How to swaddle a newborn...

I've got two kids, and I tried swaddling for both. The older loved it, he calmed down as soon as he was put on the blanket. He was a bit colicky, and the swaddle calmed him right down. We kept him swaddled for the first three months (with frequent diaper changes!), and then he got active and didn't need it anymore. The younger was ok with it for the first week, and and then flat-out refused to cooperate, so we stopped and she was happy. I'm glad to say that they're both doing fine.

As for the baby in the video, it's obviously older than three months and used to being unconfined. Of course it wouldn't be happy with the whole proceedings. Also, the blanket used was far too small for a good wrap, and the technique was sketchy.

I'd recommend for any new parents to try swaddling - if you have a fussy baby, it can be a life-saver! Just use common sense, pay attention to your child, and remember that every child is unique! Happy parenting!

My husband was big on swaddling when our babies were small newborns and it seemed to work pretty good. I wasn't too good at the whole wrapping thing and was always afraid I'd make it too tight.

Nicholas, that's creepy about Medieval times and swaddling. Gosh, wouldn't those babies have cried all the time if their butts were raw? And they didn't bathe a whole lot either from what I recall. Soaking in water is the best thing for diaper rashes I've found.

I learned with my boys that spanking worked depending on the situation. When they were young, we used it sparingly, and it was effective. We never smacked faces, and only a few times smacked hands that were engaged in very dangerous situations (touching a hot stove, trying to soemthing in an outlet, that sort of thing). Usually, we swatted their well-padded bottoms (above clothes) a few times a month.

As the boys grew, we found success in putting their toys and other fun activities in time out. For instance, if someone misbehaved, their toy(s) would be put in time out for a certain amount of time or until their were ransomed by the child's good behavior.

In other words, "If you fight over the nintendo, it goes in time out for the rest of the day." This works because its not the child himself, but his beloved item that is in time out. Best if all, the item doesn't cry in the corner, begging to get out of time out.

As for blanket swaddling, I did it, and my kids were comforted by it. However, I didn't do it as often with my young son, as he was often "swaddled" and nursing in the baby sling, allowing me to have free hands with his brother.

Both boys are nice young men, well-balanced and a joy to us and others around them.

Wow, arguments break out easily here. My two bits re: spanking... If done judiciously, with clear understanding on the part of the child that he or she knowingly broke a rule and that this is the punishment, it hardly constitutes abuse. When children know that Mom & Dad mean business, they are more likely to listen and obey. Balance this with opportunities for fun outings and treats (which can be witheld by the parents as non-corporeal punishment if necessary), and a healthy parent-child relationship ensues, with the children causing a minimum of grief. The kids, knowing that they might lose their trip to the mall on Thursday if they misbehave, will have a vested interest (albeit rooted in hedonism) in pleasing their parents.

And now on to swaddling. In Medieval and Renaissance England, so I've learned, babies were often swaddled and kept wrapped up all week long! Each Sunday the wrap would be changed. This of course resulted in horrible diaper rash that probably left lasting scars. I imagine that the occasional bare-butt one sees in period movies probably looks much smoother than the real thing (Same goes for those straight teeth).

#13:

How's this?

http://faculty.biola.edu/paulp/spare_the_rod.htm

Argument #10: Spanking leads a parent to use harmful forms of corporal punishment which lead to physical child abuse.

Counterpoint: The abuse potential when loving parents use appropriate disciplinary spanking is very low. Since parents have a natural affection for their children, they are more prone to underutilize spanking than to overutilize it. Both empirical data and professional opinion oppose the concept of a causal relationship between spanking and child abuse.

Surveys indicate that 70 to 90 percent of parents of preschoolers use spanking,[22] yet the incidence of physical child abuse in America is only about 5 percent. Statistically, the two practices are far apart. Furthermore, over the past decade reports of child abuse have steadily risen while approval for parental spanking has steadily declined.[23]

More than 70 percent of primary care pediatricians reject the idea that spanking sets the stage for parents to engage in forms of physical abuse.[24]