The debate about whether it is worth swaddling children at all has not subsided so far. Someone is of the opinion that swaddling is harmful to the child, while someone, on the contrary, believes that swaddling children is necessary. However, to swaddle a child or not, only his parents can decide. Moreover, it is advisable to do this even before the baby is born, so as not to retrain him later.
According to pediatricians, free swaddling does not cause any harm to the child and can be used until the child has fully established coordination of movements. For swaddling swaddling, a more biased attitude, both among pediatricians and orthopedists. It is believed that tight swaddling prevents the child from moving freely and developing physical activity.
Before the age of one month, the baby can be swaddled all the time, after a month it is advisable to dress him in underwear and crawlers for a short time, or swaddle him only at night. Swaddling can help mom if the room is very cold - the baby will not open and it will be warm.
All the reasoning that a child who grew up in diapers will lag behind in development is just a myth. All famous scientists, professors and candidates of sciences in childhood were swaddled. As you can see, this did not affect their mental development. Therefore, the question of whether to swaddle a newborn depends only on the decision of the parents and their financial capabilities (diapers are cheaper than sliders).
If you decide to swaddle your little one, then the best option would be free swaddling for up to one or two months. Then you can swaddle the child only at night until he no longer wakes himself up with pens.
How to swaddle a baby?
First you need to decide on the time when you will change the baby's diaper. The most acceptable option is before feeding, in the evening - after bathing. Before swaddling, wash your hands with soap. If necessary, wash the child and change the diaper for him. First you need to prepare two clean, ironed diapers: one flannel, the second - chintz. The flannel diaper should be at the bottom, and calico - at the top. We wrap the edge of the diaper by 15 cm. We put the baby on the diaper. Press one handle, with the other hand we wrap one edge of the diaper for the baby’s shoulder, tummy and thigh, now press the second handle and do the same with the other side of the diaper. We straighten the lower edge of the diaper and throw it on the child to the chest level, we twist both edges. We do the same manipulations with the flannel diaper. If desired, a cap can be put on the child’s head.
How to swaddle a baby so that there are free arms?
This swaddling is called free, as it offers the baby the opportunity to actively move the handles. With such swaddling, the legs are not wrapped tight so that the child can move them. If you are considering how to swaddle your baby, the free swaddle option will be much preferable.
The free swaddling algorithm is this. We will need two diapers again. We bend the edges by 15 cm. The child’s laying is necessary so that the diaper is at the level of the baby’s armpits. First we wrap one side of the diaper, then the other. We straighten the lower edge and throw it over the child so that there is room for the baby's legs, we twist and fix both edges.
How to swaddle a child outdoors in cold weather?
To do this, choose the type of swaddling with wrapped handles, but, in addition to diapers, we also use a blanket. If you use a reusable diaper, then between the diapers and the blanket it is necessary to put an oilcloth measuring 30 * 30 cm so as not to wet the blanket. Oilcloth lies only at the back, from the lower back to the legs of the baby. From above it is necessary to swaddle the child in a blanket according to an algorithm similar to diapers. Before a walk, they put on a cap and a warm hat on top.