That is the time when my mom got back at me!
I got her angry during the first month after labor with all the baby dos and don’ts that I listed and all the changes to the baby routines she is familiar to; some of which are:
– Covering the baby with a blanket
– Giving the baby anise for stomach pain
– Putting the baby to sleep on their tummy, etc…
She was like: “halla2 kell chi kenet ana ba3emlo ghalat bass enno tleffe l bebe metel iyyem sette mazbout?!” (So now everything I used to do to you as a baby was wrong but you wrapping your baby like they did back in my grandma’s days is right?!)
Lol!
My experience with swaddling was a great one and I highly recommend everyone to try it as I swaddled Ayla for the first 3 months. Since Ayla was breastfeeding, she always needed to fall asleep on my chest, so every time she woke up at night she needed comforting. Swaddling her made her wake up less at night as she felt secure like she was in my arms or even maybe still in the womb and the swaddle prevented those startle reflexes (Moro reflex) from waking her up frequently.
Swaddling is safe if you do it right! So here are some safety tips and a how-to video:
- Use thin and breathable material. I have used both Matchstick Monkey and My Hokey Pokey swaddles which are great. One is breathable muslin and the other is a stretchy fabric.
- Don’t wrap your baby too tightly as it can cause hip dysplasia.
- Don’t over wrap with many covers so that baby doesn’t overheat.
- Don’t swaddle the head or the neck, keep space for the legs to move, knees to bend, and hip to rotate.
- Removes swaddle when baby wakes up or is breastfeeding.
- Baby should always sleep on her back when swaddled.
Amanda Abirached 