If you’re a new parent, you’re probably getting used to the unexpected. Did you ever anticipate that properly swaddling your infant would be the holy grail, the well-publicized highly-touted key to happiness for both of you? Even swaddled, your baby still must be carried in the hammock of your arms, unless you can find a baby carrier that’s best for swaddling.
Swaddling: The What and Why
It’s the first thing the nurses will do when your baby leaves the snug environment of the womb. Swaddling mimics the tight hold of the uterus and helps your baby to slowly get acclimated to all of the sensory stimuli in the world. Flailing arms and legs upsets newborns and keeps them from settling down. Unswaddled, it’s nearly impossible for an infant to focus on your efforts to soothe him.
Popularized most recently by Dr. Harvey Karp (The Happiest Baby on the Block
Dr. Karp’s method (which we used to great success with our firstborn) also involves a gentle jiggling and hushing your swaddled baby. This is where the baby carrier comes in. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to provide the swaddled feel baby loves while walking around hands free? Why not let baby be soothed by your natural walking motions instead of holding your swaddled bundle?
Carriers that Swaddle
Basically you have two options here:
- Wrap baby in a breathable swaddling blanket and then place him in a carrier OR
- Choose a carrier that, in its construction, mimics swaddling.
Both of these options have in common that you’ll be positioning baby in a nearly horizontal cradle hold position or in a more diagonal and upright position, with feet near your waist and head resting on your chest.
To put your preswaddled baby in a carrier, a soft sling works best. A sling, alone, will not keep the arms and legs still and with your movement, your baby could wake herself up with her hands.
On the other hand, baby wraps of all kinds (those with shoulder rings for easy tightening or those that wrap and tie around your waist) give baby the feeling of being swaddled and give you the freedom to use your hands.
Which Wrapping Techniques Mimic Swaddling?
There are about as many positions for swaddling your baby as there are ways to cook and egg. I wish I could say that learning to swaddle is as easy as frying an egg, but it can get a little complicated.
Here are a few of my favorite wrap techniques for newborns who want the snug feeling of being swaddled:
The Cradle Carry – With one shoulder bearing more of baby’s weight than the other, this technique creates a crescent shaped fabric pocket for baby at the midpoint between your belly and chest. It’s easy to make tiny adjustments for a horizontal or diagonal position for your baby.
The Front Cross Carry – Named for the x-like appearance of the fabric in this wrap style, this carry especially pleasing to newborns because it allows them to rest the side of the head on your chest. They are close enough to feel and even hear your heartbeat.
The Kangaroo Carry – Like the Front Cross, this tying technique differs mostly in that it creates a pocket that your baby’s bottom sits in, moving his center of gravity a little bit further from you. The Kangaroo carry allows baby to lean forward and into you, making it a comfy position for baby to sleep securely while you move about.
A Piggy-Back Swaddle Carry?
Although I’ve seen wraps that promise that you can easily wear your newborn of less than two months on your back (the Tibetan carry, or Rucksack carry), there are two problems with this. First, I could never accomplish this baby-on-the-back position on my own. Second, the fabric has to stay in just the right place to keep baby’s arms and head sufficiently tucked inside to avoid movement yet safely allow breathing. Sure, some people may say I just didn’t practice enough. But there’s only so much time (if any) in the day for practicing baby-wrapping, right?
Swaddle and Go
A hands-free swaddle is really the only thing better than a hands-free baby carrier, as I see it. So if your baby wants to be on you and wrapped up tight (and all newborn babies seem to want both), then pre-swaddling and sling-wearing or snug wearing in a baby wrap are two great options. And if you go with the wrap, don’t worry about tying it too tight. The tighter the better, as wraps loosen in the first few minutes of wear. Give yourself the freedom and your baby the soothing both of you need.
