Swaddling is believed to lower the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). It can be a great method to calm your baby. At three months, the risk of SIDS is greatest. Traditional swaddling techniques help a baby escape these risks because they give him a more comfortable and stable position while asleep. A baby is also believed to sleep at a longer time when swaddled because it prevents the sudden movements of a sleeping baby that can rouse him in the middle of his sleep. The quality and length of his sleep improves. Aside from that, the mother can also get longer sleep and rest.

Swaddling works because babies are born too soon! You'd think that nine months would be long enough but all those complex neurological processes really need longer to mature (about three months or more). Babies need to be born at nine months otherwise their heads become too large to pass through their mother's pelvis.As a result babies are born at a time when they aren't quite ready for the outside world.

Swaddling babies a very popular tradition around the world in many countries, but less common in North American or western European families. Pediatricians have been researching the affect that swaddling has on your baby and have been astonished at the results. They have found that what we in North America call "colic", simply does not exist in most countries. Why? Because they resolve the problem of their crying baby by swaddling them firmly in a blanket to give them a sense of security.

Many babies however are still settled to sleep in this way because parents feel that they settle better and cry less. It was suggested that perhaps this reported level of increased responsiveness to the outside environment made SIDS less likely although further larger studies would be needed to confirm this. Because the sample of babies involved in the research was small it is not possible to make any general recommendations but the study was interesting because it at least showed that there were possibilities of promoting better sleep and increased responsiveness with the potential of providing increased protection against SIDS.

Place a large receiving blanket on a flat secure surface such as your bed, the floor, or your changing table. Make sure you lay the blanket out so that one corner points directly North in front of you and the blankets four corners look like a diamond laid out in front of you.Take the North corner and fold it down several inches to form a triangle and place the babies head just above the triangular corner you just folded down.Take the East corner of the blanket and wrap it around your babies body and tuck it under the right side of their back.

A baby blanket is a very popular baby shower gift. Today there is a nice selection of unique baby blankets out there that range in price from ten to two hundred dollars, depending on the brand, style, baby blankets crocheted, and size.Some blankets come with feet. You wrap or swaddle baby five different ways. It is designed for the baby on the go and works well for car seats, swings, ans strollers.

Read about parenting tips and also read about cooing baby and baby reactions