Burrito Baby

Well, this has been a new experience for me. I have never had a TRUE burrito baby before! Lewis and Conner enjoyed the "swaddle" for the first couple weeks of life if I recall correctly, but after that, I never really thought about it much. Brayden has been a whole different story! He definitely knows how to fuss a little and we realized from the get go, that we needed to do something to help the little guy out! I read the book, "The Happiest Baby on the Block", by Harvey Karp, because I remember watching him on Oprah a few years back. I thought to myself, "I am going to buy that book the next time I have a baby." And I am so glad I did! It ended up having the "secret" to Brayden's happiness. The author talks about swaddling and why it is so comforting and beneficial for babies ages 0-3 months old. We noticed a difference right away. When Brayden isn't completely bundled like a little burrito, he is "Mr. Fussy Gussy." He immediately pipes down as soon as we swaddle him and just seems so much more comfortable that way. We have had some issues with this funny little fetish of his. HE is EXTREMELY strong, has been since before birth actually (he moved and flipped so much he tied three strong knots in his umbilical cord)! His arms kept coming out of the swaddle and he kept scratching himself or hitting himself in the face and waking up from his naps. No matter how tight or precise we would wrap him, he would break free and he never was happy about it (like you would assume he would be!)! The fact is, he loves to be wrapped up tight! So, one night out of desperation, I found a terry cloth headband in a drawer and it held the swaddle together perfectly! Now, we use the headband every night and before his long naps. I also found some commercial swaddling blankets with built in Velcro straps, but he is growing SOOOOOOOO fast, he has already outgrown them! My favorite was the brown one with the feet sewn into it so he could be strapped into his car seat appropriately. I am sad that he is too big for that one now. I might have to break out the sewing machine and make a few of my own! I keep trying to "ween" him from this swaddling business, but he doesn't seem quite ready to let it go altogether. He is getting longer stretches of time between needing to be swaddled, so I am sure he will not go off to kindergarten swaddled up, but it has crossed my mind! He really does LOVE being my burrito baby!