Swaddle, swaddle, swaddle…baby’s best friend (and parent’s too)!
Subha
For 3 years, I have spent one out of three to one out of four nights awake taking care of patients in a hospital, often so sleep deprived I wanted to cry… Yet NOTHING prepared me for the sleep deprivation of being a new parent! There is no respite from this new phase of life! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE it, but it is definitely not easy.
Having seen several close friends’ children have miserable sleeping patterns, I became obsessed with how my baby would sleep…even before she was born! I started doing some research about sleep – talking to other moms, talking to physicians, reading books, watching DVDs…you name it (stay tuned for other posts on things I learned about sleeping). Perhaps the most prominent strategy I came across was “swaddling.” Now I know this may seem like an obvious concept for a lot of you, but trust me, there are some people who have never heard of it!
The idea is that you want to recreate the feeling of the womb for your newborn, who has just spent 9 months nestled very snuggly in the warmth of your (or your wife’s) belly. So, in preparation for Radha’s arrival, I watched videos, went to classes and read books on how to swaddle. By the time Radha came along, I was a swaddling pro! And I found that without a doubt, swaddling leads to better sleep. But alas, there is one main problem with this seemingly perfect plan:
No matter how hard you try, a little arm, or a little leg will somehow find a way to break free from the ever so perfect swaddle!
Solution: Swaddle me to, swaddle me fro, the Miracle Blanket is the way to go!
I tried many different types of swaddling blankets. All of them were basically either squares or rectangles. The basic idea is that you fold one corner down, put the baby in the middle with their neck at that fold. Bring one side over the baby, then bring the bottom up, and then the other side over (this is a little simplified…trust me, I was trying all of the most detailed swaddling tricks). The problem is, that depending on the size of your baby, and the stretchiness of the blanket, little babies’ legs and arms can wriggle their way through.
One of my friends finally suggested: the Miracle Blanket (www.miracleblanket.com). I hesitated to buy it, because it costs between $26-$29 a pop! I doubted it could be that good…. So, I borrowed one from a friend, and lo and behold, it WORKED! It is actually a little bit complicated to use (see this YouTube Video or website) but you get used to it very fast, and you will fall in love! As soon as I started using it, my daughter starting sleeping better. She, like all bab
ies, sometimes cried more while I was swaddling her, but once she was swaddled, she would calm down, and because her limbs wouldn’t break free, she would sleep for long stretches in the night! It was awesome. Before I knew it, I owned 3! Hope you find this helpful – I would love to hear your comments and stories!
SUMMARY: The Miracle Blanket
PROS: It works! Arms and legs do not come out and babies stay asleep longer. You can use it from when your baby is a newborn until you want to wean the swaddle. Some babies do get too big for it, but they are usually ready to wean by that point.
CONS: Pricey… but no different than the over-sized receiving blankets that you will have to get once your baby gets bigger than 7-8 pounds. And a little complicated to use at first, but don’t worry, you’ll catch on quickly!
PRICE/AVAILABILITY: The Miracle Blanket is available online at www.miracleblanket.com – you can get many different colors and styles. The price is usually about $26 (~$5 cheaper than in stores) but you have to pay for S&H. You can also find it at BuyBuy Baby, for $29.99. Definitely the way to go if you want it ASAP. You will have limited color options, but should at least be able to find green, pink and blue.
Hello, please pardon the intrusion. I’m Mike Gatten, inventor of Miracle Blanket. Your blog was brought to my attention because of your mention of the Miracle Blanket. I can’t thank you and others enough for helping us spread the word because people just don’t believe us when we tell them it might be “this easy.” That’s why word-of-mouth has been the biggest source of growth for us since day one.
To show our gratitude I’d like to send you a free Miracle Blanket. If you don’t need it for yourself you might give it as a gift or maybe a giveaway on your blog.
Please contact Susan in Marketing and let her know what color you would like.
Susan@MiracleBlanket.com or (214) 675.0539.
And again, thank you very much.
Mike
Thank you Mike! I am happy to spread the word since it worked so well for me and others I know. In fact, I usually give one as a gift to my friends whenever they have their first baby. Thanks again for your comments and your generous gift. Great invention!
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OH crud! i just typed a nice comment and as soon as i submitted it it come up blank! Please tell me it worked properly? I do not want to sumit it again if i do not have to! Either the blog bugged out or i am just stuipd
, the latter doesnt surprise me lol.
Very informative post. Thanks!
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Thank you for the information provided. The best content I’ve seen on babies.
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My daugher was born today ! Sandra Lewbowski came into our lives at 2:10 PM!I was worried at first about what to expect, but I read a few books that I found at this website to help educate myself about newborn babies. I highly reccomend it.
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Good read! You need to get some social bookmarking buttons on your posts so that we can share stuff like this with the click of a button.
That rss option on your blog here is magnificent, you should tell people about it in your next post. I haven’t noted it a first, now I’m using it each morning to check on any updates. I’m on a rattling slow dial-up connection in Kentucky and it’s quite daunting to sit there and wait for such a long time ’til the page loads… but hey, I just found your rss page and added it to the Google Reader and there you are… I’m always up-to-date! Well buddy, keep up the good work and make that rss button a little bigger so that other people can enjoy that as well
Amusing post, having a little difficulty accessing the RSS feed. I would quite like to subscribe to your blog. Will try again tomorrow, hopefully it is fixed by then – Otherwise send me an e-mail and I might be able to help. Thanks, the guys from Family Guide and Info
Perfect work!
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thx for this one m8
I am always searching online for articles that can help me. Thank you
I have been looking for a nice supplement to help me sleep too. Melatonin has bad side effects. I read about Calms Forte 4 Kids. That link goes to a review. You think its as good as they say?
Terrific post, this is very similar to a site that I have. Please check it out sometime and feel free to leave me a comenet on it and tell me what you think. I’m always looking for feedback.
Terrific site, where did you come up with the knowledge in this post? Im happy I found it though, ill be checking back soon to see what other articles you have.
Thank you for the sensible critique. Me and my neighbor were just preparing to do some research about this. We got a grab a book from our local library but I think I learned more from this post. I am very glad to see such great information being shared freely out there.
thanks so much for your comment!
I am an expectant mother and will have my child in 2.5 weeks
I live in Canada so it was hard for me to find it but I did it! I read up on swaddling and was convinced that it’s the way to go. I read about other swaddlers but they say buttons and velcro can scratch the baby and so forth so I was adamant on getting the Miracle Blanket! After going on different sites I finally found someone selling a Miracle Blanket and have been practicing on Ursus Martimus (My stuffed polar bear) every chance I get. Like they said practice makes perfect 
I’m very happy I could find it here and I got 2 so I might go a grab another if I need another one just in case!
I will keep you up to date when Anthony is born and tell you how my swaddling skills are!
TAKE CARE
Thanks so much for your comment Natasha! Please spread the word to your friends too and sign up for our newsletter – for great giveaways in the next few weeks!