Swaddling "Houdini" or wriggly babies
Swaddling or wrapping a wriggly baby to help him or her sleep is tricky, for sure, but it's worth persisting.
Because, according to Sids and Kids (the safe sleeping organisation) wrapping your baby is safe and a great effective way to help babies sleep on their back during the first 6 months of life. In fact it goes so far as to say "Some studies have shown that wrapping in infants sleeping on their back is associated with reduced Sudden Infant Death risk".
As well, those wrigglers smack themselves in the face and throw off their covers, so effective wrapping in a really large and stretchy wrap such as L'il Fraser is a useful way to help babies settle.
The Sids and Kids Safe Sleeping brochure points out that "Scientific studies have shown
that wrapping can have a calming, sleep-promoting
effect on young babies."
And...."studies have shown that wrapping can promote more sustained sleep and reduce the frequency of spontaneous awakenings." That's got to be good!
The stretch and size of L'il Fraser swaddles make them particularly ideal for wrapping wriggly babies. There's plenty of chat on Insta and FB about how well L'il Fraser works for this very purpose.
So, what's the trick? First, follow the safe wrapping guidelines from Sids and Kids (Infant must be placed on their back with the face and head uncovered. The wrap should be firm but not tight. Infant must not be bed-sharing if wrapped. Wrap should be of muslin or light cotton material (all L'il Fraser swaddles are 100% lightweight jersey cotton).Infant must not be overdressed under the wrap).
Remember, a wriggly baby might be an early mover and milestone reacher, so discontinue wrapping once your baby can roll from back to tummy to
back again during play (usually 4-6 months).
How to wrap Little Houdini using L'il Fraser:
Place baby off-centre with top of the L'il Fraser swaddle wrap level with their shoulders.
Fold baby’s arm across chest and bring the shorter side of the very generous L'il Fraser wrap across baby’s arm and tuck firmly under baby. Because there's a good amount of softest jersey cotton to work with, that fabric will sit really well under baby's whole body.
Bring the larger side of your L'il Fraser swaddle wrap across and tuck right under your baby.
Keeping healthy hips in mind, so retaining the froggy position of the legs, bring the bottom of the L'il Fraser wrap on top of baby.
And then lightly fold the bottom of the L'il Fraser under baby. Baby should be able move their legs a bit, and keep them in a nice natural frog position.
Little Houdini is now secure and happy, wrapped firmly in a stretchy, lightweight L'il Fraser swaddle, and ready for a good night's sleep.
So finally, position your baby, on their back, at the bottom end of the cot, with their feet positioned close to the bottom of the cot or bassinet, and you can use another L'il Fraser as a light cot blanket/cot sheet to stretch over baby and tuck in firmly (under the sides of the mattress).
A calm and settled baby, ready to sleep. At least, that's the idea! Nite nite.