They talked about swaddling when Susan and I took Foster Parent Training several years ago (no, we never did). This is especially helpful for drug babies.

The first thing I want to do with a swaddled baby is unwrap it. I want to see and touch the baby. Dylan was born in the summer so warmth wasn't an issue and he was pretty calm in general. The nurses would bring him all wrapped up and they would take him back (this was pre-rooming in days) completely deconstructed but Mom would be happy.

In the photos of my grandson at the hospital you can tell when Grandma's gotten to him because there's a foot poking out and the blanket looks like it was thrown up in the air (possibly along with the baby). I needed to see that baby (and also tickle him to wake him up).

If you wake him up, you get to hold him while he screams. Them's the rules.

Apparently swaddling is particularly effective in premies. While Theo wasn't really a premie, he was about as close as can be without being so, so it's been a blessing for us. If he's unwrapped and awake it's only a matter of time before he just stimulated himself into anger and frustration.

Wolfette was a premie, no question, 3 lbs when she came home.

I do remember one time wrapping her "burrito" style (along with many layers of clothes) when we went to Carmel at three months during winter to keep her warm, poor kid screamed forever, we were really scared and ready to take her to the Hospital. After a while we finally unwrapped her and stripped her down to her onesie, and she quit crying right away. We came to the conclusion we tried to cook her, and never did wrap her again like that.

Zach seemed to really like swaddling when he was born and he was far from a preemie. He was always able to wiggle out of mine though at some point.

I haven't looked at baby things in forever, I bet they have some cool stuff! He loved the toys he could manipulate himself to make noise and colors, like the archway they lay under( I'm sure it has a name though) and things like that when he was a little older than Theo. All I remember about newborns is being very tired, all the time. Thankfully it didn't last forever! I love when they start noticing the world around them, it's such a wonderous time!

Gary bought newborn Air Jordans that matched his for when Zach was born :confused:

Theo is definitely the opposite. The surest way to anger him is to take his clothes off. When he's being sleepy and I want him to have a full nursing session, I take his clothes off. Sometimes, I'm surprised by how fussy he's being and then I realize I never put his clothes back on. As soon as I finish zipping his cozier outfits he calms right down. (If it's warm, we'll put him in lightweight clothes and a lightweight swaddle cloth.)

He won't fall asleep well at all without the swaddle. The startle reaction is too strong. It'll be nice when he grows out of that, though it could be a while.

Swaddling is definitely a learned skill, and it can be hard to make yourself bundle the baby so tightly. After Theo pushed his way out of my swaddles and woke himself up in the middle of the night one too many times, I bit the bullet and got more aggressive in tightening the wrap. Nothing will motivate you more than having to wake up for a feeding session after an hour of sleep instead of the priceless TWO hours you crave so badly.

Love the new pics of Theo!

Add another huge fan of swaddling, heck Missy is almost 29 and when she isn't feeling well she 'self swaddles' in her assorted woobies...but it was a blessing from all above when she was small and dealing with so much medical stuff.

Two words: duct tape!

A friend of mine who works at the Studios is referring me for a Graphic Designer position! :D