After looking through the bevy of gifts my wife received after her baby shower, I was left with two questions....where’s my stack of Dad related presents (iPad's are REALLY useful for new fathers, I'm sure I read that somewhere...), and what the heck is this Swaddle thing?
It seems I’ve found another baby item that I don’t think was around when I was little. I could be wrong, but I know there are definitely no baby pictures of me in one of these.
It seems I’ve found another baby item that I don’t think was around when I was little. I could be wrong, but I know there are definitely no baby pictures of me in one of these.
Strait Jacket for Babies as demonstrated by Stuey Griffin
What at first glance seemed like a giant, soft hankie, actually turns out to be, after looking at the instructions, some kind of Baby Strait Jacket. Apparently, when baby is fussy and cranky and crying, strapping it into one of these beauties calms them right down....already this is sounding like the greatest invention EVER!!
Leonard the Lion
This sounds like fun, and I of course now have to try my hand at swaddling. Fortunately, Leonard the Lion is at hand to be my handy volunteer. Leonard is the first toy I’ve ever bought my kid (that’s kind of a big deal!) and luckily is about the same size as a new born, so is perfect for practicing how to strap a baby into the Transformer Pram, or the car seat, or the new Baby Bjorn ...does anyone else think that particular item looks like the combat webbing soldiers use in the army? Very Cool!
So Leonard is placed in the middle of the swaddle. My wife helpfully suggests I read the instructions on how exactly to go about a-swaddlin’, and then I make some comment about men not needing instructions....
Well, we don’t.
Usually.
Anyway, I asked Maddi to photograph the steps, and to time my progress, because I find that things like this are much more fun if you make them a challenge!
Well, we don’t.
Usually.
Anyway, I asked Maddi to photograph the steps, and to time my progress, because I find that things like this are much more fun if you make them a challenge!
| Step 1. Place baby on the opened out Swadlle. Put Baby’s feet into the...Foot Pocket area and wrap the arms in the Arm Holders which get tucked behind baby’s back. Those are not the official technical terms, but like I said, I didn't read the instructions. See, it’s already starting to resemble a strait-jacket, isn’t it? |  Swaddling Step 1 |
| Step 2. Wrap the short side across Baby, and tuck behind the back. |  Swaddling Step 2 |
| Step 3. Pull the Long side across baby, nice and snug, and tuck away any excess Swaddle. |  Swaddling Step 3 |
| Step 4. Show off your Swaddlin’ prowess. * Time taken - 54 seconds, but I’m pretty confident I can shave off a few seconds. Instructions?...pfft, we don’t need no stinking instructions... |  That's a Swaddlin' |
We also took this opportunity to try putting a diaper on Leonard, which was MUCH easier than I thought it would be, but I suspect will be exponentially harder when trying to do it on a real live baby!
In other news, we have also fitted the car seat. We had it done professionally, Maddi preferred this to my trying to do it myself....maybe that has something to do with the Instructions thing again?.. I think baby is gonna be very comfy in the car seat, it has even more padding than Optimus Pram!
We also received ANOTHER gift, from our closest friends Alan & Fiona, the Baby Bjorn Maddi was hoping for. She loves it (maybe cos it’s Swedish, my girl is VERY patriotic!), and I have to admit it, it is a very useful piece of kit. Hooray for hands-free parenting!!
Next post, I think it’s probably time I talk about my whole philosophy on fitness and training, as I did say that was going to be one of the focuses of this blog.
Stay tuned...
~ Ryan
* Note - I should probably mention that my lovely wife Maddi DID read the instructions, and then managed to make a neater, more snug example of a swaddle, in equal time (or maybe less, I don’t know, I wasn’t looking at the clock ok?)
Disclaimer - Some of the links above are Affiliate Links, if you click on them and choose to buy, I will receive a teeny tiny amount of money, and you will receive a TONNE of good Karma :)
Next post, I think it’s probably time I talk about my whole philosophy on fitness and training, as I did say that was going to be one of the focuses of this blog.
Stay tuned...
~ Ryan
* Note - I should probably mention that my lovely wife Maddi DID read the instructions, and then managed to make a neater, more snug example of a swaddle, in equal time (or maybe less, I don’t know, I wasn’t looking at the clock ok?)
Disclaimer - Some of the links above are Affiliate Links, if you click on them and choose to buy, I will receive a teeny tiny amount of money, and you will receive a TONNE of good Karma :)
