Swaddling garment

Abstract

A new or alternative swaddling garment that swaddles infants by sufficiently restraining movement of the limbs to suppress the startle reflex, yet allowing movement of hand to mouth thereby facilitating non-nutritive sucking and allowing the infant to self-soothe by sucking the hands or the fabric of the garment.

1 - 30 . (canceled) 
     
     
         31 . A swaddling garment, comprising:
 a central portion configured to at least partially receive a body of an infant; and   a pair of arm portions extending from the central portion;   wherein the swaddling garment is configured to retain arms of the infant in a hand-raised and elbow-bent position within the arm portions and to inhibit the arms from moving out of the arm portions.   
     
     
         32 . A swaddling garment, comprising:
 a central portion configured to at least partially receive a body of an infant; and   a pair of arm portions extending laterally outward from opposing sides of the central portion;   wherein each of the arm portions is configured to retain an arm of the infant in a hand-raised and elbow-bent position within the arm portion; and   wherein the swaddling garment is configured to inhibit movement of each of the arms out of respective arm portions, thereby retaining the arms within the arm portions.   
     
     
         33 . The swaddling garment of  claim 32 , wherein each of the arm portions is configured to bias the respective arm to the elbow-bent and-hand-raised position such that the elbow is retained at the respective side of the body. 
     
     
         34 . The swaddling garment of  claim 32 , wherein a widest point of the swaddling garment configured to at least partially receive an upper body of the infant is from a lateral edge of a first arm portion of the pair of arm portions to a lateral edge of a second arm portion of the pair of arm portions. 
     
     
         35 . The swaddling garment of  claim 34 , wherein the lateral edge of the first arm portion and the lateral edge of the second arm portion each taper inwards towards the central portion below the widest point. 
     
     
         36 . The swaddling garment of  claim 35 , wherein upper portions of the pair of arm portions have a rounded shape. 
     
     
         37 . The swaddling garment of  claim 32 , wherein the pair of arm portions are formed of at least one resilient fabric material that is at least partially stretchable. 
     
     
         38 . The swaddling garment of  claim 37 , wherein each of the arm portions is configured to restrict the respective arm of the infant from fully extending or moving in a laterally-outward direction away from the central portion. 
     
     
         39 . The swaddling garment of  claim 32 , wherein each of the arm portions has a widest point that is located a first distance away from the central portion, and the central portion includes an upper edge and a waistline that are separated from one another by a second distance that is greater than the first distance. 
     
     
         40 . The swaddling garment of  claim 39 , wherein the lateral edges of the pair of arm portions are configured to be retained at a position coinciding with the first distance. 
     
     
         41 . The swaddling garment of  claim 39 , wherein a lower portion of each of the arm portions is configured to cup a respective elbow of the infant. 
     
     
         42 . The swaddling garment of  claim 39 , wherein each of the arm portions has a longitudinal length that is greater than the first distance and less than the second distance. 
     
     
         43 . The swaddling garment of  claim 39 , wherein each of the arm portions has a rounded shape and a lower portion that tapers inward towards the central portion. 
     
     
         44 . The swaddling garment of  claim 33 , wherein the tapered shape of each arm portion inhibits movement of an elbow out of the arm portion and into the central portion. 
     
     
         45 . The swaddling garment of  claim 32 , wherein a width of each arm portion is less than a length of an arm of the infant to inhibit the arm from fully extending. 
     
     
         46 . The swaddling garment of  claim 32 , wherein the opposing sides of the central portion taper inward below each of the arm portions, and the opposing sides are shaped to inhibit movement of the arms out of the respective arm portions and into the central portion. 
     
     
         47 . The swaddling garment of  claim 32 , wherein each of the arm portions is detachable from the central portion, such that an opening is formed at each of the opposing sides of the central portion when the arm portions are detached. 
     
     
         48 . A swaddling garment, comprising:
 a central portion configured to at least partially receive a body of an infant; and   a pair of arm portions extending laterally from the central portion, wherein each of the arm portions is configured to: 
 retain an arm of the infant within the arm portion; 
 maintain the arm in a hand-raised and elbow-bent position; and 
 allow longitudinal movement of the arm relative to the respective side of the body; 
   wherein opposite sides of the central portion taper inward below each of the arm portions to inhibit lateral movement of the arms out of the respective arm portions and into the central portion.   
     
     
         49 . The swaddling garment of  claim 38 , wherein each of the arm portions is formed of at least one fabric material, and the swaddling garment is configured to allow movement of the arms of the infant to a mouth for non-nutritive sucking through the at least one fabric material of each of the arm portions. 
     
     
         50 . The swaddling garment of  claim 38 , wherein a widest point of the swaddling garment configured to at least partially receive an upper body of the infant is from a lateral edge of a first arm portion of the pair of arm portions to a lateral edge of a second arm portion of the pair of arm portions; and 
 wherein the lateral edge of the first arm portion and the lateral edge of the second arm portion each tapers inward towards the central portion below the widest point.