Swaddling Made Simple: Tips for Wrapping Precious Gifts

To paraphrase the famous playwright William Shakespeare, “To swaddle or not to swaddle…?” is not actually the question when it comes to helping a baby feel safe, secure, and sleep more soundly. Most pediatric experts generally support this snuggly, time-honored practice of “gift wrapping,” if you’ll pardon the pun.

In our experience, the better and more commonly asked question is “What’s the right way to swaddle my baby?” Many great articles have been written on the topic, but we chose to go right to the source with a few curated tips from the experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics’ HealthyChildren.org website:

The “Burrito Wrap”

1. Lay a thin* baby blanket out like a diamond in front of you.
2. Fold the top corner of the blanket down a bit so that the folded corner almost reaches the middle of the blanket.
3. Place your infant on their back and center them on the blanket with their arms at their sides, their head just above the folded edge, and their shoulders just below it.
4. Take one of the side corners of the blanket and fold it over your baby's shoulder and across their body, making sure to tuck the corner underneath them on the opposite side.
5. Then take the bottom corner of the blanket (below your baby's feet) and fold it up over your baby. If the blanket is large enough that the bottom corner reaches up to (or over) your baby's face, you can simply fold it back down until their face is no longer covered, or bring it over one or the other shoulder and tuck it under them.
6. Finally, take the only remaining corner and pull it over your baby's other shoulder and across their body. Again, tuck this corner snugly under your baby's opposite side.

And here are a few important safety tips from the same article:

Safe Swaddling

• Swaddling can be an effective technique to help calm infants and promote sleep when done correctly. Most child health experts agree that a baby's hips should not be bundled too tightly. Instead, they should be allowed to relax in their natural frog-leg positions to allow for proper growth and joint development.
• For safety reasons, you should always be sure that your swaddled baby is on their back—never on their side or tummy. Swaddling also has the potential to cause babies to overheat*, so be sure to check and make sure your baby isn't showing signs of overheating (sweating, damp hair, rash, and rapid breathing). And you should stop swaddling your baby once they look like they're trying to roll over.

There you have it! When done correctly, swaddling’s gentle confinement and light pressure can help calm your baby, foster a sense of security, and promote better sleep. So if your baby is fussy and sleep is hard to come by, proper swaddling just might be the answer you’ve been looking for. 

*An important note: BabySoSoft blankets are warm, cozy, and substantial, and not suitable for swaddling per American Academy of Pediatrics safety guidelines. Read the full American Academy of Pediatrics article here.