The Swaddle, and Implications Thereof

Elizabeth likes to be swaddled; that is, wrapped tightly in a blanket so her limbs are prevented from flailing uncontrollably, as the limbs of newborns are wont to do. A swaddled baby is reminded of the tight confines of the womb in the last few weeks before birth. She is comforted by the restrictions on her movements. Lately, Elizabeth has been more difficult to swaddle. She's bigger than she was at two days old, when the picture above was taken. More importantly, she's stronger and she fights the swaddle more. Thing is, although she fights the swaddle, she is only disturbed if she can bust out of the swaddling blanket. Wrap her tight, let her struggle to get out, and she will quickly abandon her efforts and go to sleep a happy, peaceful baby. But should she overcome the restrictions and get an arm or two free, she starts fussing and crying.

I was thinking the other night that this may have implications for the future. Just as with swaddling, she is going to fight against whatever restrictions Barb and I lay down -- but she'll only be truly disturbed if it turns out that our restrictions are so weak that she can overcome them.

It's the nature of kids to struggle against order, but that doesn't mean they don't need it.