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How to: Swaddle a baby

Last Modified: September 11, 2019

Women & Children, Family Medicine

This information was provided by Jackie Gill, RN, Labor & Delivery, Parkview Regional Medical Center.

Swaddling is a wonderful, safe way to soothe your baby. Parkview recommends using a sleep sack, rather than a blanket for this method.

Here, we provide a step-by-step guide to swaddling, but if you need additional guidance, or forget these steps, there are Instructions located conveniently inside the sleep sack.

Steps for safely swaddling baby

1. Put each of the baby’s arms through the arm holes in the sack.

2. Zip up the sack.

3. (This is where it can get a little tricky.) Gently place one of the infant’s arms down and pull the flap over to secure on the other side. Repeat with the opposite arm on the other side.

4. Make sure the sack isn’t riding up around the baby’s face.

Remember, back is best! Never put baby on his or her belly.