Swaddle me this... Vol.3 : Turbo Swaddle

This is the third installment in my Swaddle series. I wasn't intending on writing any sort of series but it is a big part of Zoe's life and since looking for a larger and functional swaddle blanket was such a mission I came up with my own Turbo Swaddle!

I call it 'Turbo' because it is a combination of other swaddle blankets I've seen (one in particular that wasn't made for over 6kg babies at the time) using 2 muslin wraps so that it's cooler for summer and pretty much a DIY straight jacket for my Houdini baby. Swaddling is really hard in summer as day time naps are just so sticky and hot, I would give anything to put Zoe down in just a nappy and singlet and no layers but she refuses to sleep without her tight little wrap up.

I've been using a Snug & Tug wrap but its just too hot and she always gets her arms out no matter how tight I wind that thing up. The muslin is much cooler and it's heaps tighter BUT! Zoe is slowly breaking free of even this magical swaddle lately and waking in the night even more than usual. So I've decided to start weaning her out of it and am currently using the Wrap Me Up Swaddle to transition her and it is working a treat so far. Will let you know how that goes in another post soon.

I decided to draw up some diagrams to show anyone who is interested, how to do the Turbo Swaddle. Let me know how it goes if you give it a go!

What you'll need: 2 Muslin Wraps. 1 with the top corner folded down (a) and one folded into thirds or quarters (b) OR cut one muslin wrap in half and fold so there isn't so much material.

1. Place (b) on top of (a) as above, giving (b) about 5cm room from the top of (a). Place bubba on top with her neck at (a)'s fold.

2. Take one side of (b) and tuck underneath bubba's body firmly over her arm so that her body weight holds the end of (b) down. Repeat for the other arm. (You can do this loose if you would like your bubba to be able to get out of the swaddle eventually if she sleeps better that way).

3. Now just wrap the left corner of (a) over bubba much like a usual swaddle except tuck the corner around and under her arm.

4. Do the same for the right side of (a) and pull tight. I have deliberately left bubba's legs free to kick about as its cooler and doesn't really affect the turbo.

Now there are 2 problems that I have found with this swaddle:

1. Husbands can't do it very well so you may find that you can't share the 'putting down' job.

2. It's difficult to pick bubba up and dream feed or change while asleep and keep the wrap intact because once their body weight isn't keeping (b) down the wrap slowly slips apart.

Swaddle me this... Vol. 1

Swaddle me this... Vol.2