Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Woombie: A New Swaddling Technique

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In our house, we are swaddling evangelists. Darah LOVED to be swaddled. Like, more than any other baby I know. She was tightly swaddled including her arms until she was about 5 months old (by her insistence!) and was tightly swaddled with arms out until she was probably 16 months old (again, by her insistence). Even now, at 2 and 5 months, she likes her blanket to be very loosely swaddle-like around her (of course she pops right out of it, but it’s a sleep cue to her, we think). Her swaddling blankets have been one of the very biggest work horses in the nursery.

So it won’t surprise you to hear that we will be swaddling baby #2. But I have learned a few things about swaddling in the time since Darah was bundled up like a pea in a pod. Most notably, I’ve learned that you have to take care not to make the swaddle too tight around the legs, as that can impede their hip development. I also know from experience that a loose swaddle on a newborn and young infant is kind of pointless. This has really left me scratching my head about what to do!

woombie review

Oh bloggers, how you help me so! Thanks to some great reviews that I read, I learned all about this fabulous product called Woombie. If you have never practiced swaddling, then the look of it may make you nervous. Let’s be real, it looks like an infant straight jacket. But as a swaddling aficionado, I’m super excited at the look of it. It’s this perfect balance of a snug and tight environment, which little ones crave (think of the womb!) while also leaving some stretch opportunity for those growing legs and hips.

I also like that if you happen to have a major squirmy worm on your hands, there’s no blanket to come unraveled, which means no suffocation risk. That’s great for peace of mind. We received the newborn original Woombie in raspberry (FABULOUS color, by the way) and the material seems to be just too right…breathable, yet will keep your baby nice and warm without overheating.

Woombie offers a very impressive variety of styles and options for your little snuggle bear. The Houdini is for those babies who can get out of ANY swaddle. Not this one! I’m also drawn to the organic line, as well.

Prices for the Woombie vary depending on which style you select. The original that we reviewed retails for $26.99 and fits 5-13 pounds. They also offer a size for 14-19 and 20-25 pounds, as well as a 3-6 pounds for preemies. Woombies can be purchased online at Amazon or you can find your nearest retailer.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win an Original Woombie in your choice of available colors and size!

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HALO SleepSack Swaddle Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Do you think that Snuggies are the original wearable blanket?

Nope! That honor goes to the HALO SleepSack Wearable Blanket! 🙂 SleepSacks are these really awesome wearable blankets for babies. One of my nieces wore SleepSacks religiously as a baby, as they kept her nice and warm. And most importantly, they kept her very safe as they eliminate loose blankets in the crib to help prevent SIDS!

We had some SleepSacks for Darah, but they were honestly never a hit. She was such a fan of the swaddle that the SleepSack was just too loose around her legs for her comfort. She was very used to be snug as a bug in a rug!

So I was intrigued when I learned that HALO had created the SleepSack Swaddle. I had the opportunity to check it out, and while I don’t have a baby to put in it, I still had a few initial observations.

1. It looks very easy to use. Swaddling does have a bit of a learning curve when you do it the old fashioned way, but this swaddler looks extremely intuitive. That’s a great thing for a nervous new parent!

2. I’m not convinced that a newborn would love it, as it leaves the legs covered but not cocooned, which is what I found to be the real reason that babies love to be swaddled. In some ways it mimics being inside the womb – all warm and cozy! But the HALO SleepSack Swaddle does keep the arms close to the baby’s body which is very comforting.

I did spend some time on the HALO website learning about why they designed their swaddler this way, and I came away with some surprising information that really has me thinking. They state that many parents wrap their babies too tightly and this can actually cause hip dysplasia after birth. Their hips need to have freedom of movement and their knees need to be able to extend. There’s no doubt in my mind that we wrapped Darah up very tightly, and for many, MANY months. This gives me pause to wonder if there really is such a thing as swaddling too tight!

How we swaddled Darah is water under the bridge, and I’m not going to waste time worrying about what I cannot change. With that said, when we are ready to have another baby, I’ll be doing more research on this issue and also looking to the HALO SleepSack Swaddle blanket as a viable swaddling option.

Buy it!: The HALO SleepSack Swaddle is available at many fine retailers, including Target, Amazon and Babies R Us. The SleepSack Swaddle retails for $26.95.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a HALO SleepSack Swaddle in your choice of size! The contest will run until July 31st at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: This contest is open to all the Facebook fans! Like Stuff Parents Need AND HALO SleepSack on Facebook and come back here to tell me you did for your mandatory entry.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Follow HALO SleepSack on Twitter
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Google Friend Connect (found on the sidebar)

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of the page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.