Swaddling Essentials!

So far, nothing has been more helpful than swaddles! Here he is sporting his tropical look in the first swaddle I made. Jake gets pretty worked up sometimes. Whether it's trying to change his tapes when he's not in the mood or feed him when his mouth is a little sore, Jake's a really strong kid and he flails and arches when he's mad. As a newborn, receiving blankets worked ok, but he could get out of them pretty early on. Then we got him a Swaddleme. These are awesome!!! Because of the velcro, he couldn't work out of it no matter how upset he got. Having his arms securely by his side really helped him calm down and relax.

Now that he's bigger (24") the Swaddleme is too small. There is no medium size, and the large is waaay to big still. So I used the pattern from the book "Simple Sewing for Baby." The pattern is really simple and easy to modify. I added 4" to the length because my little ones are long and skinny. The next time I make them, I'll add a little to the length and the width. I lined mine with knit. (money saving tip - look for knit sheet sets, usually on sale after kids go back to college. There are yards and yards of fabric there. Way cheaper than buying knit yardage at a fabric store.) Because the outside layer is regular cotton, it doesn't stretch the way the Swaddleme does. Every time I change Jake's tapes, brush his gums, and clean his NAM, I swaddle him. It keeps him calm, lets him know what's coming, and keeps his hands out of the way. Both Jake and Lily get swaddled for bed and they both get placed on their backs to sleep. Nice & safe!

PLEASE NOTE: Always follow your doctor's advice and the NICHD's guidelines for safe sleeping and SIDS prevention.