Back when I was a first time mum to a newborn four years ago, I was a total swaddling novice. This was before that famous royal photo of Kate and Wills cuddling their swaddled new baby Prince George. Swaddling was a thing, but not a thing I was familiar with. I imagined tightly bandaged babies strapped up to boards Tudor times style. It all sounded a bit… medieval.
Fast-forward four years and I’m a new mum again. The benefit of experience has been a huge bonus with this baby. I remember what used to settle my first daughter at this age and have a few tricks up my sleeve ready for when my newest daughter gets antsy (so far *touch wood* she’s proving to be more chilled out than her older sister). I know now that swaddling can be a great way to make a newborn feel secure, as it mimics the cosy position they were held in the womb.
Swaddling is something we’ve done with my new baby girl since the get-go. Having read up on it I knew that if you swaddle a baby too tightly it can be bad for their hips (check out this really useful article by The International Hip Dysplasia Institute on how to safely swaddle a baby). I also knew not to cover my swaddled bub with a blanket, as it’s vital to avoid overheating a baby if you want to create a safe sleep environment.
With these factors in mind, we embraced our Cosycover from Babymoov with gusto.
The beauty of the Cosycover is that you don’t have to learn a complicated technique to folding a swaddling blanket. It’s incredibly quick – a definite bonus when you a) have a crying baby who needs to be soothed and b) have a four year old who is getting increasingly impatient at waiting for her bedtime story.
It’s literally a case of lying the baby on the cover and then fastening it with the velcro fasteners. During the first couple of weeks we put baby in with her arms swaddled and then, as she gradually started getting used to being in the world, we swaddled her so that her arms were free.
This addition to our stash of baby tricks has been an absolute winner in buying me a bit of extra sleep – especially in the first couple of weeks when my baby girl would regularly wake herself up with her “startle reflex”.
As far as I’m concerned, anything that buys a new mum a bit of extra shut-eye deserves a place in the baby products hall of fame. It’s a big thumbs up from us.
Have you tried swaddling? Any tips?
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Thanks to Babymoov for sending us this brilliant Cosycover to review.
I wish I’d had this for Toby!! I couldn’t swaddle him for love nor money because I kicked it off but then wasn’t comfortable so it was a nightmare. Baby girl is so cute Molly!xx
Ah thank you Hannah!
When Kitty arrived she fought out of swaddles so we stopped after a couple of tries, and Elma never seemed that bothered so it’s only with Pip that I’ve really got into swaddling; he looks so cute all wrapped up like a baby burrito!!
Loving the baby burrito analogy! From the sounds of it some babies love it and some hate it – interesting how they’re all so different!
Ah this looks great and what a fab review- love the time lapse! I swaddled Luka religiously as he was so unsettled and had terrible reflux so it really helped. Strangely none of my others have tolerated it at all. I so half swaddle though leaving arms free x x
It’s so interesting how all babies are so different isn’t it? I don’t know if F would have liked to be swaddled, although she did like to be wrapped up in her blanket and rocked (the only way we could ever get her to sleep as a baby!) so maybe swaddling would have helped.
Very interesting. Haven’t seen this before. I’ve only tried swaddling with a blanket so far. This looks very cosy! Might give it a go.