May
25
Cinematography By Gillian O’Malley Nursing Tank.
As the Gypsy Swaddle seems to be working again, more or less, I thought I would share it with you, in case there are any other poor saps glowing new mothers dealing with sleep-averse babies.
A few notes:
1. This swaddle is best performed with a large, stretchy square blanket. I find the thermal/waffle knit sort work well.
2. The video was filmed entirely via Cleavage Cam, meaning I merely turned on the camera and tucked it into my bra top. Motherhood necessitates invention, as they say.
3. I think the tambourine is underutilized in today’s music, don’t you agree?
74 Comments
Cute baby! Love the chubby cheeks.
I learned that swaddle in the birth prep class. We were told it works wonders. Of course, my son hated to have blankets anywhere near him and was born in California in June… so not too useful.
Ha, I thought for sure we were gonna hear “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves,” but kudos on the soundtrack. Also, good technique. I’ll try and remember that if I ever have another.
So adorable. If the swaddle stops working try using a non-stretchy blanket. It can give a tighter swaddle with less give that can sometimes be the trick.
Love her little smile at the end. Those waffly stretchy blankets are the best!
What a cute, sedate little girl! Thanks for sharing the swaddle technique–it was good to see where I had gone wrong with A. :)
I love it. Absolutely the best tutorial on swaddling that I’ve seen (and I just got out of the Maternity section in nursing school!). :)
Oh my goodness, those ruffles on her bottom are just adorable.
How cute is she??
I never thought about folding it over their arms like that. Huh.
I love that she yawns and then smiles when she’s all wrapped up.
Don’t let anyone try to convince you to wean off her the swaddle. Some babies just need it longer. I thought we’d send my kid off to college with instructions for his roommate to tuck his blanket under his butt.
What a great video… love that smile at the end. And, like a previous commenter, I have never thought to tuck their little arms into the fold. Genius!
fantastic! And EJW is right - keep her swaddled for as long as you think she needs it! Ours were swaddled until 6 months. You’ll need bigger blankets at some point - look for ones that are 40×40. I really like the muslin ones by Aden + Anais - they are really big and a little stretchy. Also at some point she will figure out how to get her arms out of that tuck, so you might try putting her arms down to her sides. and don’t be afraid to cinch that swaddle down really tight - you basically can’t get it too tight.
Oh - and - so cute!!
The little ruffle butt? Makes my ovaries ache.
That’s amazing: Baby? check. Gypsy Swaddle? check. Camera-wielding boobs? check.
That was great! I never would have thought to tuck the arms like that! Good to know. And the ruffle butt? So.freaking.cute. :)
I had to show my hubby this video (he was the swaddle-master in our house). He was impressed with the swaddle. He does film work sometimes and asked about the “perspective”, so I told him “she flimed it with the camera in her shirt between her boobs!”. I think this was more impressive, as he said “talented, isn’t she”. :) Thought you’d get a good chuckle!
Ah, I never tucked the first arm in that way. And therein lies all my first 3 months of sleep deprivation. Damn. Maybe with the third child. Except that there won’t be a third. Unless I have a lobotomy between now and the age of 45.
Thanks!
The ruffle butt has me wanting to jump my husband so that we can have another. That’s the only drawback to having a boy. No ruffly butts.
Cleavage Cam is brilliant. Baby is even more brilliant, you can tell by the satisfied look in her eyes when she is swaddled. And completely perfectly adorable.
I am the hugest fan of the ruffled behind :)
I don’t know which I love more, the soundtrack or the ruffle butt. It’s a tie between hilarity and insanity-inducing cuteness. Cleavage Cam comes in a close second for sheer American can-do-itness (which is now a word).
And yes, yes I do agree. The tambourine is terribly, and unnaturally, neglected in today’s music - just as breastfeeding was in newborn child care 30 years ago. Thank goodness we’re working to change both these trends. (Or something.)
She has ruffles! On her butt!
That is the best swaddle I’ve seen yet.
Four babies, all swaddled, and it never occured to me to tuck their arms in like that! Brilliant.
Now, I’m off to buy a ruffled diaper cover for my 8 month old. She may be too big to swaddle, but a cute ruffle-butt is totally doable.
Wow, I understand that, and I never figured out what the nurses did, despite being shown. That and a day under the lights screwed her for swaddling forever. (ok, fine, it was our lameness despite stealing blankets from the hospital)
Best part is a tie between RUFFLE BUTT!!! (sucker) and the boob cam. Second best use for boobs ever. (first is of course making the little thing grow)
That was so awesome!
Perfectly timed satisfied yawn at the end. Really.
HA! Hilarious! I love the camera placement. Too funny…
They taught us to swaddle almost exactly like that in the hospital, but without that extra little arm wrap thingie you do there. Brilliant! Mine would always work one arm out, and that would trap them really well.
I want to run right out and have another baby so I can give it a try!
Babies are so weird. Can you imagine if giant creatures wrapped you up like that to sleep? It would freak me right out. I have to have a temperature regulating foot out at all times.
Amy @ http://prettybabies.blogspot.com
Brilliant boob cam work. And excellent swaddle.
Oh my gosh! How cute is that!! The smile at the end was classic! What a cutie pie!! I have to agree with everyone else that the swaddle was a good one! The nurses in the hospital never said anything about that arm tuck thing, so my daughter always wriggled her arms out! I even went to the extremes of buying this goofy thing from walmart. It basically looked like a sleeveless zip up sleeping bag! It was so silly looking! Well, I’m glad she is sleeping again!
I like the folding the arms in thing–that’s genius!
My disappointed husband says a Cleavage Cam should point *toward* the cleavage. Nonetheless, he watched the video twice in hopes of learning the magic Gypsy Swaddle to use on our soon-expected offspring.
Glad it’s working for you again!
Love the ruffles..so glad that the swaddle is working again. It will get better though I wish they had shown us that swaddle with ours.
She is such a cutie and growing well too.
Just thought I’d say that despite some of your misgivings at the beginning of your journey, you handle that swaddling stuff like a pro!! Keep up the good work!
I was wondering about this gypsy magic! THank you. A+ on filming creativity
Oooooh, it’s like a miracle blanket without the flaps AND without the price tag. WOW!
Cute, cute baby.
Seriously, the best video I have seen in years. Brought hubs in to watch and he says it’s almost better than Transformers and Indiana Jones’ put together.
Seriously the best video out there.
So happy things are going well for you and Simone.
Your boobs should win an Oscar for cinematography.
Hey! That’s the swaddle I was trying to tell you about when I posted before - the ‘Russian Babushka’ one! :-D Great job! Love the boob camera idea. You’re so inventive! Great job!
We bought one of those swaddling blankets from babies are us. You know, the ones with all sorts of pockets and VELCRO? Yeah, None of that mattered to our little Houdini. She could get out of it in three seconds flat. Too bad I didn’t see this when she was younger! She’s nine months now!
Classic.
I won’t be swaddling another — two was it for us — but I’d watch that video a hundred times for the pure Simone cuteness in it!
The ruffly butt is pure magic. I’m also enchanted with the happy Simone right at the end. {melt}
That was awesome, all around.
I had a kicker. Even the nurses in the hospital who swaddled tight enough to contain radioactivity were amazed that Bella could kick her way out in minutes.
Wow, look at her yawning within seconds. Maybe if I had just videotaped everything . . .
good for you with the swaddle! i had a houdini who could get himself out of any blanket i wrapped. as for the sleeping thing, i didn’t read through all the other comments, but have you tried a little music and light in her room? i had a 29 week preemie and by the time he got home the sheer quiet and darkness was so foreign to him he wouldn’t sleep unless there was light and noise. just a suggestion. also, and don’t judge me here, but my son LOVED sleeping on his belly so they let him in the NICU (with all the monitors and such they assured me it was safe) and when we got home, he’d sleep no other way. anyway…do what works for you, and good luck!
I’d never heard of tucking the arms like that. Genius. I wish someone had shown us that trick last year! My kiddos are 15 months and long past swaddling, but hell I think I’m going to go try your technique on one of them just for fun!
Love the video! That’s awesome!
I will definitely keep this in mind for when my baby comes :)
Brilliant! Thanks so much for sharing this. It will come in handy when my baby arrives this September. As for Simone, what can I say? She is beyond adorable!
Ah, we called that The Nurse Swaddle.
After they outgrew that, we moved on to The Bulletproof Swaddle, which involves two blankets, the first of which is used to strap—er, lovingly snuggle their arms down at their sides before the second standard layer goes on.
I’m with everyone else who said swaddle the crap out of them until they’re in preschool, or something like that. I was with a group of parents, and one new parent said “But what do we do when they start getting out of the swaddles?” The experienced parents said “You swaddle them tighter. Der.”
The yawn and smile thing.. Simone is just making sure to keep all of us wrapped around her finger. That’s all that is. Sneaky little lass.
Love the boob cam. Probably not the type of boob cam that college guys would appreciate watching, but a good boob cam nonetheless.
Excellent swaddle, my dear. You have apparently discovered the trick of the century for all of us that never thought to do that ‘arm thing’. I feel rather silly now, seeing that I never once thought to do that once in the past 10 years of motherhood.
At least my swaddle didn’t suck too much.. I somehow contracted some of the NICU nurses’ swaddling ability with #1. Oh, and yes…. Yay to the ruffle butt pants. Love them. The thing that I haven’t loved with having girls that I thought I would? Tights. Thought I’d love the tights and I despise them.
Oh Good Lord….that is just way too cute! Wish I’d known that one 2 years ago when my son was a new born. He took against sleep from the start….Love the little yawn, she is a born actress!
Loved the Swaddle, didn’t have that when mine were little. But one thing I have learned is to not do the “Shh Baby’s Sleeping” bit. It is better to have some noise around. We always played Music of some sort.
Bless all three of you .
omg that looks so comfy. I think i want to be gypsy swaddeled too.
I am glad it is working for you again!! You are a pro at doing it now hey?
I really should have done that with my children. And I must say that I think you have a career in cinematography ahead of you. The Cleavage Cam has definite patent possibilities!
Ruffle Butt! Very clever to tuck the arms in like that.
No fair — nobody told me about tucking the hands in. As soon as my 18 y/o comes home from a debauched Memorial Day beach weekend, I’m trying it on him for the rest of the summer.
Seriously, though? That video was the funniest thing I’ve seen all day. Quick, get a patent on the tube-top-cam before someone beats you to it.
Awesome…thanks for the smiles!
Ooh, I love the tucking in the arms part, I haven’t seen that before… I am a total believer that ALL babies love the swaddle, even though some pretend to hate it.. I still swaddle Aoife when she’s really sleepy at 2, we still have our 2 best swaddle blankets in her bed (which barely wrap around her torso now… ) so yeah, keep it up, it works for a long while.
Ack! Now, I’m gonna have that song in my head for days! (love the model you used for the gypsy swaddle demonstration, she’s cute!)
You owe it to yourself to give a listen to Burhan Oscal and the Trakya All Stars. Now THAT’S gypsy music!
This may be the cutest video ever.
Swaddling was great for my babies, and a plain honest blanket worked best for us (the waffle weave, yes!). The fancier ones with velcro etc didn’t work nearly as well.
I had a post partum doula for the second one, and she had an absolutely magic touch for swaddling. It’s clearly a skill, because she was the only one who could easily swaddle and calm that second one.
So cute! And so glad it works. I thought tucking in the arms was pretty cool, too.
For the folks who think swaddling is only for babies: When my sister and I were babies (we’re twins) my mom was, understandably, quite stressed. One day my dad made her lie down on the bed and he swaddled her in the bedspread, just the way they’d been taught to swaddle us. At least it cheered her up!
Awesome how-to! The arm thing is genius!
Is almost 2 too old to swaddle? I wish I knew that technique three babies ago (the swaddle, not the cleavage cam although that is brilliant too.)
Simone already has you wrapped around her little finger. Her expression after the swaddle proves it. :)
I just love little ruffly butts! I so well remember. They have really cute little summer outfits with ruffles on butts for little girls. So adorable!
Thank you, thank you. Currently pregs with #3, and I KNEW I didn’t have the swaddling right with the first two. I dragged my hubs over to watch the video, poking him and saying “see? See?”
Brilliant. And it helps to have such a cute model.
I have been reading your blog now for a few months and finally just worked up the nerve to comment. (You were a favorite on one of my dearest friend’s blog.) You have kept my husband and I amused as we have cheered for you and your family. Simone is such a cutie! Have a fun time with your beautiful daughter home and try to keep sane as the sleep deprivation just gets worse. (It always gets better, though!) Enjoy your baby burrito now, (as we used to call our 3)because they grow out of baby so quickly. (Ours are 9, 6 and 2 going on 10) Thanks for letting us have a peek into your extrordinary life!
I wish I’d known that magic arm trick when my little one was still in the swaddle. Wow. I will have to pass that along to every mom of a newborn I meet.
Simone looks positively drunk with happiness. She’s so adorable!!!! And nice job on the cleavage cam!!
So I have 6 weeks (at most) until the lease on my uterus expires and belly tenant moves out… I have no doubt that I will be one of those “poor saps” who needed to see this infomercial - because I just know that I am not going to be able to get my baby to settle without some gypsy magic!
So nice to see a double chin on Simone - obviously those boobs of yours are good at multitasking!
Behold the POWER! I am alive today because of that very technique.
excellent video. my version would have been to a jaunty military tune while i pinned those wriggly arms at the baby’s side and yanked that blankie as tight as could be and then followed that with a layer of cotton miracle swaddler-deal with velcro. and they could still houdini out but man oh man we all loved the swaddle. in fact the most serious consideration i have ever given to suicide was after my trusty sleep consultant convinced me to stop swaddling my several weeks old baby. naturally she stopped napping. once i swaddled her again she napped again, saving all three of my kids from being orphaned.
dig your video. cant believe your due date just arrived. that my friend is some S. H. I. T.
by the way i’ve had three babies and i still wish i had done that whole “take a picture of them in the same place so you can see how they grew relative to the whatever.” well actually there was the boob but a teddy chair would’ve been cuter.
You know you’re having a rough night when your baby won’t stay in the swaddle and all you can think at 4am is “damn, I need to watch the video again” :)
Wow–I just found your blog and am engrossed with your saga and hyperventilating (me, not you). I’m so impressed with your positive and energetic tone through it all. Simone will surely grow to be a brave, strong girl under your wings.