck the blanket to create firm (but not tight) wrap. Some babies like their arms to be free (you’ll know because he’ll become fussy and uncomfortable after this step) so see the arm-out variation image.
That’s really all there is to it. You’ll second-guess your work and re-tuck a few times fearing that you’ve made it too tight, but just pay attention to your baby’s cues and you’ll do fine. Thanks for the question Craig…I can see you are on the right path to becoming a GoodFather!
Yours,
The GoodFather
By GoodFather on 09/14/07 in Parents, Columns, GoodFather Friday
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September 14th, 2007 at 10:59 am
One of the things my amazing husband discovered when it comes to swaddling is that as baby gets older, a deep first fold will result in a longer tail to wrap around. This works best with a large blanket and giving up on swaddling the legs (both our boys just needed to have their arms pinned).
September 14th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
[…] My new friend and soon-to-be GoodFather Craig wrote in with questions about swaddling. Those interested in the GoodFather’s 5 Step Swaddle Recipe should jump to our partners at Clever Parents for today’s second-helping of GoodFather Friday. We’ll stick with the swaddling theme here at Dr.MOZ because I have a few finds that I think will help make swaddling a snap…or should I say, a wrap? […]
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