Swaddling older babies

[SASM]

Hi! Even though my baby is only a month old he is breaking out of my husband's swaddling job like it's nothing - quite the little Houdini!! This is quite an impressive feat because 1) he wraps him sooooo tight that I have a difficult time unwrapping him at times and 2) he wraps him TWICE!! Anyway, what type of blankets do you find work best once your baby outgrows the square 30"x30" receiving blankets? I cannot imagine the pretty knit or fleece type ones holding a swaddle for very long - not to mention that they are quite bulky. Has anyone seen a larger receiving blanket out there? I like the "thinness" of it.

Thanks!

Sharyn
Mommy to Ian Riley
01.29.03

[mamahill]

I've got about 8 blankets that are 42" square. They are all flannel that people made me. Do you sew? My mom would put two pieces of flannel together, serge around the outside (and then crochet, but that's just for looks) and voila - instant huge blanket. They're are wonderfully big. We would fold them in half, to make a big triangle, and then swaddle Ainsleigh in that. I've heard good things about the knit ones, though, because they are stretchy. When we swaddled, we had to make sure that the first corner went around both arms and tucked in behind her back. In the hospital they showed us with the first corner going over one arm, but under the next. (does this make sense?) The second corner goes all the way around her body, with the corner beginnin to cross over the front again. This probably makes no sense. I don't know how else to explain it. We did consider creating a baby strait jacket (LOL) since having her arms by her sides was so comforting to her. Good luck. Oh, and during the summer, when it was hot and I was afraid she would overheat, we just used one thickness of a light flannel (still 42" square) or we cut a sheet to be bigger. Not the prettiest, but functional! HTH

[egoldber]

I agree with Sarah, the larger blankets are crucial for effective swaddling. :) The "regular" size receiving blankets are pretty worthless in that regard.

HTH,

[Momof3Labs]

Go to the fabric store (or even Wal-Mart) and buy some fabric - you can get flannel or t-shirt knit in all kinds of cute patterns. A yard and a half will be about the right amount to make one swaddling blanket. Even if you don't sew, you could just use the fabric cut into a square. This is a super-cheap way to get a nice swaddling blanket (I did this with some wonderful flannel from Hobby Lobby - about $3 a yard!).

Those small square receiving blankets are pretty useless for swaddling past the first couple of weeks! I'm glad, though, that the swaddling is working for you - I wish that we had done it a lot longer than we did!

[celfsh]

I agree with everyone about the larger-size receiving blankets. I made a couple of smaller 36"x36" flannel ones (it really IS easy--just sew 2 pieces of flannel together) prior to DD's arrival, not knowing that they wouldn't work beyond the first couple of weeks. DD just squirmed right out of them. Thankfully, my mom knew better, and gave us several 45"x45" receiving blankets that we are still using to this day. Olivia just loves to be swaddled for bed--we call it getting into her "burrito." LOL!

HTH!

celeste
mom to olivia 9/25/02

[SASM]

THANK YOU so much, girls!! I am NOT a crafty chick but this sounds sooo easy!!! :-) YEAH! Ian is starting to grow out of the 30" receiving blankets and it had me worried because he loves being swaddled :-) Watch out Walmart and Joann's...Here we come!!

Sharyn
Mommy to Ian Riley
01.29.03

[juliasdad]

We had the same problem, and I wish we had sewn our own blankets to solve it. Knit blankets are especially useless, as if the fabric has even the slightest amount of stretch to it, baby will get out.

If you don't use larger blankets, you can still secure the baby in the smaller square ones using something external. A strap of Velcro works; we also had reasonable luck using an Ace-type bandage (without the metal closure!!). When all else fails, there's always duct tape... :-)

-dan

[himom]

Duct tape?

I get the most intriguing mental picture......

=)

I'm almost tempted to try it, though. Josh kicks off socks, pulls off mittens, then kicks off any and all blankets. Poor baby is always cold but I can't seem to keep anything on him except for the "sack" jammies, so that's what he basically lives in.

Good thing we live in 80 degree weather!

My mom says it's hereditary. Apparently, my baby self pulled off any and all clothing, including diapers, as soon as I figured out how they worked.

Jodi
Mommy to Joshua Keoni, 2/8/03