The hospital staff probably already taught you how to swaddle
your baby. Swaddling helps to keep your baby warm and cozy. This is especially important in the
first few days after birth. Swaddling your baby is a snug blanket also helps to calm babies. It may
also prevent their own startle reflexes from disturbing them.
For the first few
weeks following birth, you can let your baby sleep swaddled up for the major part of the day. Later
you can restrict swaddling to only when your baby is napping.
Here is how you can
perfect the technique of swaddling your baby:
- Spread down the blanket on a flat surface.
Fold about six inches of the top-right corner. - Gently lay down your baby, placing
the head over the folded corner. - Take the top-left corner of the blanket and wrap it
round the baby. Tuck in the tip under the baby’s right arm and back. - Now pull up the
bottom corner of the blanket and tuck it under the baby’s chin. - Finally, pull the
right corner over the baby’s right side and tuck it under your baby on the left
side. - Once your baby is a little bigger, you can wrap the blanket under the arms.
This will allow the arms to remain free.