rags of light

[lazariuk]

Since Leonard sang about swaddling in his song:

And draw us near
And bind us tight
All your children here
In their rags of light
In our rags of light
All dressed to kill
And end this night
If it be your will

I am curious what people think of the practice of swaddling. I don't think that I was ever swaddled as a baby but it interests me to learn more about the practice.

any swaddlers here ?

[hydriot]

I don't think this has anything to do with swaddling. To me 'Bind us tight' means as a family.

Apparently, swaddling is coming back, but I disapprove of it strongly: it seems to me absolutely fundamentally wrong to restrict a baby's movements. I have never seen it done in Britain.

[lazariuk]

I don't know if it has any relevant meaning but one of the few things that we know about Jesus as a baby was that he was swaddled in a manger. There are some places where it is talked about that the swaddling cloths were the rags of the vestments of the priests of the temple.

[lazariuk]

Apparently, swaddling is coming back, but I disapprove of it strongly: it seems to me absolutely fundamentally wrong to restrict a baby's movements. I have never seen it done in Britain.

Every contact that the baby has with the world is some kind of restriction of movement. He is pretty restricted to where he is being fed.
On the other hand I have never seen happier babies than the ones placed under water after birth moving with such freedom.

[lizzytysh]

On the other hand I have never seen happier babies than the ones placed under water after birth moving with such freedom.

I would love to see that some day.

[Cate]

You think swaddling is cruel?

I guess it depends on the baby, some people like to be snugged up some people don’t .
If the babe didn’t like it and you did it anyways, that might be cruel and it’s true not all babies like it, my first didn’t care for it at all while my second loved it and seemed to be very comforted by it. Don’t forget that newborns are coming from a very comfy space and the world is very big to a small one. I think that (again depending on the baby) swaddling can give a sense of comfort and security. Swaddling isn’t about restricting the baby it’s about making them feel safe and comfortable – the fact is even a new born will wiggle out if s/he doesn’t like it (unless of course you actually tied the kid in, which I’ve never seen). Even my first who didn’t like to be wrapped liked to be carried constantly in his snuggly (baby carrier/ sling thing).

Speaking for myself, when I’m very upset I prefer to be held tightly.

regarding sleep
http://www.drgreene.com/21_1915.html

regarding swaddling
http://www.baby-health.net/articles/31.html

[lazariuk]

I would love to see that some day.

Water-Babies.jpg.jpeg (129.94 KiB) Viewed 5570 times

[anneporter]

I have learned how to a lot of things in my life but the most satisfying skill I have ever mastered was the art of wrapping a new born baby up-- just right-- in a flannel receiving blanket, and watching the baby settle into a secure peacefulness.
At a job interview recently I was asked to name the accomplishment I was most proud of--I thought of something--but if I were asked today, I would answer:

"I have swaddled newborn babies!"

Thanks, Jack, for bringing this up.

Anne

[lazariuk]

At a job interview recently I was asked to name the accomplishment I was most proud of--I thought of something--but if I were asked today, I would answer:

"I have swaddled newborn babies!"

Thanks, Jack, for bringing this up.

thank you Anne
I think I can also understand why someone might have a distaste for swaddling. The people who were often the most interested in promoting swaddling were people who were taking care of other people's children like nurse maids and then nannies and nurses and often their concern was just to keep the kids quiet to make their job easier. It those cases maybe the swaddling wasn't so kind because there was no one around to be dedicatedly attuned with infinite tenderness to the joy of the babies.

so if by chance Leonard's song has anything to do with swaddling then it might help us to consider why he changed pronouns in:
In their rags of light
In our rags of light

[friscogrl]

In nursing school during our nursery rotation we were taught that newborn babies love this. I don't think I ever mastered it though. As Anne implied I believe It makes them feel secure. Plus they are so cute like that. They look like little burritos.

M

[charlajoy]

Whether or not a babe prefers constriction to freedom in a physical sense, swaddling to me in this state is a spiritual sense of contentment and being satisfied by the absolute security of peace, that is peace as shalom, or the sense of wholeness, soundness, nothing missing or broken. I think as human beings we all return to our need to be swaddled at some point, whether or not we realize it. We connect it to love, love in the spiritual sense, not eros necessarily.

[Cate]

their concern was just to keep the kids quiet to make their job easier.

I can see now how people could see swaddling as negative although it suprised me at first that somebody could think it was cruel, but I was only seeing through my own eyes and experience. I guess it comes down to the caretakers; skill, motivation and ability to listen to what the baby likes and dislikes.

btw - to me the song sounds like swaddling - being wrapped up safe in holy rags of light.

I would answer:

"I have swaddled newborn babies!"

Hi Ann, what a wonderful answer.

[lazariuk]

I can see now how people could see swaddling as negative although it suprised me at first that somebody could think it was cruel, but I was only seeing through my own eyes and experience. I guess it comes down to the caretakers; skill, motivation and ability to listen to what the baby likes and dislikes.

The other end of that is the image of a dead person wrapped like a swaddled baby, which is what it might feel like to a baby not getting the care and attention needed.

To bury the dead is all very well
To bury the living can be like hell

[anneporter]

but swaddling of a newborn is the care and attention that is needed, at certain times. Swaddling does not imply neglect. A baby won't settle with swaddling alone if its other needs are not met. And don't forget, we are talking about newborns here, ie, babies accustomed to close quarters in utero.. Babies develop rapidly and their needs change rapidly. You don't swaddle them forever.

I have wrapped dead bodies, too, and there is no realistic way to equate these two actions....

[lazariuk]

I have wrapped dead bodies, too, and there is no realistic way to equate these two actions....

I was letting my mind wander between the two that are only equated in my mind as images. I was also thinking of the in-between of people getting their binding by being wrapped in other things. There seem to be two contrasting images in the song that I am trying to make sense of. Any kind of group, a church, a political organization does provide that kind of comfort, like being tightly bound, while the group itself might be slipping toward what does not bring comfort to others. It seems that this need and comfort that you have described so well along with others can be what leads to people putting on what is needed to kill. That is more what I have in mind when I think of children being swaddled by other than the ones attuned with tenderness to their needs.