My Favorite Newborn Swaddles

If you take anything away from this post, let it be this: 1. Buy swaddles with a zipper, and: 2. Make sure the velcro parts are fastened when you throw them in the wash, otherwise they will pill and potentially ruin anything else in your laundry load!

Here are my two favorite (splurge & save) swaddles that I will be reusing for my second baby:

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Save: aden + anais Essentials Easy Wrap Swaddle This was the swaddle that we used asap and that got the most use in our house.

• Why I love it:

  • The zippered bottom made for quick diaper changes in the middle of the night, with the least amount of disruption to my newborn (her arms were still tucked and swaddled while I unzipped the bottom and changed her). After having a zippered bottom pocket, the idea of shoving a baby in and out of a pita pocket swaddle without a zipper made zero sense to me!

  • Cost effective. 3 Swaddles for $30 is a great deal.

• Cons:

  • We had 6 of these swaddles and two of them had sticky or broken zippers by the time we were done swaddling. To be fair, we were using them day & night, so there were a lot of miles on those zippers.

  • The velcro was relatively loud (not great for a sleeping baby) but I am still keeping and planning to use the ones we have left!

Splurge: embé 2-Way Starter Baby Swaddle

We found this swaddle later in the game, but wish we had used it sooner!

• Why I love it:

  • The velcro was shockingly quieter than the other swaddles we tried. (Great for middle of the night changes.)

  • The fabric was luxe, stretchy and soft, but still warm. This style has a zipper by the baby’s chest and a non-zippered pocket by their feet, but I didn’t mind diaper changes because the pocket was roomy enough to get them in and out.

  • They also have a Transitional Swaddle when your baby is larger/ showing signs of rolling over. You can have one or both arms out of the transitional swaddle, and our baby loved the freedom that came with that!

• Cons:

  • At $40 a piece, they are pricey.

  • I still love a zippered pocket at the bottom for diaper changes.

A little more detail on our swaddling journey…

Like most new parents, my husband and I were clueless about swaddling. After we figured out how to use a simple swaddle blanket in the hospital, we figured that’s what we would use forever… WRONG.

Our baby was a little Houdini and escaped even the tightest of swaddle blankets. So we busted out the velcro and zippered swaddle contraptions and found they were much better at securing our newborn.

All this to say, buy whatever brand fits best in your budget, but really consider zippered swaddles to make your life easier at 3am!