How to Use a Velcro Swaddle Wrap: Step-by-Step Instructions

It’s important to use a swaddle wrap the correct way, so here are some in-depth swaddle instructions to ensure a snuggly and safe night’s sleep for your baby. There are two types of swaddling blankets available, traditional and easy-to-use swaddles. With the traditional swaddling blankets, you must make sure no extra fabric is around your baby’s face or neck and leave enough room around their middle and legs.

It is also important to consider what to wear under a swaddle blanket, with both traditional and easy-to-use types of swaddling blankets, as babies are unable to properly regulate their body temperature. Want to know more about swaddle blankets? Take a look at our detailed blog, highlighting everything you need to know about swaddling blankets.

How to use a velcro swaddle: a step-by-step visual guide to safe swaddling.

	1. Open the swaddle into a 'T' shape and place your baby's legs inside the bottom pouch.
	2. Place the shoulders in line with the top of the open wrap and lift the front velcro flap.
	3. Fold the left side over and fix to the velcro on the middle tab.
	4. Fold the right side over and attach the 2 tabs to the velcro. Adjust accordingly.

Check Out Little Seeds’ Swaddle Blanket Instructions Video

Why Parents Swaddle

Many parents find a swaddle helps settle a newborn. Being wrapped snugly can calm the startle reflex, the sudden jerk of the arms that often wakes young babies, and stops little hands scratching their face.

Safe Swaddling Checklist

If you choose to swaddle, follow UK safe sleep advice from The Lullaby Trust and the NHS:

• Always on their back. Put your baby down on their back to sleep, in their own clear, flat cot or Moses basket.
• Nothing above the shoulders. Keep the swaddle below your baby’s shoulders so their face, head and neck stay uncovered.
• Firm at the chest, loose at the hips. The swaddle should be snug but not tight around the chest, with plenty of room for the hips and legs to bend up and out.
• Don’t let them overheat. Use thin, breathable fabric, count the swaddle as a layer, never add a hat, and keep the room at 16–20°C. Check your baby’s temperature by feeling their chest or the back of their neck.
• Be consistent. If you swaddle, do it for every sleep, day and night, from the early weeks.
• Stop when they start to roll. Stop swaddling as soon as your baby shows signs of trying to roll over.
• Not when unwell or bed sharing. Don’t swaddle your baby if they are unwell or have a temperature, and never swaddle a baby who is sharing your bed.

Breastfeeding? Unwrap your baby for feeds so you can both enjoy skin-to-skin contact.

Swaddling Questions

When should I start swaddling?

If you choose to swaddle, start from the early weeks and do it for every sleep. Starting to swaddle an older baby who isn’t used to it is not recommended.

How tight should a velcro swaddle be?

Snug at the chest, with room for a flat hand between the swaddle and your baby, and loose around the hips so the legs can bend up and out. The velcro wings let you adjust the fit as your baby grows.

When should I stop swaddling?

As soon as your baby shows signs of trying to roll over. For many babies this is somewhere around 3 to 4 months, but every baby is different. When you stop, a baby sleeping bag is a good next step.

What should my baby wear under a swaddle?

It depends on the room temperature. Our guide to what to wear under a swaddle explains what to choose.

Recommended Organic Cotton Swaddles