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While searching for the ultimate night’s rest, I tried all the baby swaddle products. Here’s how five popular swaddle products fared while I searched for the best swaddle for newborns.

New parents will do almost anything—or purchase any product—to get more sleep. Am I right?

Before I became a mom, I thought the giant-sized registries I saw were laughable—but then I got pregnant with twins.

The searches along the lines of will I ever sleep again were real and so were the desperate buys.

One easy decision in our household, reinforced by research, was the importance of swaddling.

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How swaddling helped my twins sleep through the night

My twin boys are now nine months old and sleep seven to seven, thanks in large part to strict-ish adherence of Moms on Call.

Even though they didn’t sttn at swaddling age (less than 12 lbs or 12 weeks), I believe that swaddling helped my boys eventually sleep through the night.

First off, it set them up for sleep training. If you decide to eventually incorporate sleep training, it’s much easier to do so if your baby is waking a few times per night, versus partying all night long.

Second, when you see that something works, it gives you the confidence to go a step further. So once you realize the power of swaddling, it empowers you to believe that you can do this!

Okay. Enough of the touchy-feely stuff, let’s get to the FAQs on swaddling and the best swaddle for newborns!

Should you swaddle your baby?

According to pregnancy baby here are some key benefits of swaddling:

Swaddling can help calm a baby — it is thought that swaddling helps recreate the restricted space in the womb.
Some studies have shown that swaddled babies wake less frequently and sleep longer than non-swaddled babies.
Swaddling may also help reduce the risk of sudden infant death by keeping babies on their back during sleep.

from Pregnancybirthbaby.org

To swaddle or not to swaddle

All that sounds great, but when your baby is unconsolable at three a.m., you wonder if swaddling is all that great.

Plus, there’s the preference argument, which is subjective so hard to argue with.

One common argument I heard against swaddling was that “my baby doesn’t like to be swaddled!” Indeed, it can seem like infants fight against the swaddle!

Our baby, Alex, liked to have his hands by his face for soothing purposes. After reading more, I became convinced that he needed to be swaddled even if he didn’t want to.

We experimented with swaddling, not swaddling, and swaddling with one arm out.

It did seem that the babies slept better when they were swaddled. The caveat was they had to be well swaddled. If they started breaking out or it became unclasped–or they wiggled out one arm or pulled it up over their head–any number of which newborns are prone to do it would lead to worse sleep. Especially after we had to go in their room, fix them up, then pray that they’d fall back to sleep easily.

To confound things further, the more tired you are when you initially swaddle the worse you tend to actually be at swaddling.

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How to make baby swaddles work for you:

To make swaddling work for you, there are three steps.

1. Find the best swaddle
2. Become better at swaddling
3. Be consistent and firm.

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Step one is to experiment to find the best swaddles for newborns. Mommas have swaddled babies for centuries to help newborns sleep longer, but the sheer number of swaddles available now–and the promises they make–are mindboggling.

I scoured reviews, sought expert recommendations, and watched youtube videos. Here’s what I tried and how they compared.Here are the ones we tried and how they fared:

1. Regular Muslin Blanket

Since my twins were in the NICU, I watched them being swaddled by nurses approximately 789 times. So my confidence in swaddling the old-fashioned way was high. I started with regular muslin blankets like these, figuring I would successfully swaddle my twinnies like they did in the old days.

Result: this worked well when they were newborns. Once my twinnies got a little bit bigger–and by bigger I mean over six lbs–my subpar swaddling technique started to show. I would seem to have too much loose fabric no matter what I did, or I’d be left with two little fabric to tuck in the baby nice and tight.

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Note: the pride factor was high with this method, meaning when I did get it right, I felt a sense of achievement, the importance of which cannot be downplayed, especially in the early days of momming. But, in good conscience when you factor in ease of use I cannot call it the best swaddle for newborns.

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2. Extra-large flannel blanket

Next, after watching the moms on call swaddle video a few more times, I figured my blanket was too tiny. So I ordered a bigger one like this. I really wanted to make it look nice and neat–and easy–like they do on youtube, but it still wasn’t quite right.

Result: The bigger swaddle blanket helped, but I still didn’t consider it the best swaddle for newborns. One thing that bugged me is there was no stretch, I preferred the stretchiness of the muslin blanket.

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Note: You should watch the video at the bottom of this post regardless of the swaddle you choose!

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3. Swaddle Pouches.

Next I tried some swaddle pouches like this. These were economical which was a pro [especially after all the other blankets I bought!] They were also adorable and stretchy, so I found myself reaching for them just because of that.

But…I could never seem to get them to fit quite right. Either the velcro was in the wrong spot, or it wasn’t tight enough, and E wriggled out of them regularly.

Result: Either my baby was strangely sized, the pouches were, or I was doing it wrong. In the swaddle pouches defense, my preemie babies were much tinier than average, so I may not be their ideal customer.

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4. Halo sleepsack

The Halo sleepsack was highly recommended, so ordered a few and registered for more. I always found myself coming back to this one. It was high quality and since you can use for sleep past the swaddle period, it felt more like an investment.

The microfleece version is quite warm, so it seemed like overkill when the nursery was on the hotter side. I’d usually dress the twins in a lighter layer if I was going to use this one. One thing I don’t like is that a wriggle baby can make the entire thing slide up–a few times I came in to the sack covering part of their face. Eventually I learned that you have to pull the sides closed in a downward direction.

Result: I like these perfectly fine, and they come in all kinds of adorable patterns (because obviously that’s important). E favors the swaddle with a hedgehog print, which I affectionally call his “hedgehog suit.” So that’s fun.

Update: now that the boys are close to dropping the swaddle, I like the Halos more. You can close it around their torso and keep one or both arms free. A benefit I’d add to this option is longevity.

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5. Ollie Swaddle

A mom in one of my facebook groups had recommended this swaddle as a miracle sleep extender and the best swaddle for newborns. I saw it after a bad sleep night, and immediately went to the website and ordered it. It was expensive, but so was not sleeping for days on end, feeling extra cranky, and subsequently having to hire someone to watch the boys for the sole purpose of sleeping.

When my ollies arrived in the mail, I immediately noticed the super strong velco from top to bottom and stretch fabric.  Also, the material is somewhat wicking so spitup or em…other fluids, don’t sink right in and keep the baby wet.

Result: This was by far the best swaddle we tried. The combo of stretch, velcro, and wick holds the baby in place firmly. The price tag is hard to swallow, but it’s easier than buying ten lesser swaddles.

Become better at swaddling

Scroll to the bottom to check out the Moms on Call swaddle video. I must have watched this thing a hundred times! This swaddling technique video was instrumental in helping me learn how to swaddle step by step.

When to stop swaddling baby?

Once you’ve become a swaddling pro, you may dread the day you need to stop swaddling baby. When is that by the way?

The moms on call wisdom was 12 weeks or 12 lbs, and the generally accepted Google wisdom is that when baby starts showing signs of rolling over.

Should you stop swaddling cold turkey?

This is a personal preference thing. For us, it worked well to stop—again, per MOC wisdom.

If you search online, there are lots of “swaddling transition plans” but let’s get real—mama ain’t got time for that!

In all seriousness, make it easy on yourself and pick up the MOC book and just do it.

Be Consistent and Firm

Once you have the best swaddle for newborns—and you’re passable at swaddling—it’s all about consistency.

I firmly believe swaddling helps babies fall asleep and stay asleep, and what new parent wouldn’t see the value in that?

It helped me to remember that good sleep wasn’t for me primarily, it was for my babies! Therefore when I jumped to grab them at the first cry, or I avoided swaddling because “it didn’t seem they liked it” I was looking for a quick fix, when swaddling was better for all of us in the long term.

Alternatives to swaddling

Let’s say swaddling just isn’t for you. Or you’re looking for ways to get your newborn to sleep without swaddling. Or you’re just convinced that your baby hates the swaddle.

There is no shortage of products for that.

You may want to try something like a swaddling sleep sack, a zipadee zip, miracle blanket, or woombie swaddle.

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What about you? Which swaddle products worked the best for your baby, and which ones should I have tried? I’d love to hear in the comments.

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Up next: I tried all the ways to boost milk supply. Here’s what worked.

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 More tips and tricks for #momlife:

• 3 new mom hacks to save you hours per week
• How to tandem feed twins to save time
• 5 tips for a productive morning routine with babies
• Four most comfortable and flattering maternity dresses [for 2019]
• The real deal on getting back in shape after baby

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If you’ve tried any other swaddles, which one did you think was the best swaddle for newborns? Here are some great swaddle reviews I found around the web:

Best Swaddles of 2019 – Babylist

The 8 Best Swaddles of 2019 – Verywell Family

Best Swaddle Blankets – The Bump

The Best Baby Swaddles for 2019: Reviews by Wirecutter

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