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“I didn’t use Dr. Karp’s technique the first night.
Swaddling Alex tight didn’t feel natural. I was afraid she
would be uncomfortable or have difficulty breathing. And
I still believed the main issue was gas. That night Alex’s
‘pain’ seemed severe, and I decided I would follow Dr.
Karp’s advice in the morning.
“The next day I swaddled Alex from morning till night,
and surprisingly she seemed much more comfortable. At
bedtime, even before I had finished wrapping her, Alex
fell asleep—and she slept for seven hours. I could hear her
stomach rumbling and knew that she was still having gas,
but it was no longer waking her up.
“Tight bundling helped Alex become a much better
sleeper. By the time she was four months old she slept well
without needing any swaddling.”
Swaddling: The Cornerstone of Calming
As Betsy discovered with Alex, soothing an irritable infant is one
hundred times easier when her hands are snuggled straight at her sides.
Why does this work so well? Here are three ways swaddling benefits
fussy babies:
1. The Sweet Touch of Swaddling

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Skin is the body’s largest organ, and touch is the most
calming of our senses. Swaddling envelops your baby’s
body with a continuous soft caress.
Every mother knows how delicious the touch of her
baby’s soft skin feels against her own, but for your baby,
touch is more than a nice sensation—it’s as lifesaving as
milk! Babies given milk but never held or touched often
wither and die. Of course, swaddling isn’t as rich an
experience for your baby as being cuddled, but it’s a good
substitute for those times she is not in your arms.