What makes a good swaddle blanket?

30 Sep.,2024

 

The Best Baby Swaddles | Reviews by Wirecutter

To find the best swaddles, we had five families spend two weeks testing 11 of them with babies ranging in age from 2 to 12 weeks, and talked to four birth and postpartum experts. There&#;s no single swaddle that will work for every baby, and the right swaddle for one baby might even change between the newborn stage and later months. Still, we found that the Happiest Baby Sleepea is the most effective at keeping a baby securely wrapped, is among the easiest for parents to use, and is safe and comfortable for the baby.

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A form-fitting neck-to-toe sack, this &#;peanut&#; swaddle leaves a baby free to move their limbs and keep their hands closer to their face than with other swaddles.

This all-cotton swaddle uses less-restrictive exterior wings, and it has armholes for extended wear. Its roomy cut makes diaper changes more convenient. The Velcro is loud, however, and it&#;s easier to escape from than our top pick.

The Sleepea is the most effective swaddle we tested. It keeps babies snug and secure with a unique interior Velcro panel and it&#;s safe, comfortable, and easy to use.

The combination of a unique interior Velcro panel and a compressive pouch makes the Sleepea harder for babies to break out of than other swaddles, which rely on just one layer to keep arms down. The Sleepea, made by child development and sleep expert Dr. Harvey Karp&#;s company, Happiest Baby, can be used with or without the interior Velcro panel, and in the medium and large sizes the shoulders unsnap to create optional armholes for one-arm-out or both-arms-out transitional swaddling. Other nice features, like mesh panels for ventilation and a roomy sack that promotes the frog position for a baby&#;s growing hips, also help make this our top choice.

Material: 95 percent organic cotton, 5 percent spandex, plus polyester mesh
Size: small fits 5 to 12 pounds, up to about 20 inches; medium fits 12 to 18 pounds, up to about 22 inches; large fits 18 to 26 pounds, up to about 24 inches

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The all-cotton Halo SleepSack Swaddle&#;s exterior wings may be easier for some babies to escape from than the two layers of swaddling provided by the Sleepea, and its Velcro panel is large and loud, but it&#;s a solid choice if you&#;re looking for a swaddle for a baby who doesn&#;t like a wrap as form-fitting as the Sleepea. The Halo also includes dedicated armholes for extended wear and a larger sack than the Sleepea&#;s for more convenient middle-of-the-night diaper changes.

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Material: 100 percent cotton
Size: preemie fits birth to 5 pounds, 14 to 19 inches; newborn fits 6 to 12 pounds, 19 to 23 inches; small fits 13 to 18 pounds, 23 to 26 inches

If you&#;d like to avoid the noise of Velcro, or your baby has proven adept at breaking out of it, or they prefer keeping their hands closer to their face, you may want to try the Woombie Air. This swaddle doesn&#;t have wings but instead simply zips up to encase a baby from neck to toes. It is super quick and easy to use: simply lay the baby inside and zip up the sack. The Woombie Air allows a baby to move more freely within the swaddle than our other picks, but may not work for babies who need a more restrictive swaddle. Also, it doesn&#;t have armholes, so can&#;t be used for as long as our other picks.

Material: cotton-spandex blend
Size: newborn fits 5 to 13 pounds, 20 to 22 inches; &#;big baby&#; fits 14 to 19 pounds, 24 to 26 inches

9 Best Swaddles for Newborns of

Like most new parents, I constantly felt as though I was chasing sleep when my sons were newborns. And, like so many parents, I desperately tried to encourage my babies to sleep more soundly by attempting to replicate the impressive swaddling technique of the nurses in my maternity ward &#; but I found it difficult without having the right baby swaddle on hand.

Swaddling is an ancient practice that allows babies to keep their arms down and inside a thin wrapped blanket. Although you certainly don&#;t have to swaddle your newborn, many parents find that this technique can help babies stay calm during the first few weeks of life. 

"Newborns have reflexes for the first few months that make their arms move,&#; says Jen Trachtenberg, M.D., a board-certified pediatrician based in New York City. &#;They startle themselves and wake up, so by having them inside the swaddle, it keeps them calmer longer and less likely to wake themselves up by flailing their arms.&#;

Although you can swaddle with a basic receiving blanket, many parents prefer a special swaddle blanket made specifically for the job. Not to mention it takes a lot of the guesswork out of the swaddling technique. These special swaddle blankets and sacks have fasteners, snaps and/or zippers to make the job easier; especially when you&#;re running on little sleep.

How we chose the best swaddles

Because baby&#;s safety while sleeping is incredibly important, I started my search for the best swaddles by speaking with four pediatricians about how to safely use a swaddle, as well as what features to look for when buying a swaddle: 

  • Gina Posner, M.D., F.A.A.P., a board-certified pediatrician practicing at MemorialCare Medical Group in Fountain Valley, California and member of the What to Expect Medical Review Board.
  • Micah Resnick, M.D., F.A.A.P., a board-certified pediatrician in Cincinnati, Ohio, with TriHealth and member of the What to Expect Medical Review Board.
  • Elizabeth Murray, D.O., F.A.A.P., a pediatrician at the Golisano Children&#;s Hospital at the University of Rochester.
  • Jen Trachtenberg, M.D., a board-certified pediatrician based in New York City.

Per their guidance, along with the safe sleep guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), every swaddle considered is: 

  • Made of lightweight fabric
  • Not weighted

A good swaddle also needs to be easy to use and secure. To see which swaddles check these boxes, I looked at feedback from the more than 1,700 parents who voted for their favorite swaddle in the What to Expect Sleep Awards. As a mom of two who swaddled both of my children, I also used my own first-hand experience testing out different types of swaddles. With expert guidance, parent feedback and my own experience with swaddles, I narrowed down my list to these nine best swaddles for babies.  

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