Pretty much every night I thank God for His gift to us: the swaddling blanket.
Swaddling is a practice that has been used for thousands of years by pretty much every culture on the planet. Babies are wrapped in fabric or blankets, securing their arms and legs and making them into a cute little loaf. Some cultures secure babies to boards or baskets as well, making them exceptionally portable (take that, car seat!).
In the 18th century, swaddling started falling out of favor in western Europe. Apparently, it was associated with neglect, thanks to wet nurses who would leave children swaddled all day long (which meant they didn't clean them, change them, or have to worry about them crawling around on the floor). In the US, since we value our freedom so much, swaddling lost favor because it meant parents were restricting their children's movements when they had just escaped the oppression of the confining womb. Or something like that. People argued that children would be behind in their physical development because they hadn't had the chance to work on their coordination and strength since they were all wrapped up.
But in the last 20 years or so there has been a resurgence in western cultures with swaddling. Studies have shown that it helps keep young babies asleep longer, since they don't startle themselves awake with sudden reflex movements. Also, it seems to help reduce the occurrence of SIDS, because babies who sleep better on their backs when swaddled don't get placed on their stomachs and so don't end up rebreathing their exhalations with their faces pressed into the bedding. And studies are showing that the resistance swaddling affords to a child actually helps develop muscle strength.
Swaddling certainly has helped Brendan. The nurses swaddled him in receiving blankets at the hospital, and we continued that practice at home. However, blankets offer a bit of a challenge--if you do it wrong, the baby can get loose, which defeats the purpose, and of course the baby will eventually outgrow a blanket and need a bigger one. We received a gift after a few weeks of a Miracle Blanket from a family friend. This blanket is a contraption with a bunch of flaps and a pouch. Two small flaps hold the baby's arms down by his sides, the legs go in the pouch, and the two big flaps wrap around the baby several times. If you use the Miracle Blanket correctly the baby cannot get his arms loose and won't throw them up over his head (the "falling reflex", which tends to startle the baby awake) or rub them into his eyes. This blanket has been so great, we bought another one, so we'd have a back-up when the first one went into the wash.
However, the Miracle Blanket does have a drawback we've discovered: Brendan has figured out that he can "climb" his feet up the inside front of the pouch. Sometimes he can get a whole leg out; other times he gets his knee out and then gets stuck. Regardless, it bothers him enough to wake him up. Also, he's getting taller every day, and so we have to keep moving the blanket down farther and farther, with more and more of his chest and shoulders sticking out of the top of the blanket. Eventually he's going to be able to get his arms loose. So I'm starting to wonder how much longer to keep swaddling him, and how to wean him off of it. I've read in a few places that 4 months or so is about the right age. Brendan is only two months now. Also, they say to start out with an arm out while the other is swaddled. Not sure how to do that one with the Miracle Blanket. Be I'll have to start figuring it out, because I definitely think the time is coming...
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