Swaddle products are so important for the safety and comfort of your newborn, but there are so many choices on the market. How do you know where to start?!
Why is swaddling important?
Swaddling gives your newborn the sense that they are still in the womb by keeping their arms tight to their sides and providing a snug and secure feeling. Newborn babies need lots of help transitioning from the comfort and safety of mom’s belly. The swaddle is one of the amazing products that can help your baby transition to the outside world.
Swaddles also encourage safe sleep for newborns. In a swaddle, a newborn will lay on its back. They are also tightly wrapped in the swaddle, as blankets are a suffocation hazard. Always be sure to follow AAP safe sleep guidelines with your infant every time that they are asleep!
How do I choose a swaddle?
I recommend that you have a variety on hand because you never know what your baby will like! We had so many swaddles in our house. It seemed like our little one was always leaking out of his diaper (laundry alert!!), or he quickly changed preferences. So we had to mix it up so that we all got the best possible sleep since we all know that it is hard to come by with a newborn.
The great news is that swaddles are products you do not have to use for a long time. So your collection makes a great hand-me-down for friends or family members with newborns. I handed down my swaddle collection to two of my long-time best friends who had babies just a few months after I did. We affectionately now call ourselves “the sisterhood of the traveling swaddles.”
5 Best Swaddles to Soothe Your Newborn
If you deliver in a hospital, your baby’s first swaddle experience will probably be in a soft receiving blanket. The nurses will wrap your babe up nice and tight. A receiving blanket is a great first swaddle for a baby, but getting them wrapped up tight takes a little getting used to. The biggest pro to receiving blankets is that they are very inexpensive. They might even give you one or two in the hospital, even though they technically aren’t supposed to.
The Ollie Swaddle is a mom-favorite. They will last longer than other swaddles and work well for tall infants because there is no defined end to them. You tie it up, so it looks like a mermaid’s tail! Since the swaddle itself is Velcro, your baby will not outgrow it until they are ready to be in a sleep sack or other transitional product. The Ollie comes in various beautiful colors to match any aesthetic and is made from very soft fabric. A con to the Ollie Swaddle is that they are more expensive than other swaddles.
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Love to Dream Swaddle Up
This swaddle allows your baby to keep their hands next to their face while still being safely swaddled. Some babies prefer this style instead of having their arms swaddled down by their sides. We found this product to be a great option for our babe, as he started escaping from his Velcro swaddle but was not quite ready to have his arms completely out.
The SwaddleMe Original is a budget-friendly swaddle blanket that is quite easy to use. It uses the same “arms-down” concept as a receiving blanket or the Ollie swaddle. This product uses Velcro, similar to the Ollie, to keep the arms down. The biggest difference? The SwaddleMe has a defined bottom, and newborns grow fast! We still went with these and loved them before we transitioned to the Love to Dream.
NestedBean’s Zen One Swaddle is another great option because its multipurpose design with its removable mesh sleeves allows your baby to sleep with arms in, out, or in a free position for self-soothing. It can grow with your newborn and infant until the next stage of using a sleep sack, making it a perfect transition for when the time comes. And you know what our favorite part about this product is? It is gently weighted on the chest and sides, which mimic the pressure your baby feels when you hold them. That weight helps babies to self-soothe and sleep longer when they’re not in your arms.
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Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit
Your baby needs to be at least 12 lbs before they can safely fit into this swaddle product, but it quickly became an absolute favorite in our house. As soon as our infant could safely go into the Merlin sleepsuit, we tried it out. It was in the Merlin that we were able to get our infant to sleep through the night! He never took to a pacifier, and he was able to access his thumb from the Merlin suit, which taught him to self-soothe. It is padded and helps calm their startle reflex until they grow out of it and are ready to move into a sleep sack.
There are so many swaddle options out there that it can be overwhelming, especially for first-time parents. Please remember always to follow AAP safe sleep guidelines when putting your infant to sleep for naps and nighttime. Hopefully, this guide helps you understand which will be a good fit for your little one! Moms, have you tried any of these products with your baby? Which was your favorite?
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