Sewing: Newborn Swaddlers

I came across this beautiful and clear instructions to make newborn swaddlers early this year and had made a few before my baby arrived in March.

I made three, of varying sizes, to get me through the first 3-4 weeks after birth when babies benefit from swaddling and are easier to handle.

With my first baby Ana, we tried making the Baby Burrito with receiving blankets, like the nurse showed at the hospital before sending us home, but, it never was tight enough and kept unraveling, threatening to drop the baby stuffed inside.

So, I was looking for a good way to swaddle and keep this new one compact and snug. And, the instructions in the link above was just perfect. I can't thank them enough for sharing it, free!

Of course, the first 6 to 8 weeks after delivery is a blur for me as I was suffering from back-to-back infections and the wee one was suffering from Reflux, fussing and throwing up a lot. So, photographing him, swaddled or not, was the last thing on my mind. But, Enid Paapaa, Ana's favorite Cabbage Patch doll/friend, agreed to model for me now so I can demonstrate how easy and how wonderful this design for swaddler is.

The features I liked in this design are: the little pocket inside, so I know baby cannot fall off the bottom easily; the velcro™ fasteners sewed perpendicular to each other where they overlap so that it can be adjusted to baby's size easily; the double layer of flannel which keeps them toasty warm and breathable.

I changed the size of the oval a bit as I sort of knew I was expecting a fairly big baby, and decided to make a couple slightly bigger than each other so I can use it as the baby grows during the first 3-4 weeks.

With Ana, she didn't like her arms tucked in when swaddling; she would wriggle and writhe and try to pull them out and rest them over her head. Oggie, my wee one, was the same way - he didn't mind being swaddled tight with arms tucked inside for about the first 2 weeks, and then wanted to get his arms out and over his head while sleeping.

These swaddlers I made turned out very useful, but, around 4 weeks he outgrew the largest one I had made, and, by then, he seemed to prefer being bundled in fleece blanket which gave him more wiggle-room.