How to wean a baby from swaddling? Why swaddle a baby?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Children are, of course, the flowers of life. Parents from early childhood take care of their kids and try to give them only the best, despite the fact that sometimes it is almost impossible. So, in the life of every young mother and father there comes a moment when they realize that it is time to start weaning their baby from diapers. But how to wean a child from swaddling and should it be done? Children's doctors unanimously say that it is possible and even necessary to swaddle as much as the child himself needs, he sleeps calmly in diapers - let him sleep.

Swaddling tradition in Russia

Few people have ever thought about where this strange tradition came from - wrapping children in cloth. It turns out that in Russia from the most ancient times it was customary to wrap newborns in swaddling clothes, as our ancestors called long strips.handmade fabric. They were decorated with multi-colored (usually red) patterns in the form of flowers, curls or crosses. They did this because there were no children's clothes for newborns, and it was possible to improve the child's sleep only by “tying” him in this way.

There was even a special tradition of swaddling: first, the baby was wrapped in cloth, and a layer of swaddling was put on top. By the way, it could be passed down from generation to generation, as it was believed that the thing accumulates strength and positive energy for the further development of the child.

However, now all types of swaddling are considered wrong and infringing on the personality of the little man. New parents are taught that diapers are a relic of the past, fetters that prevent babies from moving normally and getting used to their environment.

Types of swaddling

Before you start weaning your child from such restrictions in movement, it is worthwhile to figure out why swaddle a child and what types of swaddling exist.

There are two of them: tight and loose. The first method is used in the initial weeks of a baby's life in order to allegedly reduce the psychological trauma of the baby after birth. It occurs with the help of two diapers with straightening of the legs and arms. In this position, the child is not free to move, the first and most energetic and sharp movements of the arms and legs slow down, as does development itself.

It is also worth thinking about breathing, if you teach it this way, the baby will simply start to choke, he will literally not learn to breathe normally. Besides, he willforced to constantly be in an unnatural position, limiting the impulses to pull the handle or raise the leg and even nullify them. Tight swaddling can cause incurable bone or muscle problems. Sometimes diagnoses made to a child immediately after birth are exacerbated by such swaddling. In this situation, you need to think about how to wean a child from swaddling.

The free way is much more useful, because the child has the opportunity to somehow move and breathe normally. A loosely swaddled baby can lie down as he likes, he also feels warm, but at the same time does not sweat, as the diaper lets air through. A good step from this type to sleep without a diaper is a sleeping bag. In it, the child will feel even freer, learn not to be afraid of his constantly twitching hands and objects that they touch. Having overcome the test of a baby bag, you can wear baby rompers and a vest for the night.

Why swaddle?

Newborns still do not know how to control their bodies, their own arms and legs scare them, as if they were some kind of foreign bodies. But it is impossible to avoid sharp twitches, such are the features of the development and process of getting used to babies. By the way, such movements have a scientific term, they are called throw-ups. It is easy to calm a child if he is suddenly afraid of his own body: you just need to hold him close to you or touch him, so he will feel the presence of something warm and cozy.

Why swaddle a baby? Nowwrapping the baby in fabric is due to the desire to direct him to proper development. Because in order for him to develop feelings, it is worth placing him in conditions where exactly these feelings are needed. In the case of swaddling, it is touch. The baby needs to constantly touch something, whether it be the hands of parents, a toy or a diaper.

What happens if you don't swaddle?

Why start swaddling when you can not? Many young parents immediately use baby rompers and other clothes so as not to torment themselves and the child with diapers. They act in terms of benefit for the baby, but everything should be within reason. It has been observed that children who have been taught to sleep without any constraint from an early age grow restless and irritable. Their sleep becomes intermittent and overly sensitive, they wake themselves up with their restless hands and start crying, giving parents a lot of trouble.

When to stop swaddling?

Still, children's doctors believe that it is necessary to swaddle, and you need to finish when the baby “asks” about it, for example, he will cry at night, will try to get out of the “cocoon” or roll over. All these signs signal that the baby is growing and is ready for the fact that he will have his own baby clothes for newborns, in which he will sleep.

Of course, it is impossible to name the exact age of parting with a diaper, and weaning can last from 10 days to six months. Youngby about three months, parents begin to think about how many months to swaddle a child. But in the end, the baby himself will understand that it is much more convenient to sleep freely than in this hated diaper.

How to wean a baby from diapers?

The moment when the child begins to sleep normally without swaddling, all parents are looking forward to, because they think that with such changes a sound sleep will come without constant awakening of all the inhabitants of the house. How to wean a child from swaddling if you feel that the time has come? It must be remembered that in no case should you put him with you too often, because it will be too difficult to wean him from sleeping with his parents.

The first step. Wean from tight swaddling and move on to loose swaddling, and then to a sleeping bag and baby clothes.

Second step. Do not swaddle during the day (after three months), let the child get used to the hands. At night, swaddling is getting weaker and weaker.

Third step. Before falling asleep, rock the baby in your arms, and then transfer to the crib.

The fourth step. When the time of diapering in the life of a child has passed, you should not immediately put him in clothes, let him sleep under a blanket.

Helpful advice

The only thing parents should know about how to wean a child from swaddling is that everything needs to be done gradually. Yes, the baby will get used to sleeping without touching the fabric, but even this will be a shock for him, which also needs to be experienced somehow.

Moms and dads should wishonly diligence, sound sleep and patience in such a difficult task as weaning from diapers.