Reviewed
The Best Swaddles of 2024
Updated: July 18, 2024
Source: 11 Best Swaddles of 2024 - Reviewed (usatoday.com)
Parents all have the same hope for their newborns when venturing home from the hospital: Please, let this one be a sleeper!
From shushing to rocking, amid many mom tricks for getting babies to sleep, there are a few dangers, too. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) warns against having loose blankets or sheets in the crib with babies younger than 12 months of age, which is a hard sell for parents who innately want to keep their kids cozy and warm.
Enter swaddle wraps.
By wrapping a baby snugly and safely, the best swaddles keep a newborn baby calm and create a perfect recipe for a good night’s sleep for both baby and parent.
Starting at the hospital and continuing at home, our mom testers spent the first three months of their babies' lives testing every type of swaddle imaginable. During this experience, they determined the best swaddle is the Happiest Baby Sleepea (available at Amazon) . It’s tight, easy to get on and off a baby, easy to change a diaper in, and just great all around.
If you’re looking for a swaddle that can grow with your baby, we highly recommend the Halo Cotton Sleepsack Swaddle. This swaddle is what parents are often sent home with from the hospital—and with good reason. It’s breathable, easy to use, and features Velcro wings that safely tuck your baby’s arms to their sides.
Other Swaddles We Tested
Ollie Swaddle
If you use social media, chances are you’ve seen the popular Ollie Swaddle featured in Instagram ads and on influencer’s accounts. Was it the best swaddle we tried? Not quite.
We felt pretty neutral about the Ollie Swaddle’s fit and fabric. It comes with a carrier/delicates wash bag and simply folds across your baby’s body tightly with heavy-duty (loud) Velcro, like a little straight jacket. It can also be adjusted by tying off the end, so it can fit a baby of any age. And because it can be shifted downwards, it can transition as your child ages and needs their arms free.
Our test baby managed to get her tiny fists out of this swaddle every so often, no matter how tightly we cinched it together. Plus, again, the Velcro is loud. But if you need to change a diaper in the night, you can do so without causing too much of a ruckus, and the material is soft and stretchy.
It wasn’t our favorite in the bunch but it’s worth trying if your baby resists traditional swaddles. However, it was also one of the pricier options as well.
Pros
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Soft material
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Simple design
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Makes for easy diaper changes
Cons
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Hard to cinch tight enough
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Loud Velcro
How We Tested the Best Swaddles
The Testers
Ilana Cohn is a writer and performer living in Los Angeles, and she used to run a podcast called, “Yer Mama.” She loves reading about the latest baby gear and sharing her opinion, so she was excited to have the opportunity to review products with baby number two, starting from day one.
Jenni Gritters tested swaddles on her second child, Lily Ray, who was born mid-summer and was a tenacious tester, escaping most of the swaddles she tried. Jenni previously worked full time as an editor at Wirecutter, and she now reviews all kinds of gear for Wirecutter, Reviewed, Forbes, Slate and beyond.
Kate Ellsworth is the Executive Editor of Lifestyle at Reviewed and her baby girl, Vivienne, was more than excited to try out a bunch of swaddles, especially when they had fun designs. Vivienne was born in the summer with the heart of a dancer, so she was adept at breaking out of even the tightest wraps.
The Tests
Over the course of the first three months of our baby’s lives, we tried out many different swaddles. We would test each swaddle through at least two sleeps and we revisited each a month later. We wrote down the results as they were happening because as anyone who has a newborn knows, those first few months are a whirlwind of feed, burp, change, sleep (hopefully) and repeat.
To find the best swaddle, we looked at the fabric quality, ease of use, special features, storage, fit, comfort, ease of wrapping and adjustability, ability to change a diaper and overall experience.
We looked at several types of fit, as well, including Velcro wraps, traditional swaddle blankets, and more unique offerings (like the Ollie).
We also washed each swaddle in the laundry along with other clothing to see how the fabric changed with each wash and which got stuck to each other (spoiler alert: if it had Velcro, it got stuck to something).