Swaddling is the act of wrapping your baby in materials such as blankets so that his or her limbs are firmly controlled. And this in article we reveal what to do if your baby hates swaddling and probably breaks out of Swaddle. Swaddling helps your baby fall and stay asleep easily in a supine position that helps reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
Swaddling your baby can be done by gently placing your baby on his or her back whenever you desire for him or her to fall asleep to prevent your baby from suffocation when laid on his or her stomach.
When you swaddle your baby, you make your baby feel as if he or she is still in your womb. Your womb, to your baby represents comfort, safety and a well-known place.
Swaddling your baby helps free you from the discomfort every mom desire to outrun. But the question begging for an answer is, why does my baby hate being saddled when it makes him to sleep long and comfortably? We will find out in this post, and also get to know what to do if your baby hates Swaddling.
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Why Does My New Born Baby Hate Being Swaddled?
Is your baby’s loud cry becoming a reason for concern to you? He or she is swaddled, yet there is a loud screaming to your face that makes you confused as to what must be wrong with your bundle of joy.
At that moment in time, you wonder to yourself why your baby hates being swaddled. What if your baby doesn’t hate being swaddled but only hates the style you swaddled him or her? Have you thought about that for a moment even though you feel that you are a pro in swaddling? Try to observe your baby’s reflexes. Is he or she trying hard to break free from the swaddle?
What if your baby is trying to tell you that the swaddling does not make him or her have a feeling of your womb? Your womb was warm to your baby but maybe this swaddle isn’t.
Your baby makes fuss over your swaddling if you swaddled him or her so tightly with no room for him or her to stretch or rotate his or her hips. Remember, he or she stretched while in your womb. So, his or her present condition where he or she is tightly swaddled makes for discomfort.
Your baby on the other hand cries out loud after being swaddled by you if he or she feels a sensation of discomfort arising from the position you placed him or her. Your baby is used to his or her on his chest and not by his or her side. The fuss or wailing is just his or her way of expressing complete displeasure.
You need to understand also that your baby’s age plays a huge role in their fuss when swaddled up. The older they get, the more freedom they wish to have since they can now understand the reflexes of their body. When they are consumed with their reflexes in display in areas of their fist to their mouth or their desire to get hold of some things, maybe cloth, it is advisable to stop swaddling.
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Is it Okay to Swaddle My Newborn with Arms Out?
You are probably pondering about this right now. You want to know if it’s safe for your baby’s arms to be left outside while he or she is swaddled. Swaddling is an old method of making your newborn feel the warmth of his or her mom’s womb.
Your baby feels the warmth of your womb when swaddled, and that feeling of security and care is re-introduced. But what if my baby’s arms are left free from the blanket I used to swaddle him or her? Isn’t that freedom part of what my baby desire for when he or she came out of my womb?
When you swaddle your baby and allow his or her arms out, you risk your baby whirling his or her arms which has the potential of making him or her to wake up. And you do not need your baby always awake and crying. You need the little rest. Don’t you? His or her reflexes are sparked off shockingly.
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Is it Okay not to Swaddle A Newborn?
After some hours of labor that gave birth to our bundle of joy, my sunshine. In short our sunshine. Oh! How long we prayed and anticipated her coming. Our baby-girl was swaddled up and presented to us. She looked so tiny yet so big.
The nurse looked at my puzzled expression over my baby being swaddled that way and could just say, she needs it to help her against any neurological problem and secondly, make her feel relaxed as if she is still in your womb pending when her system adjust to this new world. I relaxed completely.
As time went on, I realized that it helped my baby to fall asleep so peacefully on her back. When your newborn baby falls or stays asleep on her back during those early days of delivery, it helps them stay free from that sudden infant death syndrome that affects infants.
It is okay to swaddle your baby as the benefits outweighs the dangers. The danger is a product of negligence from moms. When you swaddle your baby, his or her legs need to be able to freely bend to enable the hips to develop well.
Does Swaddling Reduce or prevent SIDs?
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is that sudden or unexplained death situation that occurs most times at night to a baby that shows no sign of sickness. This actually occurs to babies that are less than a year old. This death mostly occur to babies in their crib, and so have gotten the name the ‘‘crib death’’.
This death syndrome seems to be related to a deficiency that arises in a portion of a baby’s brain. This portion of the brain is charged with the responsibility of controlling your baby’s breathing and the stimulation of sleep.
It is believed by researchers that physical and environmental inducements are likely causes of sudden infant death syndrome in babies. The physical inducement are believed to be related but not exclusively related to minimal birth weight, infection to the respiratory organ and or deficiency to the brain.
The environment inducement is the area this segment of the article deals with. It ranges from babies sharing their bed space with others maybe other siblings or parents, babies lying face down on a soft mattress, overheating of the room due to the weather condition prevalent in the place or the room heater being switched on, to the baby lying down on his or her stomach or side.
Swaddling can be defined as the close covering of your baby most times with a delicate cloth that exposes the head of the infant for seamless breathing. Swaddling, though an ancient practice has been gaining popularity across the globe most especially in the developing parts of the world.
Research shows that a swaddled baby has a reduced risk of death per year. Swaddling has been found to reduce completely the spinning over of babies. When your baby spins, the risk of SIDS increases because, they naturally at that stage spin to their stomach.
Your baby needs a sound and quiet sleep but such can be prevented if he or she spontaneously wakes up and cries as a result of experienced discomfort. This excessive crying as witnessed by babies that are less than seven weeks can be reduced when they are swaddled up.
Reports also reveal that babies who are swaddled, and do sleep in supine showcases superior heart rate reactions than those babies that are not swaddled, and this exposes them to sudden infant death syndrome. Swaddling helps to make your baby sleep comfortably on his back as the temptation to sleep on his or stomach is eliminated, and thus is SIDS.
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Signs Your Baby Hates Being Swaddled
If your baby starts doing the following, then it is an obvious sign that he or she hates being swaddled, and the need for a change is at hand.
1. If your baby constantly breaks free of the swaddle even though you wrapped him or her so nicely, then you should know that it is time to stop swaddling.
2. If your baby’s mood suddenly changes whenever you swaddle him or her. The cry becomes longer and louder just in a bid to communicate with you his or her desire to stay free from being swaddled, but feels happy and in a playful mood whenever not swaddled, then it’s a pointer to the fact that he or she doesn’t appreciate being swaddled any more.
3. If your baby starts waking up frequently and has this cranky sensation when awake or unable to fall back to sleep then it is a major sign that they are no longer interested to be swaddled up. Your baby is now so unnerved. You can attempt putting a stop to him or her being swaddled. Your baby may immediately feel at ease and slide to sleep. If this doesn’t work, then you can consult your doctor.
What to Do If Your Baby Hates Swaddling
There are certain reasons your baby may hate swaddling, and most of the time, it is because you have not swaddled them properly as you should do. This gets them uncomfortable, and will make them react in a way that suggests he hates swaddling.
In this section, we covered how to swaddle your baby correctly, it shows you tips and methods to apply during your baby swaddling and also what to do if your baby hates swaddling.
Tighten the Swaddle
The essence of swaddling a baby is to keep him warm and comfortable. So, if the swaddle is loose, this could make the baby cry because it gives them some level of discomfort. So ensure you tighten the swaddling blanket while it loose around the baby’s knees and hips.
Swaddle With Straight Arm If Baby Keeps fighting the Swaddle
Wrapping a baby with arms bent could make the baby cry. This is because, according to experts, infants usually have their hands high up so they always make use of it and suck their fingers. But with bent arms, the baby’s hand can wiggle out which will give the baby discomfort while unraveling the Swaddling wrap. This gives chance to the baby fighting the swaddle, and it makes him cry.
Avoid the Swaddle Touching the Baby’s Cheeks
This is one thing you should always ensure you do, and that is, keeping the Swaddle blanket off the baby’s face and cheek. This is because the swaddling material could make the baby think they are about to be given breast, and when the breast is not forthcoming since they could not find the nipple, it tends to make them cry. Once this happens, your baby will break out and fight the swaddle.
Ensure You Use the Right Size Swaddling Blanket
When you want to swaddle your baby, make sure you are using the right swaddling blanket of the right size. It is advised to use a blanket that is big enough to wrap round your baby’s body. Avoid using small swaddling blanket as this can loosen easily, and get your baby uncomfortable and this will make it seem like your baby hates swaddling.
Conclusion: What to Do If Your Baby Hates Swaddling
Swaddling your baby gives them a level of comfort and keeps them warm. This is one major advantage and benefit of swaddling your baby. But this could in turn give a baby discomfort if the swaddling is not done correctly. It could make the baby act like he dislikes or hates swaddling. This is why you have to make sure you swaddle your baby properly following the techniques explained in this article. It will guide with everything you need to know on how to swaddle your baby and what to do if your baby hates swaddling.
