The Sleepea combines the best features of the Miracle Blanket (above) and the Woombie (below) for a quick, easy swaddle that actually holds well. Besides its somewhat unfortunate-looking name, the Sleepea is actually a pretty darn good swaddle. Harvey Karp, author of The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep and developer of the exorbitantly expensive SNOO bassinet (seventeen hundred dollars, I mean, seriously?). This swaddle doesn’t take any thought, just zip it up. *Another option for brand newborns, is the SwaddleMe Pod ($24/2-pack). Note: size small fits up to 3 months, but it’s actually a little big for a newborn. It’s very user-friendly (though, please RTFM: it’s important that you properly velcro the LEFT flap to the middle part, otherwise your little Houdini will bust out with the jailbreak maneuver no problemo), and you can get cotton or microfleece depending on the season. (IOW, they’re relatively easy for babies to squirm their way out of.) One other downside is that opening the Velcro can be shockingly loud and alarming. The Summer Infant SwaddleMe packs are sort of the classic basic swaddle product - they’ll work nicely for the average baby, but if yours is really squirmy or tends to “fight the swaddle,” it may not hold especially well. The SwaddleMe is basically a pouch with wings that velcro together to create an okay swaddle. In the economy category, the SwaddleMe is a decent place to start, and you can’t beat the price. The Summer Infant SwaddleMe Original Swaddle ~$32/3-pack After that you’ll have to start weaning off the swaddle… but that’s getting way ahead of ourselves. *Note that these are only used from 0-4 months, or as soon as your baby can roll over. Without further ado, here are some of our favorite baby swaddles, in order of price (low to high): Much like with baby bottles, I recommend buying one at a time to see what works best for you… and then you’ll want to stock up. Point being: be prepared for a bit of trial and error. And since every baby is different, the same swaddle might work magic for one and be a complete failure for another. You might find that certain swaddle products work best for your baby at different ages - your favorite newborn swaddle, for example, might not be the same as your favorite 3-month-old swaddle. Unless you happen to be a pediatrician or a nurse and already have hours of swaddling practice under your belt, this is what I suggest. The other route is to use a “swaddle product,” which is honestly what most parents do these days. The bottom line is it really doesn’t matter use whichever arm position your baby likes the best. Still others advocate for arms to be up such that baby can have her hands by her face (this is often the position used for preemies). Others prefer the arms to be crossed over the chest to replicate the conditions in the womb. Harvey Karp, author of Happiest Baby on the Block, recommends swaddling with arms down by the sides. Essentially, you don’t want your baby’s legs to be forced down straight rather, they should be loosely wrapped to stay in the “M” or frogged position, as they were in the womb. Keep in mind that the recommendation for swaddling has changed to include a warning against wrapping the legs/hips too tightly, which can lead to hip dysplasia.
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