I have found swaddling to be an essential skill for surviving the early months of caring for my daughters. Like many mothers, I tried it out, but found the swaddle didn't hold or the baby squirmed out of it. Like many, I assumed that meant that the baby didn't like it, or it didn't work.

Wrong.

A lactation consultant once told me that if swaddling didn't "work," it was because I wasn't doing it right. She could not have been more right. I've shared that gem with many over the years, and get a lot of resistance. But I can tell you that every single mother I know who has committed to learning to swaddle correctly and using it consistently has been rewarded with a happier baby and often more sleep for the whole family.

There are many important benefits to swaddling for the breastfeeding process:

• Swaddling helps a new baby to be less twitchy and focus on mastering the breastfeeding skill, leading to less painful and more efficient and effective feeds. As the infant reaches 2-6 months old when more actively moving and distractible, swaddling may be essential in helping the baby to focus and be still to get a good feed.

• Swaddling enables the "dream feed" – the ability to pick up a sleeping baby, feed without fully waking them, and easily put them back down to sleep. (The big benefit here is nursing the baby right before you go to sleep, and as a result maximizing the length of uniterrupted sleep you get before the baby wakes again.

• Swaddling provides a tool to more easily wake and energize a sleepy baby to nurse by the process unswaddling. This can be helpful with sleepy babies who in the early days of nursing need to be woken or encouraged to nurse in order to ensure the establishment of a healthy milk supply.

In addition to the breastfeeding implications, swaddling has other important benefits:

• Swaddling may reduce colic and crying. Pediatrician and author Harvey Karp believes that colic is not a medical condition, but is actually a result of a newborn's developing and fragile system in the hands of parents who don't know a critical set of soothing mechanisms which begin with swaddling (nursing/sucking is in there too!). His book and DVD, The Happiest Baby on the Block, teach what I have found to be the best and most reliable method of effectively swaddling with a traditional blanket.

• Swaddling may increase sleep duration. When feeding on-cue, after milk supply is established and starts to respond more naturally to the baby's needs, it's generally ok to let the baby start to sleep longer stretches at night. Swaddling can have a huge effect on a baby's ability to overcome their own twitchy nervous system and settle in order to be able to do this. I can tell you from personal experience that from the moment I was taught to properly swaddle my first daughter, she nursed better and slept dramatically longer and more restful stretches. My second daughter began sleeping 6-8 hour stretches at night within weeks of birth. It was truly incredible. Sadly, after we stopped swaddling around 7 months, those stretches reduced dramatically, leaving me wishing we had never stopped! I could not be a bigger believer in the power of a good swaddle to bring sleep to all.

So how do you do swaddle correctly?

• With a traditional blanket – As mentioned, Harvey Karp is the best resource out there for how to swaddle traditionally with a blanket. His "DUDU" technique worked for us without fail, as long as we did it tightly enough. One tip I'd add is that this technique worked best for us with a thermal/waffle-weave-style blanket, or other stretchy fabric.

• With a swaddle blanket – I honestly can't comment on the "swaddle me" variety of blanket with the Velcro closures, as I never tried these out. But this is because I was lucky enough to be given a Miracle Blanket as a gift. I've heard mixed reviews of the Velcro kind, but if you want to go with a swaddle blanket, I'd go right the Lexus of blankets with the Miracle Blanket product. It holds the arms effectively with little flaps just for them, which is the most critical part of swaddling, and is easy to use once you take a few minutes to read the directions and learn it. What I especially love is that the little pocket for the feet is optional, which makes it great for the summer or warmer spaces without causing worry about overheating. I also like that there is a natural unbleached and undyed cotton product, since their little body is encased in the material for so many hours. The only negative is that they are a bit pricey, because they are made from a large piece of material, but in my opinion worth every penny.

Learning to swaddle is a skill and a technique that too many parents pass up for lack of guidance or knowledge about the benefits. It can be invaluable to assist in the establishment of successful breastfeeding and healthy sleep. I strongly encourage all breastfeeding mothers to learn and master this skill, and give it a fair chance to see if it works for your baby.





Disclaimer: All material on the BellaOnline.com Breastfeeding website is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Although every effort is made to provide accurate and up-to-date information as of the date of publication, the author is neither a medical doctor, health practitioner, nor a Certified Lactation Consultant. If you are concerned about your health, or that of your child, consult with your health care provider regarding the advisability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your individual situation. Information obtained from the Internet can never take the place of a personal consultation with a licensed health care provider, and neither the author nor BellaOnline.com assume any legal responsibility to update the information contained on this site or for any inaccurate or incorrect information contained on this site, and do not accept any responsibility for any decisions you may make as a result of the information contained on this site or in any referenced or linked materials written by others.