PLATTSBURGH -- It was more than 20 years ago, but Jamie Basiliere has a vivid memory of learning how to swaddle her newborn son in a receiving blanket.

"It was quite a little technique," she said, "doing it on the diagonal and getting the corners tucked in ...

"If you don't do it just right, the minute (baby) moves, it just comes undone."

Cocooning Anders in a soft blanket soothed him.

"He was a little bit fussy," she said, "and I think I was a little bit nervous as a first-time mom."

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Swaddling simulates the safety of the womb; it's a calming influence, according to Ann Fraser, infant/toddler specialist with Child Care Coordinating Council of the North Country's Family Connections Resource Center in Plattsburgh.

"Sometimes, they just can't stop crying. (Swaddling) helps them return to a memory of when they were comforted and supported in the womb.

"For some babies, it's all they need to calm down -- it's like turning on a switch."

Family Connections includes swaddling among the techniques shared with parents who take part in its Special Deliveries program. There, they learn ways to help baby feel secure and content right from the start.

Swaddling, baby massage, lots of playtime and snuggling are some ways to optimize chances an infant will grow into a well-adjusted, emotionally healthy child and then adult, experts say.

"We're helping them organize their emotions for them," said Fraser of swaddling, "because for newborns and especially in the first three months of life, all the sensory input they're getting from the world is almost painful to them."

Those are the times of peak crying, peak colic, she said.

The startle reflex -- the arched back and out-flung arms infants exhibit at a sudden noise or other stimulus gives evidence of an infant's still developing nervous system, Fraser said.

"That's a whole systemic response," she said. "Swaddling breaks up that reflex."