The ABC of sleeping a baby can go a long way. But the most important thing is that your baby should sleep alone in a crib or like space or on the back. To add one more step to the safety routine, you should swaddle your baby before sleep. It might seem outdated, but it is the best thing to do for a baby. You must know the benefits of swaddling your baby for their protection. It soothes the baby, calms them, and makes them sleep for longer hours.
Recent research reveals that when infants are swaddled, they sleep more, become quieter, and have lower and stable heart rates. When done correctly, it is the safest way to keep your baby calm and comfortable. You can visit online stores like Love to Dream, where you can get swaddles at an affordable price. Wrapping your baby in swaddles can feel weird at first, but it will become part and parcel of your baby’s sleep routine when you understand the benefits. Following are some of the benefits that one will enjoy from swaddling.
1) Babies Stay Safe In A Sleeping Position
Some parents may get exhausted or dismayed with fussing and end up laying their babies on the stomach. Doctors used to recommend that babies should sleep tummy down because it would help them sleep better. They later retracted from these claims as they realized that it brings disorders killing many babies each year. However, babies wrapped in swaddles are those happy ones. When they are in the sleep swaddles, they remember that familiar feeling of life in the womb, and the spontaneous calming effect turns on. They will sleep so well making most of the parents, not tummy sleep their babies. Some babies can resist swaddling but once forced into it, they will become calm, and the wrapping will keep them happy and peaceful for long.
2) Imitates A Parents Relaxing Touch
Touch has neurological effects. It initiates a self-comforting response in the human brain, lowers cortisol levels, and will stabilize your heart rate and blood pressure. Equally, touch is essential for healthy infant development. Swaddling imitates a mother’s soft touch helping your baby have restful and longer sleep with fewer disturbances. When a baby is swaddled, it would sleep quickly and stay asleep throughout the night. If a baby sleeps well, then it means that even your parents will have a great night.
3) Swaddling Helps Regulate Temperature
Swaddling your baby will help in maintaining the ideal temperature for them. Hence you should ensure that you are choosing high-quality swaddles and diapers to avoid any rashes for your baby. Don’t use the blankets that are too warm or doing double swaddling. Many swaddles can make your baby overheat, which in turn can cause SIDs. Breathable fabrics will help keep your baby warm and comfortable, minimizing the risk of overheating. You should also ensure to maintain a comfortable room temperature. The above points are some benefits of swaddling a baby, like making it feel safe and comfortable. Ensure to get the best swaddles from Love to Dream. Experience the soothing effect of our swaddles from our cotton mess swaddles.
How to Swaddle Your Baby Safely
Swaddling has many benefits but parents have to make sure that they do it the right way. Therefore, we will discuss 3 safety tips to swaddle your baby correctly.
1. Make Sure to Secure the Swaddle
It is very important that you secure the swaddle but do not make it tight. The baby should have enough space to move his legs and arms freely inside the swaddle. You should loosely wrap the blanket around the hips of your baby and secure it properly so that the swaddle doesn’t unwrap. You could also allow the arms of the baby to stay free by keeping them outside the swaddle.
As a parent, it is essential for you to note your baby’s behavioural patterns and routines so that you may know what type of swaddling they prefer, what is the best time to swaddle them or if your baby wants to be swaddled, to begin with. And this is how you can sleep your children calmly? These are all the things you have to take into consideration because all babies are different. Some like to move around a lot whereas some remain calm inside the swaddle.
You may swaddle your baby during the times he prefers and wrap the blanket around him just like he wants to make sure that the baby doesn’t get irritated and feels more relaxed and calm. You can put your baby’s arms on his/her chest instead of leaving them straight as this posture feels more comforting and soothing to the child.
2. Learn the Right Technique Properly
Swaddling is quite beneficial for babies but it also poses some risks. One of the reasons why it is so important to secure the blanket properly is that if the blanket comes unwrapped while the baby is asleep and covers his face, it could cause suffocation and ultimately death. That is because the baby doesn’t grasp the situation and keeps on sleeping instead of waking up or changing his position. Swaddling promotes sound sleep and babies are unlikely to wake up in case of suffocation. Therefore, it is highly recommended for a parent to learn the right technique for swaddling the baby properly.
The blanket around the hips of the baby shouldn’t be too close-fitting to encourage the proper bones development. The baby’s hip joint and legs should be free to move naturally and grow in a proper shape. Therefore, to eliminate any sort of risks parents must apply the right swaddling technique and get maximum benefits from it.
3. Keep an Eye on Your Baby’s Temperature
First remember the things when you taking your infant to your doctor. Swaddling could cause overheating. That’s why there are some things that a parent should do to make sure that the baby doesn’t overheat. And this is how you can take your baby’s temperature safely. Firstly, the baby should be wearing clothes that are suitable according to the current weather. Secondly, a parent should never wrap the baby with too many blankets. The blanket must be soft and breathable at all costs. This includes thin cotton cloth suitable for wrapping the baby or cotton swaddles especially made for this purpose. Thirdly, the parents must check on the room temperature and ensure that it’s suitable for the baby’s comfort. To keep the baby cool, the parents must also check the baby’s temperature and adjust the swaddle according to that.
Conclusion
Swaddling is quite beneficial for babies but it has its risks as well. Parents who want their baby to sleep peacefully during the naps and nights should do swaddling but also make sure to do it correctly to eliminate any risks. If parents learn the correct swaddling technique and follow the safe sleeping guidelines prescribed for the babies then it can benefit them and the baby remarkably.
Often newborn babies make it difficult for parents to catch up on their sleep but through swaddling the baby and parents can sleep soundly as swaddling promotes consistent sleep for long hours and comforts the baby to remain calm and composed. This helps parents to deal with their stuff with ease too. Hence, swaddling is a good practice for your little ones.