Swaddle Me.

Swaddle – To bind an infant with long, narrow strips of cloth to prevent free movement; wrap tightly with cloths.

I just wanted to put that definition out there, just so you were all on board with this entry from the start.  If you had asked me in January what “swaddling” meant, I would have guessed some sort of Norwegian canoe race.

My parents had never heard of swaddling until a few years ago when they welcomed their first granddaughter into the world.  And no, that granddaughter was not born in Norway.  But…this does prove that swaddling is a newer technique.  And a great one at that.

With our baby, Lucy or I (usually Lucy) will feed her, burp her, play with her if she is still awake, and then as she is dozing, swaddle her.  Since she is wrapped tightly in a blanket, she is less likely to wake herself up by flailing her arms and legs.  This is still how I wake up on weekends.

The swaddle (el swadelo’ in Spanish) buys parents time.  A one hour nap could turn into a two hour nap.  A two hour nap could turn into a two hour “siesta.”  Actually, both of those are the same.  “Siesta” just means an afternoon nap in Spanish.  To clarify, a two hour nap is always a two hour siesta, as long as it takes place in the afternoon, and you are in Spain.

Sometimes a parent may not give their best swaddle effort, and you can see the baby’s arms moving immediately after napping.  Since the baby is partially asleep, you have two options:

(1) Try to salvage your first poor swaddle, by re-tucking the blanket around the baby.

(2) Unwrap the baby child (which will probably wake her up), and start the swaddle process anew.

I can’t tell you what the right answer is…it is a game time (tiempo) decision.

My sister Myra just gave us a nightgown for the baby, with an extra strap of blanket and velcro, which is actually a built in swaddle.  Somebody in Norway is very famous for inventing this piece of genius.  Barbara Anne is actually asleep in it now.  But I don’t think I wrapped her tight enough, as she is stirring.  I am becoming anxious, because I will soon have to choose one of the two options above.

Will somebody please just swaddle me?  I need to calm down too.