Swaddling help please!

[Laila619]

Hi ladies! So I am confused about all the swaddling options out there, and am trying to decide what to add to my BRU baby registry. Here are the options:

1) Miracle Blanket http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3349756
2) Summer Infant SwaddleMe http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4063580
3) HALO SleepSack Swaddle http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3727657
4) regular old generic receiving blankets for baby to be swaddled in

Which of these have you had experience with, and any rants/raves? Did one work better with your baby than the others in your experience? Thanks so much!!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Great topic, Laila!

I know that many of the ladies here like the Aden + Anais blankets http://www.adenandanais.com/, but I've been wondering about the sleepsacks too (maybe we use those later?)

To add a few questions: I've also been meaning to ask if we should use different blankets in the winter vs. the summer? And, how many should we get?

TIA!

 

[KimberlyH]

We used A&A blankets, just regular recieving blankets, until baby was too strong and broke out of them. Then we used the miracle blanket. We changed her layers underneath (diaper/onesie/footed, long-sleeved pjs) to adjust with weather, but live in a pretty temperate place (we're neighbors, Laila). Sleep sacks are a great replacement for the swaddle; most people stop swaddling at abou t 4-5 months when baby starts rolling. I would ask for the 2nd to smallest size sacks and pick material according to the weather.

ETA: The kiddopatamous (sp) blankets w/ velcro were an abject failure in our house.

 

[Nashville]

I had 3 Miracle Blankets for long stretches of sleep which I really liked, and then the rest just regular receiving blankets for around the house during the day.

 

[Mara]

--started with A&A 47" swaddles. baby seems so tiny you think they will never fill swaddle. trust me it will happen! when they are little you don't have to wrap them AS tightly because they don't move as much...but make sure that you swaddle them with material away from their little noses and mouths.

--J started breaking out of the A&A at like week 3-4. we got better at swaddling. he got better at breaking out. we tried summer infant swaddle. failure. velcro did not hold this boy in. kiddopotamus prob would have suffered same fate. around 2.5mo a friend brought over a miracle blanket and showed me how to use it. success!! we swaddled him TIGHTLY in it.

--MB lasted us til 4mo at which point we decided to deswaddle since he was breaking out of MB and there's nothing stronger than that and he was also starting to show signs of wanting to roll and you can't have them swaddled when they start to roll--it can be dangerous if they have no arms or legs to help themselves back over or even lift up and cry.

if i was buying for a new mom i'd get A&A wraps because they can be swaddlers AND blankets, we use them for J in the stroller, in the car seat, in his crib on hot nights. they are invaluable overall. but get a MB as well. i would not waste time or money on any of the other similar-to-MB kind of swaddles, if you're going that route, just get the MB in case your kid is a houdini.

oh re: the sleep sack swaddle--again if you are going to get something that is like a tight swaddle, just get the MB.

but now that J is deswaddled, he sleeps in halo and A&A sleep sacks. love those things. keeps their legs inside so they can't get them through crib slats etc and J loves to gather the bottom of his and cuddle it like a blanket.

 

[sbde]

laila,

the swaddle blankets that worked best for us were from Swaddle Designs. They are so well made that we still use them as a light blanket for our 21 month old and as a light layer under his thicker quilt in the winters. They've held up amazingly well over the past 1.5 yrs so i've just purchased some more for our new baby who will be arriving in about a month.

here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/SwaddleDesigns-Ultimate-Receiving-Blanket-Circles/dp/B000GG1ML4/ref=pd_bxgy_ba_img_b

ETA: halo sleepsacks were also great for us once our baby was a bit older and we wanted to ensure that he stayed covered throughout the night. even though we used another blanket on top of the halo sleepsacks (cold northeast winters!) the sleepsack ensured that he couldn't kick off the top blanket in the middle of the night.

good luck with everything!

 

[lovelylulu]

lailia:

we used the aa blankets as swaddles in the beginning (but n was a summer baby) and they have many other uses. love them.

we moved on to a kiddopotamus for the day (much better than the summer infant) and saved the big guns for night sleeping - the miracle blanket.

we broke the swaddle at around 3.5 months because she was rolling and due to a day care need.

good luck!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

LOVE the A+A swaddling blankets, although N broke out of them around month 3, so we moved on to the miracle blanket which he still uses today. Both get my thumbs up!

there's also some great info on the last two pages of the Baby/Toddler STUFF thread which i just bumped up.

 

[Jennifer W]

I didn't use any at all - never even heard of them other than on PS. Is this something most folks do in the US?

 

[ChinaCat]

I haven't read the responses but MIRACLE BLANKET is the best for SWADDLING.

We had them all and they all work well, but for swaddling newborns in the middle of the night, MB wins hands down.

A&A blankets- Definitely register for. Not only can you swaddle them, I used these for EVERYTHING. A must.

Halo Sleep Sacks- The sleep sacks themselves are great for when baby is older and you don't swaddle but the baby isn't ready for a blanket yet. Use as a blanket. The ones with wings to act as a swaddle were worthless as baby can easily break free.

 

[Puppmom]

You're all making me want to get a miracle blanket!

I use the Summer Infant Swaddlers but N can bust of them. He can squeeze his hands out of the top somehow but doesn't wake when he does. My only complaint really is the velcro is so dang noisy. It startles N when we open the velcro.

Our new issue now that N sleeps 6-8 hours overnight is he wets right through the swaddler. We only have two so I do a lot of laundry!

 

[ChinaCat]

Pupp- GET the MB!!! Some one gave us one about a month in and I sent DH to the store the next day to buy 3 more so that we always had one clean! I give them to every new mom as a gift.

Have you tried going up a size in diapers just for overnight? Might help with the leaking.

 

[Laila619]

Thanks everyone!! It seems like from my list of options, everyone likes the Miracle blanket the most. So I registered for that, plus this gift set I found which includes one Sleep Sack (for babies 10-18 lbs) and one Swaddle Sleep Sack (for babies 6-12 lbs). China Cat, is this the one where the velcro is worthless? It seems like babies outgrow the swaddle after 3-4 months or so anyway, since it becomes not safe for them when they start rolling over I guess? So then baby could begin using the regular Sleep Sack after that. I don't want to add a million different blankets to my registry, so hopefully these things will work.

but live in a pretty temperate place (we're neighbors, Laila).

Kimberly, we are? Cool!

 

[taovandel]

We used the Halo Sleepsack ones and loved them. We tried a cheaper thinner version of the Halo (from walmart) and Evan would break out of it in like 2 seconds.

 

[Mara]

Laila that gift set looks interesting. I never used the halo swaddle sleep sack but it's an idea. And in that case yeah you could have one to use when baby is small and then graduate to larger regular sack.

We also have found sacks on sale for CHEAP since J was born. I got some at BRU for $9 (organic) and also babysteals usually has Halo and/or A&A sleep sacks for 50%+ off. Just keep a watch on it so you can build up a stash over time. I usually have 2-3 for J at any given point in time since he uses them every night.

 

[ChinaCat]

Laila- The wings should just come off- they are only velcro-ed on and then it's like a regular sleep sack. Not to say that we didn't use the wings at all- we did for naps and stuff, but for nighttime, I only used the MB.

 

[Dreamer_D]

We used the swaddleme and then when he got strong enough to break out, we would use the swaddle me and then swaddle a second layer using a large recieving blanket! haha Like a mummy he could not break free. This worked for 3mo and was a life saver. Though he would fight the swaddle we persisted and it helped in the long run.

Next time I will probably get a miracle blanket.

 

[Pandora II]

I had the kiddopotomus swaddles and a couple of others and it was utterly impossible to swaddle Madam at all. I was so sad as they were lovely...

I use bamboo fibre blankets all year round - they're like silk in that they're warm in the winter and cool in the summer. They feel like cashmere and can go in the washing machine so they're very practical as well.

 

[KimberlyH]

We are, Laila. I live in uptown sd.

 

[packrat]

I didn't w/London b/c I couldn't keep her in it. The nurses at the hospital showed me how to do the "baby burrito" they call it (hehe) but then when I got home it was like..wha??? Plus, being my first, I was petrified I'd hurt her or her arms would go numb and fall off. Trapper, by then I was a pro and could sling him around like a sack a taters but..that kid had gumption like I've never seen before and he got out of everything I did. With both kids I ended up using the sleep sacks, but I used the long sleeved ones. They're not super heavy and if it was a little warmer I just left them in their diaper underneath. Some of them have the little flaps that go over the hands too and that's nice.

 

[turtledazzle]

Ditto many of the others above.

We started out with the A+A blankets, but our big guy quickly busted out of them (especially if mommy did the swaddle). We then quickly got the miracle blanket for nighttime sleep. I use the Kiddopotamus ones for daytime -- I think since my kid is on the bigger side these worked well for us, but I can see a slimmer child breaking his hands out of these easier.

I am thinking of getting a Woombie soon. He is outgrowing the Kiddopotamus ones, and I think the Woombie might make a good transition from the Miracle blanket in the process of deswaddling.

Has anyone tried the convertible Woombie? http://www.thewoombie.com/convertiblewoombie.html
If it works it seems like a good idea. After you've deswaddled, you can still use it as sleep sack (albeit it a snug one).

 

[ChargerGrrl]

major score at BRU today: a two-pack of Halo fleece sleepsacks (with a bonus MAM paci) for $15!!!
It pays to go through the pile in the clearance area!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

We use the A&A blankets and the MB. Target now sells the A&A blankets, you can get a pack of 4 for $20.

 

[Mara]

major score at BRU today: a two-pack of Halo fleece sleepsacks (with a bonus MAM paci) for $15!!!
It pays to go through the pile in the clearance area!

this is totally where i got mine, clearance bin!!! they had organic ones for $9 and they are normally like $25.

the A&A blankets at Target--just make sure they are 47x47, some of them are 44x44. also just FYI the A&A at Target are a different texture than the ones you find at boutiques, a little thicker. we have both types.

 

[orbaya]

I loved the 2-1 HALO swaddlers. You can use it as a wearable blanket or add the fabric to swaddle with it. Evan is 9 months old and we still use the sleepsack part. I find these quick and easy to use for swaddling.

I hated using receiving blankets for swaddling because I couldn't get the hang of it and Evan would always wiggle out of it. Plus, I always felt like I was wrestling with him.

 

[fieryred33143]

We used swaddleme. Once she learned to break out of it (3.5 months) we quit swaddling.