Hi there,
Hope this method helps some new Mums as much as it helped us.
Laura (now 19mos) LOVED this swaddle and I am sure it helped us reduce the amount of crying she was doing in the early days. It is a great technique for stopping the startle reflex. It is illustrated, but let me know if you can't follow the pics.
Use a lightweight fabric (sheeting is good; or the finest cotton you can get)....when the babies get older they can suck their fist through the fabric.
At first I thought Laura hated to be swaddled (in those early days though she was pretty mad most of the time!!) but I gave this method 3 days, and at around the 3 day point, she would calm very quickly once swaddled.
The trick is to tuck hand and arm under the fabric fold with the arm fairly upright and close to his head (ie hand should be near his ear). That way you can tightly wrap the fabric across his body then tuck under his bottom. Repeat on the other side, making sure your swaddle is long enough so that you can tuck under his body. If you don't think it is quite long enough, you can wrap another blanket around his body (if it is not too hot).
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Janelle and Laura
P.S. Ferbit added the attachment to this post, with this message: "I took pictures of how I swaddle my DD. It's kind of a combo Aussie / BW swaddle. If she wants to suck on one of her hands, I can easily pull one or both of them out. "
ETA - the attachment is no longer available, but we have posted the pictures from it below.
