{"id":2476,"date":"2019-08-22T06:00:26","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/?p=2476"},"modified":"2024-04-25T03:02:09","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T10:02:09","slug":"swaddling-and-safe-infant-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/swaddling-and-safe-infant-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"Swaddling and Safe Infant Sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Swaddling can help calm a fussy baby. And after years of taking care of babies and raising 3 of my own, I\u2019m pretty good at getting just the right snug wrap! But done the wrong way, swaddling can be harmful. Let\u2019s take a look at why and how to do it right.<\/p>\n<p>Hospital nurses or your doctor can show you how to wrap a blanket around your baby \u2013 there\u2019s some tricks to getting it just right. It\u2019s important to leave plenty of room for your baby\u2019s legs to move and their hips and knees to flex. Why? Turns out swaddling those little legs too tightly can increase babies\u2019 risk of hip problems or dysplasia.<\/p>\n<p>Once you get the perfect baby burrito wrap technique, there are a few more things to do to help them sleep well and safely.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Only swaddle for the first 2 months. While swaddling can be great for a new baby \u2013 it mimics being snugly inside mom\u2019s womb \u2013 it\u2019s dangerous if used beyond 2 months.<\/li>\n<li>Always place you baby on their back to sleep. <strong>Sleeping face up decreases the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).<\/strong> Swaddling shouldn\u2019t be used when there\u2019s any chance your baby could roll over into the swaddling blanket \u2013 so be sure to stop swaddling by the time they\u2019re 2 months old.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure your baby doesn\u2019t get too warm when swaddled. Are they sweaty or flushed? Swaddling can increase the chance they\u2019ll overheat. In general, think about how warm or cold the bedroom is and judge what your baby needs based on how many layers you might need. They don\u2019t need to be extra bundled up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends that babies:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sleep in a bare boring crib or bassinet. Don\u2019t put bumpers, toys, stuffed animals or loose blankets in the crib.<\/li>\n<li>Not sleep with products like wedges and positioners \u2013 they\u2019ve not been shown to decrease the risk of SIDS.<\/li>\n<li>Not sleep in your bed. Infants are safer sleeping alone.<\/li>\n<li>Be offered a pacifier.<\/li>\n<li>Always be in a smoke-free environment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And one last word of advice about <a href=\"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/how-to-help-your-baby-sleep\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">baby sleep<\/a> \u2013 get some rest when they do! Really. That old saying about sleeping when they do is a good one. You\u2019ll be the best parent you can be if you do.<\/p>\n<p>Find more resources for parents<\/p>\n<p>American Academy of Pediatrics:<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthychildren.org\/English\/ages-stages\/baby\/sleep\/Pages\/A-Parents-Guide-to-Safe-Sleep.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Keep Your Sleeping Baby Safe: AAP Policy Explained<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Centers For Disease Control and Prevention:<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/sids\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sudden Infant Death Syndrome<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Swaddling can help calm a fussy baby. And after years of taking care of babies and raising 3 of my own, I\u2019m pretty good at getting just the right snug wrap! But done the wrong way, swaddling can be harmful. Let\u2019s take a look at why and how to do it right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[667,91],"tags":[348,355,436,437,668,347,435,441],"class_list":["post-2476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newborn-care","category-safety","tag-baby-sleep","tag-co-sleeping","tag-cosleeping","tag-cribs","tag-infant","tag-infant-sleep","tag-sids","tag-sudden-infant-death-syndrome","ages-baby"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1691579687:8"],"_edit_last":["11"],"slide_template":[""],"video_format_choose":["youtube"],"_custom_body_class":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"qode_animate-page-title":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-text":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-image":["no"],"qode_show-sidebar":["default"],"qode_hide-featured-image":["no"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["91"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_ages":["288"],"_thumbnail_id":["2484"],"wpfp_favorites":["385"],"qode_seo_title":["Swaddling and Safe Infant Sleep"],"qode_seo_keywords":["swaddling baby, baby, fussy baby, newborn sleep"],"qode_seo_description":["Tips for swaddling baby to keep safe during sleep "],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.760000000000002;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.379999999999995;}"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":["swaddling baby"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":["swaddling baby"],"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":["64"],"_yoast_indexnow_last_ping":["1714039329"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2476"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2485,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476\/revisions\/2485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}