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September 20, 2010

Miracle Blanket - Help Me (and my baby) Get a Good Night's Sleep!

Is the Miracle Blanket really that much of a Miracle? Why is such a contraption needed for a simple swaddle?

I have to say that this product came highly recommended to us from a family member who said it worked amazingly for their two children, and after knowing our son for 48 hours, I was skeptical that it would work for him. It seemed he really liked having his hands up by his face, and why not? He probably has had them there for the last nine months, and, truth be told, I like to have my hands up by my face when I sleep, too. However, on our first day or two home, we decided to give it a try.

The Miracle Blanket is pretty much like a straight jacket for babies. It keeps their arms down by their sides, feet tucked in a pocket at the bottom and overall, wrapped up snugly. The idea is that babies have only known life as being snuggled up in the womb, but now their little bodies have this new freedom to move. They have very little control over their limbs, and when they unknowingly flail they wake themselves up. Limiting that erratic moving keeps them asleep (or helps them get back to sleep more easily if they wake up) - and isn't that what we all want (within 48 hours of coming home from the hospital)?

It is different from a typical swaddling blanket because they can't wiggle out of it! I admit, we reserve this blanket for nighttime use only, and during the day, for naps, we use some lightweight swaddle blankets. These he can still wriggle out of, regardless of how I engineer them, but I don't mind because I am not looking for long stretches of sleep.

My husband is the swaddler in our nighttime routine, and our little guy looks like he's swaddled so tightly, that I was afraid that when I had to do this on my own, I wouldn't be able to bring myself to do it! However, I have come to know this blanket is worth its weight in gold, as we have been fortunate enough to get some really good stretches of sleep (I am talking about waking up only once a night, and we haven't reached the two month mark yet!), so I gave it my best shot. And you know what? It really doesn't have to be all that tight to keep the swaddle secure. I guess that is the genius in the design. And this doesn't hurt him at all - in fact, I feel like he expects and enjoys it as part of his bedtime routine!

I highly recommend putting this on your registry if you are expecting, or running out and getting one (or buying one online stat) if you are having trouble getting your little one to sleep.

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