Should I keep my baby swaddled during night feedings?

Every mother knows the feeling. You wake up in the middle of the night to whimpers telling you it is time for your baby to be fed.

You have prepared your baby for sleep, wrapping them in their swaddle. Now you wonder, do I have to take their sleep sack off to feed them? That's a great question!

First, it is critical for your baby to have the freedom to knead your breast and perform feeding cues. If you are using a swaddle blanket, they won't be able to do that, so you will have to remove the blanket. However, if you are using a Swaddelini, they have freedom of movement and you won't have to take it off.

Newborns typically wet their diapers during or right after a feed, so you will need to change their diaper after feeding. Fortunately, we thought of that too. The Swaddelini features an easy-to-use diaper flap. Simply fold the flap up, change their diaper, and put them back down to sleep.

Of course, this assumes you are using diapers. If you are practicing elimination communication, this may look different.

Elimination communication is a method of potty training your infant using their cues. Instead of them using a diaper, you'll want to bring them to the toilet. The diaper flap supports this by allowing you to roll their swaddle up high enough for them to use the toilet.

Simply dry them off and roll the swaddle back down when they are done. That said, we do recommend using a diaper underneath the Swaddelini to keep your baby dry all night.