Stages of the Swaddle

After a long first night at home from the hospital Will and I finally learned that swaddling Joseph was the key to getting him to sleep for any length of time. For the first couple weeks Joseph would startle fairly often and every time he startled he'd wake himself up. Swaddling helped control his startle to the point where it wouldn't wake him up, so this was the key to us getting any sleep.

Stage 1: Snug as a bug in a rug.

Over the past few weeks, however, Joseph has slowly learned to evade our swaddle attempts.

Stage 2: One hand peeks out.

Luckily, he doesn't startle nearly as often, so this doesn't affect his ability to sleep too much.

Stage 3A: One arm is entirely out.

If Joseph had his way we would leave his arms out of the swaddle every time - he likes to have them next to his face.

Stage 3B: Both hands peek out.

It's kind of cute watching him slowly get his arms out throughout the course of each nap.

Stage 4: Success has been achieved - both
 arms are completely out of the swaddle.