Look through any newborn gallery and you’ll see lots of new babies wrapped up snug as a bug in a swaddle.

There’s a really good reason for this – new babies just love a swaddle.  In the absence of them being able to comment as to why, we’ll have to make some assumptions but I think it is a fair bet that they like it because it’s really similar to what they’re used to in the womb.  They spend a lot of time curled up with the comforting pressure applied to them from all directions and so recreating this with a swaddle really does help them to relax.

I tend to use swaddles for at least part of a newborn session – particularly if a baby is having a harder time relaxing into it.  Having them swaddled means that we can easily move them from one area to another, and it’s a godsend if they are a little bit more unsettled in letting us use different props.  Of course the colour, fabric and style of the swaddle can all be varied so it doesn’t get samey in your finished image gallery.

The other great thing about swaddling is that it’s a lot easier for big brothers and sisters to pose with them – when they’re all wrapped up burrito style, there’s a lot less to worry about in terms of offering them safe support. That’s not to say that I’d ever take a chance with a sibling that is still very young themselves in terms of them safely supporting the new arrival, but it does let us work to create beautiful sibling shots with brothers or sisters who might on the edge of holding them safely (and photogenically) otherwise.

So there you go, there’s a lot to recommend a good swaddle.  Ask those snug bugs!