Ever since I had my first baby 8 years ago, I’ve been constantly told by the nurses that it’s advisable to swaddle/wrap the baby, to keep them cosy, warm and makes them sleep longer. Honestly, it only worked with my second child, who loved to be swaddled. The other two just seemed to be able to break free from whatever material I used to swaddle them in. Maybe they were not large enough to keep my baby in or maybe they just hated to be all wrapped up. Nonetheless, I know that it has worked for many others and we know that there are quite a few out there on the market.
I received this aden + anais muslin wrap to try out and give a review on. Of course, my kids are all to old to be all wrapped up, so I passed this on to my dear friend Meg, who has just had a baby around 4 weeks ago, baby Fraser. The wrap I received was the “Dino Roar Swaddle“. It came in a matching muslin pouch.The swaddle included a card with instructions on how to wrap your baby. Aden + anais came about when Raegan Moya-Jones the owner, found that most of the swaddles out there on the market were either too thick, small or just unattractive. The swaddle from aden + anais was designed to be versatile enough to be used as a stroller cover, nursing shield, tummy time blanket and even as a burping cloth. There is a huge array of designs suiting girls, boys and even unisex ones. She’s got a few ranges now – the Classic, the Cosy (2 layers of muslin), the Organic and the Bamboo collection. Prices start from $19.95 and they even come in packs of 2 or 4.
aden+anais Dino Roar Classic Muslin Swaddle RRP$19.95
Here is Meg’s review of the swaddle:
One very big square of material! Trying to wrap a 4 week old with all that muslin can be rather bulky. With the instruction they provided, Fraser was able to get his arms out after about 15 minutes of wriggling. Not great when he has no arm control yet. Wrapping him on a flat edge and tucking the bottom edge up and around him to make it all more secure was a lot better and he couldn’t escape. On the plus, the muslin is so soft and comfy you would LOVE to wrap yourself in it. It is big enough that it will wrap an older baby very easily. It kept Fraser warm enough that he didn’t need another layer on him. I could also use it as a sheet in our portable cot. On the whole, I love the size and flexibility of the 120cm x 120 cm square wrap even better that it can go in the clothes dryer, and the more you wash it, the softer it becomes!
So, if you’re after a gift for a Mum of a newborn, I guess this would make a great gift for both Mum and bub! Would you like to be in the chance to win a four pack of the Classic swaddle worth $45.00? The winner also gets to choose the prints available from their site. Simply leave a comment stating the method you have tried or heard of to help your baby sleep. Competition closes on 26th January 2010 6pm AEDT.
This give away is now closed and thanks to radom.org, we’ve picked a winner. Comment number 13, Charlie, was chosen to win the Classic 4 pack swaddle! Congratulations Charlie! Someone will be in touch with you shortly.
Disclaimer: Meg received the complimentary swaddle from aden + anais to try out. All comments made are her own.
We are having our second baby tomorrow! Yes in less then 24 hours we will have a new princess in our clan. These wraps would be so perfect for us (and get well used) in the hot, humid and now rainy QLD.
With our first princess we had to wrap our bubba up so she was comfy but being a summer baby we had to have the air conditioning on so she wouldn’t over heat.
We used a similar technique to your photos. We had the wrapped folded in half and folded it over to the right and then putting the arm out on top of the piece just folded we folded the bottom up and then the right piece to the left and under bub.
Fingers crossed for these wraps as they would be so wonderful!
Kym, these wraps are fabulous! They are great for the warmer weather. I’m thinking of getting these for my friend over in Singapore who is expecting too!
play soothing music and keep bella bambini warm and wrapped snuggly,
full belly of milk and rub finger gently over forehead.
Warm bath and baby massage.
amazing sooth music
my prem great nephew Cooper was certainly love the comfort and security of such a beautiful swaddle
What gorgeous wraps! There’s something in the water at the moment with many of my friends and family either expecting or just having given birth to a new bub so these would make a wonderful pressie!
Tips I’ve heard for getting baby to sleep (disclaimer: I’m not a mum (yet) so haven’t tried these first hand)! Keep a consistent bedtime / give baby a warm bath and soothing massage just before bed / play soft, rhythmnic music and dim the lights / swaddle baby so they feel nice and secure! But I guess in the end it just depends what works for you and your bub – there are no hard and fast rules!!
Dip the dummy in beer! Apparently Nanna did this to me when I was a baby & it knocked me right out!
We use the ‘feed, wake, sleep’ method and it works a treat! Instead of putting bubba down after her feed try to keep her awake for twenty minutes (or when she gets restless) then when you put her down she’ll be well and truly tired and ready for bed
Majority of the time wrapping them snuggly after a a soothing bath is all it takes. If you get desperate though, my method is called the clock. You hold your little one under their armpits and swing from side to side like a pendulum swing of a grandfather clock. I was sceptical at first but if you’ve endured hours of crying (both yours and bubs), its worth a try, it worked for me!!
With our first, the swaddle was what worked, and we had constant noise, whether it was vacuuming or music something going so he would sleep with other things happening in the house.
When he was a bit older and could get out! Then finding a larger wrap size was impossible. With number 2 due in 7 weeks, we will be using the wraps again, and now with the larger sizes, hopefully there will be no more escapees.
I rock him back and forth until my godson falls into a relaxing coma.
Putting the 2-year-old sibling in a soundproof room, until baby has fallen asleep!
I learn’t from my mother that one of the best ways to get my baby to sleep was to bathe and change him then rock him in his pram untill he drifted off. This always worked like a charm for me. Or maybe I was just lucky with such a good baby.
Hi Charlie,
Congratulations!! You’ve been picked at random, to win this fabulous Classic 4 pack muslin swaddle. Someone will be in touch with you shortly.
lavender bath soak, a wrap me up swaddle a quiet place and a bottle of milk.
With our own baby, we did a lot of the usual things to get a baby to sleep (go for a drive, go for a walk, soothing music, white noise, lavendar on their pillow, rocking them, warm bath, singing, cuddling, baby massage, ensuring they’re fully fed, ensuring they’re not too hot or cold etc etc.)
They were largely successful, but it was only when we started to follow a routine from a book did we get our 1st full night’s sleep at 6 weeks. There are lots around, but we chose Gina Ford as it was recommended by a friend, and haven’t looked back since! Brilliant.
The best tip I can think of is trying to make sure you’re calm yourself. That way the baby picks up on your sense of serenity and can drift off into a peaceful sleep!
guinnesspaws(at)gmail(dot)com
I’m expecting my second … and will definitely wrap my new princess as I did with my first one!
It really worked for us!!
Also… we found that all white noises such as hair dryers, vaccum cleaners can be really relaxing for the baby
I used to sing to my nephew and stroke from his forhead down his nose (then he would close his pretty little eyes). Soon I can do that for my new little nephew/niece.
I love Aden & Anais.
Sleep tips that have worked: routine, warm bath, white noise, patting, and of course swaddling.
Before becoming a parent I swore I would never go for a drive to get my baby to sleep, but, like most of my pre-child parenting ideals, I broke that rule very quickly. If it works, it works!
I have two friends who just had twin bubbas in the last month, I’d love to surprise them with these gorgeous wraps.
We have a (almost) seven week old and we find that a nappy change, a feed and then wrapping him up works a treat. As he loves to have his arms out (usually above his head!) we don’t worry about swaddling him too tightly – if the arms are in the swaddle when we do it then fine, but they come out pretty quickly. We just make sure that the wrap is tucked in quite tightly around his body.
I do agree with Erin’s comment about being calm. I think babies definitely pick up on the general household vibe. However, it may not be very easy to stay calm and exude serenity when you have a distressed baby and you are short on sleep!
I had twins so a rocking chair,a soothing voice half an hour and my boys were asleep
I have heard… A warm bath using lavender scented baby soap, resting the baby on your chest for aroung 10 minutes after the bath massaging them gently and trailing your fingers along the forehead nice and soflty, try not to do this till the baby is asslep otherwise the baby will not learn how to sleep on his/her own, put bub in bed playing very soft baby lulubys.
Going for walk with them in the stroller works for me…I think the bumps of the footpath put them to sleep!
cool music
I was having trouble getting my Daughter to sleep for ages as she was a clingy baby. Only weighing 4lb 14oz when she was born, I had to leave her at the hospital for a while where she was used to being held all the time. I was told to take my top I had been wearing all day and put it next to her cot so she could smell that I was close by. Suprisingly it actually worked and she started to sleep through the night.
My babies have both been swaddled from birth and loved it. A full belly and don’t make a fuss because that can lead to sleep problems later on.
Get them to focus on something behind you…and gently swing, they wont be able to focus and it makes them close their eyes!
the best tip i ever got was to do whatever your baby needed to get to sleep. if that means you feed them to sleep, put them in bed with you etc, do it. they’re little for such a short period of time you shouldn’t be worrying about how to put them to sleep, and just listen to your baby (and enjoy them)
Wrap the little one, lay them in their bassinet/cot or on your lap, then gently stroke their eyelids. It keeps their eyes closed and soothes them to sleep.
My fallback methods are a lavender lotion massage and the good old rocking chair – those two things are enough to put me to sleep and I’m glad that runs in the family
We used the book Silent Nights by Dr Brian Symon to get our baby to sleep and it worked. I recommend it to everyone, and buy it for new mums as gifts every time now.