Swaddling

Growing Up

Veteran infant teachers recommend swaddling as the one of the most
effective strategies for calming an awake and fussy baby, according to
Cindy Jurie, a codirector of the Partners in Care program at
Erikson Institute, a graduate school of child development in
Chicago. While there is no magic cure for fussiness and no
strategy works all the time, says Jurie, this one's worth trying.

Here's how to swaddle:

Spread a baby blanket on the floor or a bed with one corner
pointing up (in a diamond shape). Then fold the top corner down a
bit.
Lay your baby on the blanket face up, his head and neck just clearing the top fold.
Fold the left side (your left) of the blanket across your
baby's body, holding his right arm straight at his side as you
bring the blanket over it and across his body. Then tuck that
corner smoothly under his back.
Repeat step 3 with the right side of the blanket,
over your baby's left arm. Tuck that side behind your baby and
also some of it into the rest of the blanket. Be sure your baby's
head clears the blanket.
Bring the bottom corner of the blanket up and tuck it into
the other folds of the blanket. Notice that your baby's legs can
still move, but his arms are held still. If this doesn't seem to
hold, try folding in one side, then the bottom, then the other
side of the blanket.