Forbes Vetted
The Best Swaddles To Help Your Newborn Stay Cozy And Asleep
and Lex Goodman
Published: February 8, 2024
Source: Best Swaddles 2024 - Forbes Vetted
The best swaddles are easy to use, keep babies cozy and prevent them from starting themselves awake—so the whole household sleeps better. “Babies like to sleep in a snug, tight position like they were in the uterus. That’s why we swaddle them,” says Dr. Daniel Ganjian, a pediatrician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. “We call the newborn period the ‘fourth trimester’ because babies like everything to be like it was in the womb.”
The concept of swaddling is simple: Wrap a thin blanket snugly around your little one’s body with arms tucked in at the sides. It should be secure enough so they can’t wiggle out, while allowing for hip movement. Of course, this task sometimes proves complicated, especially when you’re trying to wrap up a wriggling, fragile newborn while you are sleep-deprived. That’s why we love styles like the Halo Sleepsack and the Happiest Baby Sleepea, which let you swaddle your baby in seconds flat. Ganjian adds that they’re considered safe to use until your baby starts to roll over. (You’ll find more on safety guidelines after the product selections.)
We’ve rounded up the best swaddles for newborns and babies, plus expert tips on how to choose the right one for your family. From zip-and-Velcro designs to more traditional wraps, there’s an option for every swaddle style, as well as non-swaddled sleep sacks to consider once your baby outgrows the swaddle.
Best Nontraditional Swaddle
An 'Intuitive Design'
THE OLLIE WORLD
The Ollie Swaddle
AT Amazon
Type: Wrap, transitional | Material: Polyester, spandex | Closure: Velcro-like hook and loop fabric, gathered bottom with elastic | Size: One size
It’s the priciest pick in our lineup, but The Ollie Swaddle is the best non-traditional swaddle because it’s unique and user-friendly. It’s made from a soft and stretchy fabric blend that is tightened at the top with Velcro-like hook and loop closures, while the adjustable bottom is open—you gather and secure the fabric with an elastic band. We like that you can secure the top of the swaddle either with one or both of baby’s arms out, but its true crowning glory is the open bottom, which allows you to easily change your infant’s dirty diaper in the wee hours of the morning—all without having to undo the entire swaddle. The gathered bottom is loose enough for proper hip mobility while sleeping, and you can easily adjust the closure as he or she grows.
What parents say: “It’s one of the easiest and most intuitive designs I’ve encountered,” says Alexandra Frost, Forbes contributor and mom to five. “The elastic closure at the bottom makes it the one swaddle you’d need for as long as you could possibly want to swaddle. This makes it worth the price. It also seems cooler than some other swaddle fabrics, so it could be used year-round. My baby escaped other swaddles but hasn’t been able to squirm out of this one. My only critique is that the fabric near the neck isn’t contoured to accommodate the chin like some other swaddles, so it took a little trial and error to get the fabric around the face properly.”
