Savannah Guthrie and Matt Lauer are as close as two co-anchors can be, but the two took their friendship one step further on Thursday when she swaddled him like a baby while live on air.
The Today show stars were discussing how ‘adult swaddling’ has become the latest trend in Japan, as it is said to release stress and anxiety, and Savannah was itching to try it out in Studio 1A.
The mother-of-two took the segment to another level when she asked 59-year-old Matt if he would let her swaddle him, and the look on his face made it clear that he wasn’t thrilled with the idea.
Biggest baby ever? Savannah Guthrie, 45, swaddled her co-star Matt Lauer, 59, live on the Today show on Thursday morning
Not thrilled with the idea: The Today show stars were discussing how ‘adult swaddling’ has become popular in Japan, and Savannah urged Matt to let her swaddle him
Savannah, who gave birth to her son, Charley, in December, encouraged Matt by reminding him that she recently had a baby and is comfortable with doing it.
‘Let me try to swaddle you,’ she said, and as they made their way to the floor, Matt asked: ‘Are you good at this?’
‘Of course I am! I have two kids under three. I think I can swaddle you if you are willing,’ she said.
Matt took off his jacket to keep it from getting wrinkled, and before they got started, Savannah joked that the baby blanket is a ‘little big’, telling her co-star: ‘You are a bigger baby than most.’
Swaddling pro: Savannah, who gave birth to her son, Charley, in December, had Matt lie on a large blanket while she draped it over him
Getting started: The mother-of-two carefully tucked the sheet under Matt’s side
Not a fan: Getting started: The mother-of-two carefully tucked the sheet under Matt’s sidMatt admitted that being swaddled was actually making him feel more stressed
Savannah had Matt lie down on the blanket and put his head on the pillow behind him before she draped one end of the cover over his body.
‘You’ve got to get a nice good tuck because I want you to feel safe,’ she said as she pushed the blanket under his side. ‘You know a swaddle is really supposed to mimic the womb.’
Savannah then asked Matt to put his feet in the fetal position, so she could lift the bottom of the blank up towards his head.
‘So this is supposed to alleviate stress? Is that what this is? Because I am feeling a little stressed out right now,’ Matt joked. ‘Maybe it is the cameras or the studio filled with people.’
Sharing her knowledge: ‘You know a swaddle is really supposed to mimic the womb,’ Savannah told him
Teamwork: Savannah then called Sheinelle Jones over to help her lift Matt up, so she can finish the swaddle
Going too far: Savannah was about to put a pacifier in Matt’s mouth, but he firmly refused
‘Shh, baby, shh,’ Savannah responded.
Savannah then called Sheinelle Jones over to help her lift Matt up, so she can finish the swaddle, and Matt griped: ‘Or we can say people get the idea.’
When it was all said and done, Savannah asked Matt how he felt, but it probably wasn’t the response she was looking for.
‘I feel stressed out. I don’t feel at all comfortable,’ he admitted.
Too funny: Savannah couldn’t resist laughing at her co-star while was swaddled on the floor
Get this over with: Matt urged Sheinelle to start the next segment
Things got even weirder when Savannah brought over a pacifier to put in Matt’s mouth, which he firmly refused.
‘I knew he would kill me for that one,’ she admitted, and he noted: ‘This is already going to appear on a thousand sites online.’
Savannah was still determined to get him to like it, and she once again asked him if he was enjoying it.
‘It’s great. Yeah, Matt said unconvincingly before urging Chanel to start the next segment.
Helping hand: Savannah taught her co-star Hoda Kotb how to swaddle her newborn baby, Haley Joy, in March
Hands full: Savannah is mom to a three-year-old daughter, Vale, and an eight-month-old son, Charley
Say what? Savannah revealed in March that she once swaddled her 48-year-old husband Mike Feldman when they were ‘bored’. They are pictured in 2016
Of course, Matt was in good hands, as Savannah is undoubtedly the Today show’s swaddling expert.
In March, she taught her co-star Hoda Kotb how to swaddle her newborn baby, Haley Joy, and she even admitted on air that she once used a bed sheet to wrap up her husband Mike Feldman, 48, like an infant.
‘I actually once swaddled Mike just for fun,’ she told Jenna Bush Hager on the morning show. ‘It was a like a Friday night. We were bored.’
Jenna, 35, was understandably eager to see a picture of ‘swaddled Mike’, and while Savannah said she did take one, she added that she ‘probably can’t find it right now’.