Baby Swaddle

I’m not an advocate for stealing, but if there is one thing I’m happy we left with after the delivery of our son Shawn, it was two of those hospital issued Baby Swaddles. You’ve all seen them. I swear those “red and blue striped” cloths must be the universal strait jackets for infants.

Granted they were only able to contain the Monster for about three weeks, but until the end they were well worth it. Now, before Shawn Christopher was born, I thought I would never get the hang of swaddling him. We rented, the classic baby DVD The Quietest Baby on the Block (which I will review later). There was segment on swaddling and the wrapping process seemed so complicated. I tried swaddling teddy bears but clearly it is not considered good practice if you are gently swaddling a stuffed animal that is incapable of screaming in your face, kicking, swinging (did I mention screaming in your face). I asked the nurse in the hospital who was very helpful, but it wasn’t until we were home and Shawn started whaling at the top of his lungs in the middle of the night that my powers were unleashed. I swaddled Shawn so tight and neatly, my husband gave me an application for Chipotle.

Tips that Worked for Us:

• Shawn was Herculean, I mean he was a freakishly strong baby, one swaddle could not contain him—so we doubled-up.
• By time he was about two weeks, Shawn started going all Eric Banner on our asses, so we would leave his arms out of the swaddle as to not unleash the beast.