by Suzy Motter

Swaddling your baby is like creating a “burrito” with a receiving blanket. Your nurses will swaddle your baby while you’re in the hospital. Take the time to learn this technique before you go home! It could mean the difference between an all night crying jag to a restful night.

How Does Swaddling Help My Baby?
Baby’s are born with a startle reflex. It’s kind of like that jerking feeling you get when you’ve had that dream of falling down a well. His arms will fly out and will likely scare (or “startle”) him. If he’s sleeping, this reflex will wake him up. If he’s swaddled, the startle reflex won’t disturb him as his body won’t be able to jerk in the same way.

Swaddling can also offer warmth to your baby during his first few days of life. His internal thermostat isn’t working just yet so his body temperature can’t adjust itself. Even if it’s the middle of summer, chances are your baby may be cool, so swaddling will help him be comfortable.

Also, your baby has just spent 9 months fitting tightly in your womb. It is a snuggly sensation that he is used to, so swaddling will offer his that same comfort that he’s used to.

When Should I Swaddle My Baby?
On occasion your baby may seem to be “over-stimulated”, either by too many sights or sounds, or just be “over-tired”. If you can’t seem to settle baby down, swaddling will offer him the warmth and security to calm down quickly.

Once your baby reaches about 1 month old, only swaddle your baby when he is sleeping. While he’s awake he’ll be moving and working on his muscle development. When he outgrows the need to be swaddled, he’ll let you know by crying and kicking while he’s swaddled. BUT, keep the swaddling technique in the back of your mind. Even at three or four months old, it can come in handy to help calm him down.

About this Article:
Suzy Motter is a mom of 4 ranging in ages from 3 to 14. She offers advice and fun for parents at all stages at her website Suzy’s Kidz.com.

When your baby is born he will be given an APGAR score at both one minute and five minutes after birth. Many new parents don’t know what the APGAR is or what exactly it is for. They are just given a number by their doctor or midwife and are supposed to know what it means.

What It Means The APGAR score is a measurement of a newborn’s response to birth and life outside the womb. It was named for its creator, pediatrician Virginia Apgar (1909-1974), who introduced the system in 1952. Ratings are based on the following factors:

Appearance (color)
0 for blue or pale
1 for pink with blue extremities
2 for pink overall

Pulse (heartbeat)
0 for absent (no pulse)
1 for under 100 bpm
2 for over 100 bpm

Grimace (reflex)
0 for non-responsive
1 for grimace
2 for cough or sneeze

Activity (muscle tone)
0 for limp
1 for some reflex
2 for active movement

Respiration (breathing)
0 for absent
1 for slow, irregular
2 for good crying

As you can see, for each factor, there is a score of 0 (poorest), 1 or 2 (best) which may be given. The score is taken at one and five minutes (sometimes also 10 minutes) after birth, the total high score being 10 and the lowest score being 0. The American Academy of Pediatrics made a statement in 1996 regarding the use, and abuse, of the scoring system as anything other than a newborn assessment tool: “APGAR scores are useful in assessing the condition of the infant at birth. Their use in other settings, such as collection of a child’s Apgar score at entry to school, is inappropriate.”

With the actual dictionary definition of ‘The reflex response of an infant in which the limb and neck muscles contract when the infant is allowed to drop a short distance or is startled by a sudden noise or jolt’ one might wonder if the startle reflex is dangerous for their infant. The answer is no.

Infants are born with this primitive reflex, also called the moro reflex, that helps them adapt and adjust to situations. You will often see a newborn jump when laid on a bed, even softly, showing that their muscles and reflexes are working properly. More common is having your baby startle when you start the vacuum cleaner in the room they are in, however not wake up. This is a good sign that your babies hearing is working up to par.

There are several things that may set your babies startle reflex off. They include but are definitely not limited too:

• Running the vacuum
• A telephone ringing
• Being in car seat when it is places on the floor
• Being touched while asleep
• Other children screaming
• Loud crowds
• TV/Radio turning on/off

If you aren’t sure when your newborn is demonstrating the startle reflex, look for him to quickly extend his arms and legs, and lift his neck when asleep. This may or may not also be followed by a short cry, before he is quickly quiet and back to sleep.

Generally this reflex will be apparent at birth and will generally disappear by the time your newborn is 6 months old. It can often be seen in premature babies born after week 28, as one of their first infantile reflexes.

As always, if you are concerned about any movements your baby is making, go see your pediatrician. Likewise, if you are unsure that your baby has the startle reflex, as the pediatrician at your next visit.