The Happiest Baby on the Block and The Happiest Toddler on the Block 2-Book Bundle pdfdrive com

When Wendy and Brent swaddled Brandon, their two-
month-old increased his night sleeping from a four-hour
stretch to five to seven hours!
4. If a baby has never been swaddled, when is it too late to start?

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You can start wrapping your baby at any time during her first
three months. But be patient. You may have to practice a few
times before she gets used to it. Try swaddling when she’s
already sleepy and in her most receptive frame of mind.
5. When is a baby too old for swaddling?
The age for weaning off swaddling varies from baby to baby.
Many parents think they should stop after a few weeks or when
their baby resists wrapping. But that’s actually when bundling
becomes the most valuable.
To decide if your infant no longer needs to be wrapped, try
this: After she reaches two to three months of age, swaddle her
with one arm out. If she gets fussier, she’s telling you to
continue wrapping for a few more weeks. However, if she stays
happy without the swaddling, she doesn’t need it anymore.
With few exceptions, babies are ready to be weaned off
wrapping by three to four months of age, although some sleep
better wrapped—even up to one year of age. (For more on
using swaddling to prolong sleep, see
Chapter 15
.)
Twins Ari and Grace benefited from swaddling until they
were eight months old. Unwrapped they would wake every
three hours, but bundled they slept for a glorious ten hours.
6. How many hours a day should a baby be wrapped?
All babies need some time to stretch, be bathed, and get a
massage. But you’ll probably notice your baby is calmer if she’s
swaddled twelve to twenty hours a day to start with.
(Remember, as a fetus, she was snuggled twenty-four hours a
day.) After one to two months, you can reduce the wrap time
according to how calm she is without it.
7. How can I tell if I’m swaddling my baby too tightly?
In traditional cultures, parents swaddle their babies tightly
because loose wraps invariably pop back open. Although some

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Americans worry about snug swaddling, I’ve never heard of it
being done too tightly. On the other hand, I’ve worked with
hundreds of parents whose bundling failed because it was done
too loosely. That’s because no matter how snugly you do it
initially, your baby’s wiggling will loosen the blanket a little.
However, for your peace of mind, here’s an easy way for you
to make sure your wrapping is not too tight: Slide your hand
between the blanket and your baby’s chest. It should feel as
snug as sneaking your hand between your pregnant belly and
your pant’s elastic waistband—at the end of your ninth month.
8. How can I tell if my baby is overheated or overwrapped?
Hillary thought her new son, Rob, needed the room
temperature to be the same tropical 98.6°F he loved inside her
body! But, she was taking the idea of the fourth trimester a bit
too far. In 1994, doctors at UCLA tested babies to see if they
could get overheated by heavy bundling. They put thirty-six
babies (two to fourteen weeks old) in a room heated to about
74°F and wrapped them in terry coveralls, a cap, a receiving
blanket, and a thermal blanket. Unexpectedly, their study
showed the babies’ skin got warmer but their rectal
temperatures barely increased.
Preemies often need incubators to keep them toasty, but full-
term babies just need a little clothing, a blanket, and a 65–70°F
room. If the temperature in your home is warmer than that, just
skip some clothing and wrap your baby in only her diaper in a
light cotton blanket. (Parents living in warm climates often put
cornstarch powder on their babies’ skin to absorb sweat and
prevent rashes.)
It’s easy to check if your baby is overheated—feel her ears
and fingers. If they’re hot, red, and sweaty, she’s overwrapped.
However, if they’re only slightly warm and she’s not sweaty,
her temperature is probably perfect.
9. How can I tell when my baby needs to be swaddled and when she