How to Swaddle an Older Baby

Most new parents know that swaddling helps their newborn baby sleep better—and longer—because it prevents him from startling himself awake. And while some babies only need to be swaddled at bedtime for just a few weeks before they learn to settle themselves to sleep, other babies benefit from a nighttime swaddle for many months. Swaddling your older baby isn’t that different from swaddling a newborn, but there are a few tricks to getting it right.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Large square blanket made of stretchy fabric

1. Obtain a large blanket made of stretchy material such as jersey or cotton knit.

2. Fold down one corner and lay your baby down so his head rests above the fold.

3. Quickly place the baby’s left arm against his side then pull the left side of the blanket across your baby’s chest and tuck it snugly underneath the baby while pinning the right arm down against his right side. You must do this part quickly as older babies love to roll over and squirm.

4. Pull the right side across his chest so that the blanket has a v-shaped opening at the baby’s neck then snugly tuck it underneath the baby.

5. Leave the baby’s legs free—most older babies don’t need their legs swaddled, just their arms.

6. Check the swaddle for tightness and to ensure that baby’s arms aren’t wriggling up toward her face (re-swaddle the baby if this occurs). You’re baby should be tightly wrapped, but still comfortable enough to sleep.

Tips & Warnings

• One of the benefits of not swaddling an older baby’s legs is that you can change the baby’s diaper without removing the swaddle, thus increasing the likelihood that your baby will stay fairly sleepy while you change her diaper.
• Older babies can be very adept at wriggling free of their swaddles, so you may have to re-swaddle the baby after a nighttime feeding or diaper change. Some, however, only need to be swaddled once to help them fall asleep and then don’t need to be re-swaddled if they break free in the middle of the night.