Did Jesus Start This Way?
By raincoasterNow, this just can’t be right:
via BestWeekEver:
The Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe is a gigantic (to a baby) fleece blanket diaper that wraps around an infants arms and legs, rendering it into nothing more than battery-free glow worm.
The (organic) cotton Kiddomopotamus & Co SwaddleMe may look like a good idea on paper; who doesn’t get pleasantly pine-scented frissons of Christmas nostalgia at the idea of swaddling clothes? And yet…and yet…what must this poor child have done, to deserve to be cooped up in what is very obviously nothing more than a New Age version of a straight jacket?
By the way, I speak from some secondhand experience here, as my sister, when young, was admitted to hospital, I forget what for because, of course, it happened to her and not me so who cares, really? but so she was, admitted that is, and she became what is known in the medical profession as “agitated” and in my family as “having one of her fits you know.” And the very professional nurses very kindly offered her a special treat: the Bunny Jacket!
The Bunny Jacket was special! The sleeves were long, long, long like bunny ears, and they fastened all the way in the back! How fun!
Where was I?
Oh yes. Presuming you give birth to my sister’s psychic twin, you may find these twee restraining devices to be of some use on a regular basis. Otherwise, however, please keep in mind that Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes because his parents couldn’t afford sleeves.
January 10th, 2009 at 11:21 am
My 3 week old LOVES his swaddling blanket. I am convinced it looks cruel, but it puts him immediately to sleep.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Yes, many babies are extremely fond of their swaddling. For most, it is a sure fire way to calm them down, even if it does look constricting.
The Munchkin, however, hated it. My theory is that because he was a breech baby, the swaddling did not remind him of a womb at all.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
My daughter wouldn’t sleep without being swaddled for the first three months of her life. The swaddling cuts down on the “startle reflex” and helps newborns sleep better and longer. I agree, it looks weird, but it works!
January 10th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
I was determined never to swaddle my little man. I thought he must have been constricted and claustrophobic enough in my tummy. But he really loved it until he was three or four months old. Then he decided he wanted his arms free, but he wanted the rest of him swaddled tightly. I couldn’t understand it (being a somewhat claustrophobic kind of person myself), but there it was. He’s now a toddler and HATES being constricted in any way, so they do grow out of it.
On a funny side-note: the little man I’m carrying in my tummy now loves being in tight places. Every time I go in for a check-up, they ask me to jump around or roll over because he has wedged himself into some tight corner and they can’t get a good look at him.
January 10th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Sorry raincoaster, darling, you know I love you, but this is one of those times when an Auntie just doesn’t know… anyone who’s parented an infant knows that swaddling is often the best, and sometimes the ONLY, way to get them to sleep if they’re not being held.
I do have to say that I always thought it was a bit silly to purchase a specially designed swaddling apparatus when any old square blanket works just fine (and often the older the better, I have some that are pushing 30 that my mom used on me). But then someone gifted us with the Kiddopotamus and I discovered something wonderful: it has a slot for the carseat strap. Meaning you can lay it down inside the seat, pop in the kid, buckle securely and THEN swaddle. Awesome when you have a baby who wants to be swaddled at every opportunity!
January 10th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Do you know anything about anything? This blog has become the most judgemental, mainstream piece of parental shit I’ve read on the internet recently. If you’ve read any kind of human development text, including almost every mainstream parenting book out there, you would know that swaddling for babies is incredibly soothing.
Also, for your information, sometimes, in psychiatric care for older children and adults, other types of swaddling are used, such as weighted blankets, to provide the sensory simulation of being in the womb. It is soothing for people who are agitated and unable to control themselves in some situations.
Not being part of your sister’s care, I can’t say if that’s what they were doing for her or not, but you need to stop spewing your personal trauma onto other people’s scientifically supported parenting choices.
January 11th, 2009 at 12:36 am
I have to chime in in support of swaddling, too. (For babies, that is. Haven’t tried it on myself.) And the dealybob in the picture has velcro, which was handy for those of us who couldn’t manage the magic folding and tucking that the maternity ward nurses did. My own “baby burrito” attempts would typically end in rapid unravelling. And, as you might imagine, the use of duct tape was discouraged.
January 11th, 2009 at 2:56 am
anonymous, dear, if you think this is the most judgmental thing you’ve ever read online, you obviously haven’t read my other blogs. You can find them with the help of Google and a little elbow grease, I’m sure. Try this link to start with.
I’m glad to hear that for some babies it works wonders, but I maintain that for the ones for which I’ve cared it did nothing of the kind (except my sister, and god knows that’s as challenging an assignment as any the planet has ever faced). Nor do I think it a requirement to have a special garment purpose-built for, essentially, replicating the function of a blanket. Presumably, everyone with a baby already has one handy.
I have, on the other hand, swaddled cats at a vet clinic and I cannot (judging from the sounds they made) say they found it very soothing, although it did prevent one from losing a finger or nose while giving them their shots. So I cannot pretend it’s never been of use to me.
January 11th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Anon – for future reference, it is possible to disagree with someone on a specific issue and not make a personal attack. Just FYI.
January 11th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Fixed.
Besides, the funny part is that “anonymous”‘s little rant was really QUITE a bit more judgmental than your original post.
January 11th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Noo! My strikethrough worked in preview, but not when it was posted. Okay, everybody, just visualize a line striking out the words “haven’t read my other blogs” from my previous post.
Bah!
January 11th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Not to worry, all fixed thanks to editorial superpowers, and thanks for the backup you two. Actually, these comments have got me thinking…since it worked so well for cats, what about swaddling for teenagers? In Canada, we just use skidoo suits; can’t get up to much trouble in one of those. At least, not with a half-hour for getting out of the damn thing.
January 12th, 2009 at 2:59 am
Well, I question the courage of conviction when someone cannot even put their own name when being insulting.
Perhaps someone is having some too-tight swaddling flashbacks?
January 12th, 2009 at 3:09 am
That’s true (although Auntie Raincoaster counsels Colleague Glinda to say, perhaps, “their own pseudonym” what with this being the internet and all).
And hey, it’s not as if we can’t trace the IP anyway, right? 🙂
January 12th, 2009 at 4:00 am
Well that’s the thing, they could have been a bit more creative than “anonymous” and who would ever know the difference?
Yeah, I hear the Steelers are doing well this year.
Anonymous, you never happened to watch Blade Runner when you were 9, did you?
January 12th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Now raincoaster, really — what kind of Canadian are you that it took you that long to get out of the skidoo suit? I’m revoking your citizenship, lady. 😉
alejna’s mention of duct tape made me giggle, as it reminded me of a story my mom told me. Her male cousin was babysitting me, and this was during the time when Pampers had just recently come out on the market. So, it was time to change my diaper, and of course, the poor guy couldn’t find any diaper pins. He tried to fiddle with the sticky flaps, but wound up tearing them off by accident. So, in desperation, he looked in the drawers and found a roll of black electrical tape, which he wound around the diaper about 15 times.
Mom comes home, sees her child lying happily in the crib with three-quarters of a roll of electrical tape wrapped around her diaper, and her cousin beaming proudly, saying “I changed the baby!”
January 12th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
hahahaha! La Petite, that is the funniest thing ever! My mom says she used to have to duct tape our diapers on when we figured out how to tear them off. She says nothing else worked. I’ll have to remember to give the gift of duct tape at the next baby shower I go to!
January 13th, 2009 at 6:26 am
Well, where I came from it was so cold I zipped my boyfriend right into my skidoo suit when my parents weren’t looking! Also handy for camping: those two single sleeping bags that could zip together into a double!
I have never diapered a baby using industrial tape of any kind, but in a pinch (and never was that expression more apt) I have used gaffer’s tape instead of lingerie.