The Best Baby Diapers You Can Really Wear
My daughter was a herald. From the moment she left my body until she was six months old, she cried regularly. (You might be thinking, “All babies cry!” And that’s true, but my second child cried, maybe a quarter of what my daughter cried. Now.) She cried because she was hungry. She cried because she was a “gassed baby.” I swear sometimes she cried just to play with me! (I’m kidding.)
I’ve tried everything: burping, singing, feeding, dancing, all kinds of baby swings … and, of course, swaddling. If you are a parent, you have swaddled your child, or at least tried to do so. And even if you are a childless person, you have probably heard the term. Basically, swaddling means wrapping the baby in a blanket so that he feels comfortable and safe, as if he were returning to the womb. Swaddling helped – not always, it would have been too easy – but when it came to sleep, my daughter slept longer and better when swaddled in her oatmeal.
But how exactly to swaddle? Unfortunately, wrapping a baby in a square piece of fabric is not easy; it’s not even intuitive. When you see pictures of newborns on social media and they are wrapped in a cream blanket with red and blue stripes? The nurses wrapped these babies – and ordinary mortal mothers cannot do this, like these maternity nurses. I’ve literally never seen my mom have such success in swaddling.
Because of this, I always try to dissuade parents from standard swaddling in the form of blankets. Your baby will undoubtedly wriggle, and they serve no other purpose: they are not warm enough to be a blanket, and they are too large to be burp rags. While tres Brooklyn, muslin cotton from trendy kids’ brand Aden + Anais are attractive, they are just as difficult to work with.
Also: swaddling can be dangerous if you don’t do it right. If the baby gets out of the diaper at night, he runs the risk of his mouth being covered with a cloth or entangled in it. A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics found that swaddled babies are at a higher risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) if they are laid on their stomach or side while sleeping. Of course, it is currently recommended that babies only sleep on their backs.
(It is also important to note that as soon as babies can pull themselves out of swaddling or when they begin to roll over, swaddling should be stopped. This usually occurs between 4 and 6 months of age.)
But here’s the catch: Swaddling can be awesome for a crying baby! I did some research and tried swaddling without a blanket. These are magic diapers that your child will not get out of, and to master them, you will not need to watch YouTube.
Simple, simple, simple
To create the easiest swaddle, start with Summer Infant SwaddleMe Original .
These diapers are the best. Just put your baby’s feet in a pocket that basically looks like a smaller pillowcase. Pull the fabric up from the waist, wrap the left side of the upper fabric over the baby’s arm and behind the back, and then wrap the right side and secure. with Velcro fasteners. Done and done. The cotton fabric is also very soft.
We used SummerInfant with my daughter (the one who was crying) and kept one hand outstretched to help herself calm down (she sucked her thumb).
Both of our babies were born in the summer, which made the diaper perfect thanks to the lightweight cotton.
For a child who moves a lot
If you love to move and shake, try Halo Sleepsack .
The Halo Sleepsack is great for kids who love to kick their feet and move their arms. It is adjustable, so the hands can either be swaddled against the baby’s body, or moved freely outside the swaddle. The skirt of the bag is long, which allows it to move freely from the waist down.
It’s also easy to use: slide the baby’s handles through the handholes and the legs into the bag and zip up. (It is inverted so that you can easily change the diaper late at night.) Then wrap the left changing wing under the baby’s right arm, and then wrap the right changing wing over the baby’s left arm. Fasten with Velcro.
This diaper creates a cozy feeling with thicker diaper wings and a blanket-like skirt.
The most versatile
For versatility, try the Anna & Eve Changing Strap .
This changing strap is great because you can simply slip it over anything your baby is wearing. There is no fabric wrapping or bagging, you literally just place the baby on a wide piece of fabric, wrap the inner fabric around your arms, and then repeat with the outer fabric. He feels safe, and babies who don’t like swaddling are more likely to approach him.
For a raised baby
Hands up? Try Love to Dream Swaddle Up Lite .
The common position of babies in the womb is hands up; their arms are bent at the elbows and pressed to their face. The Love to Dream model mimics this position and also provides comfort while changing. Your baby is placed in a diaper covering his entire body inside.
This diaper has double zippers for easy diaper changes and is made of 7% elastane in addition to cotton, which gives it a pleasant feeling of elasticity. Another bonus to being completely covered is that the child cannot accidentally scratch their face.
Swaddling is a powerful tool in a parent’s arsenal. Any – or all – of these options should give you the benefits of swaddling without any of the hassles associated with traditional swaddling.