Newborn sleep is such a hot topic among new parents, and for good reason! It can be really tricky to get those little newborns in a good sleep routine. But having some helpful products can really make a HUGE difference! I’ve had two babies of my own and have worked on a postpartum unit for five years now. I have swaddled A LOT of babies! These are what I have found to be the BEST swaddles for newborns.
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Something I hear my patients say all the time is how they never seem to get their baby swaddled as well as the nurses do. It definitely is an art form and takes practice. It took me at least 2 years working with newborns and swaddling them often, as well as having a newborn of my own before I really got the hang of it. I also do often see babies swaddled improperly. If a swaddle is wrapped too loose it can become a suffocation risk.
But babies do sleep much better swaddled. This is because swaddles help to suppress the Moro or “startle” reflex. And swaddling is one of the best ways to help a baby learn to fall asleep independently. That is huge in helping your baby to eventually start to sleep through the night. But let’s be real. When you’re an exhausted parent of a newborn, the last thing you want to do is baby origami 20 times a day! My solution to this is Velcro or zippered swaddles.
Velcro/Zippered
Arms Up
When my first daughter was 3 weeks old, my husband and I were so sick of having to continually swaddle her the traditional way. She also always seemed to wiggle her way out of them! Sound familiar? And then she wouldn’t sleep well unless being held. So I finally ordered one of these swaddles and it was a GAME CHANGER!
It allows the baby to still have their arms up by their face which many babies like and this can really help them to be better soothed. It’s also fitted around the chest and abdomen, so it helps the baby to feel secure. But it’s looser from the waist down which is good for their hip mobility. It also has a two way zipper and can zip from the bottom up which makes diaper changes so much easier!
This swaddle actually came out in between me having my two babies so I didn’t get to try it with my first, but I know she would have loved it! It’s a similar design as the previous swaddle with the arms up. But the arms on this one are made out of mesh which is great for babies who like to practice self soothing by sucking on their fingers or hands. Those mesh “wings” for the arms can also be zippered off. This is a nice feature to have so that you can leave one or both arms out when working on transitioning baby out of the swaddle.
It comes in both 0-3 months and 3-6 months sizes. It has a weighted “bean sack” area on the front as well as weighted areas on the sides that elicits the “cuddle” effect. This helps baby stay soothed and asleep better and longer.
Arms Down
You know how they say every baby is different? And that what works for one might not work at all for another? Well those statements are totally true. My second daughter preferred to be swaddled with her arms down as opposed to up by her face like my first daughter loved. Little stinker!
So although we still used both of the arms up swaddles with her, she did seem to prefer this style better. It’s from the same brand as the last one I mentioned, so it has that patented weighted “bean sack” on the chest as well as the sides. However with this one, you place the baby’s legs and torso in the pouch area and wrap the wings around the baby.
Instead of having a zippered closure, it’s secured by Velcro. It also contains an inner pouch that you can use the first couple of months and then the main pouch can fit baby up until 6 months. So it grows with the baby and you can even use it to help transition baby out of the swaddle into a sleep sack by leaving one or both arms out.
This brand does also have a sleep sack that we used with our first daughter that we LOVED! It totally saved all of our sleep after that dreaded four month sleep regression. It also can be reversed to where the bean sack is on the baby’s back for when they start rolling from back to belly and if they prefer to sleep that way.
These swaddles are a similar design to the previous ones as far as having the pouch that goes around baby’s legs and torso and Velcro to secure them. However, they do not have the weighted parts like the other one. They are quite a bit more affordable though as they come in a set of 3. My babies both outgrew them at about 2 months old.
Traditional Swaddles
Although I am a huge fan of zippered/Velcro swaddles, I still went back and forth between those and traditional swaddles with my second baby.
These are my favorite style of swaddles for swaddling baby the traditional way. They are so soft and large enough that the baby can wear them for several months. You don’t have to worry about baby growing out of them like other traditional swaddles. You can also wrap these around the baby and tie it in a knot at the bottom. This is of course super cute for pictures! But it also helps to prevent the baby from kicking out of the swaddle.
So there you have it! The tried and true BEST swaddles for newborns that I have discovered to date. Leave a comment below letting me know if you’d like to see a tutorial on how to swaddle a baby properly. What other newborn essentials would you like to know about?
This is great!
Thank you!