Newborn sleep - swaddle, blanket or Grobag

[Alice925]

Hi,
38 weeks pregnant here and just trying to get all in order before the baby comes.
Just wondering what people do when the baby is a newborn.
Did you swaddle straightway? Is it for all naps and sleeps? If so what did you use?
I have various blankets and muslins but not sure what to use. Do you also need a blanket if you swaddle the baby?

I've also been gifted some 0-6 month sleep bags but they seem huge to use for a newborn

Any advice would be great

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MNHQ

FTM here so no experience but asked many people about it and i finally got

• a newborn swaddle bag, looks like a sleeping bag but tighter
• some cellular blankets for swaddling or covering some are thin some are a bit heavier
• muslins

From what friends told me, some babies hate being swaddledso i think it's better to keep your mind open and get use cellular blankets maybe if the sleeping bags are too big?

We used cellular blankets to swaddle until DS lost his startle reflex then we moved onto sleeping bags. We tried them before that but he would startle himself awake so stuck to swaddling.

I didn't use any other blankets as I was worried they wouldn't be breathable enough.

I stocked up on newborn sleeping bags (grosnugs and a Purflo one) before DD was born, they have a swaddle function but can also have arms out. However, she doesn't like being swaddled and I worried she'd get too warm in them so we've just been using cellular blankets. As PP says, keep an open mind as your baby may not like being swaddled. If they do, these seem like a good option. Be aware with the 0-6 month sleeping bags that (confusingly) they may not actually be suitable from birth, there may be a minimum weight. You can get special sleeping bags for actual newborns (as above).

The sleeping bags might not be suitable depending on the weight of the baby. My baby is currently swaddled with a blanket over her. She sleeps so much better when she’s swaddled

Swaddled at first and yes a blanket over tucked into the sides of crib at first , then at 3 months moved into grobag ! We had to swaddle as our babies startle reflex was quite bad so she had to have her arms strapped in ! Made her sleep brilliantly though x

We were given a couple of grosnugs and they were an absolute saviour for us while the startle reflex was so strong. Just zip their arms in and they can't throw them up and wake themselves up. We progressed on to a baby sleeping bag at about 3 months I think when the startle relex had gone and I was confident she was big enough to not wriggle down into the neck opening. I could never get the swaddling quite right with a blanket and the grosnug saved the hassle

I used cellular blankets but then found my baby didn't really sleep alone....so ended up with him on/next to me. I'd recommend reading up on safe cosleeping in case your baby is one of those too.

Grosnugs as suitable when they're small and they can be used as swaddle or bag.
With both my babies the 'love to dream' swaddles have been great if you go down the swaddle route

As tiny newborns mine slept so much better being swaddled. We then progressed to grobags after a few months.

We used blankets until DD was big enough for a sleeping bag. DD was one of those babies who hated being swaddled - she had to have her arms free.

I swaddle 6wo DD in a big muslin, I’ve got a three pack of ones which are 120x120 and I use them for all sleeps. I cover her in a crocheted blanket tuck in to the mattress.
I swaddled DS as well until he stopped waking himself up with his arms and then just popped him into a sleeping bag.

I feed DD until she removes herself from my breast and burp her. This wakes her up as she usually has a good vomit, then swaddle her and put her back on my boob for another minute til she falls asleep and then pop her into her crib.

Swaddling definitely for all naps and sleeps from birth. The special wrap things like love to dream are really good. With the Muslins they can sometimes come loose or ride up or the baby can wriggle an arm out. With the special wraps or bags they can't. Then you can move onto a transitional bag that you can use with arms in or out. They either zip or popper open and closed. This is good because you can leave one arm out and one in when you are transitioning them to arms out - less waking themselves up that way.

I never liked the idea of swaddling as I wanted them to have acess to their hands! Same with scratch mitts.

When DS1 was born they didn't make newborn sized sleeping bags, they do now. 0-6 months should probably be called 1-6 months as they are too big for newborns which can be dangerous. We used cellular blankets at first, but I'd get a 50-60cm sleeping bag if you want to use those.

I've never swaddled either of mine. I used cellular blankets to start with and then sleeping bags once they are big enough for them. In the newborn stage, I use sleeping bag for night time sleep but blankets in the Moses basket during the day.

Mine loves a swaddle - he wakes himself up otherwise with his startle reflex. Any time he is sleeping and not being held, we swaddle him. I use a very fine knitted shawl for the swaddle then tuck a muslin over him and under the mattress to hold him in place. A cellular blanket would also work well.

You can buy swaddles which Velcro across the front of your baby but I found the edging too harsh on my son’s chin, and he could wriggle his arms out anyway. A blanket is much softer and more convenient.

We bought the tommee tippee grosnuggle which has poppers on the arms so you can swaddle them. However our little one was too small to use them so we ended up using cellular blankets for the first month or so. She's now in the grosnuggle and we love them!
Some babies like being swaddled and others don't so cellular blankets are really useful as a starting point as you can use them either way!

I'm ftm due in a few weeks so following with interest. Been given loads of sleeping bags, cellular blankets and swaddling blankets as hand me downs. No idea what to do with them! My friend was going to come round and demonstrate but with lock-down now guess I'll have a look on YouTube instead!

I didnt swaddle either of mine and have no plans to swaddle dc3 due in march.

My experience is that different babies like different things. I wouldnt stock up on anything (for dc3 I have 10 baby grows), nappies, a car seat, baby wearing top and some muslins cloths. That covers me for the first couple of weeks.

Anything you need can be delivered next day. I do understand the uncertainty about what you need with dc1- I did the same 'stocking up' to a lesser extent- a lot of stuff won't get used.

My 3 month old has done really well with the love to dream swaddle, doesn’t startle as much and sleeps better

Tbh all babies are different. We tried cellular blankets but my little one was a Houdini and would wriggle out of them even though I tucked them tightly down the sides of the cot, and I was scared she’d get her head stuck under them.
She was tiny (5lbs3) so too small for her grobag which I believe was from 7lbs something, so we tried the love2dream swaddle which was brilliant for us and we transitioned into the sleeping bag as soon as she was big enough, about 2-3 months I think.
Try what you have already, if it doesn’t work for your baby then that’s what Amazon prime is for!

We used blankets tucked in, then sleeping bags as soon as we were sure baby's head was big enough not to fit through the neck hole of the sleeping bag.

Swaddles need to be transitioned away from, which seemed like added faff. Plus you need to do your research to make sure you swaddle in a hip-safe way.

I used tucked in blankets until DD was big enough to use sleep bags (4kg+ iirc). DD hated having her hands covered and hated being swaddled even more.

There are some lovely muslin swaddling blankets called dohars. My friend's baby sleeps really well in it. Nabhaasa.

I'm really anti-blankets as I don't believe in having any loose bedding in the cot with the baby. You can swaddle from birth. We didn't, but it's recommended. Sleep sacks/grobags are brilliant - our nearly 3yo is still in one. But newborn babies really are newborn sized, so 0-6 might not fit them for a few weeks.

I think it really depends on the baby. Our DD loved being swaddled in a big muslin cloth and it worked quite well until she was about 3.5/4 months old. We tried a newborn growbag (the one where their arms are fully “trapped” and for some reasons she always hated it.
We eventually managed to transition out of the swaddle very gradually (was quite painful actually) at around 4.5 months using sleeping bags. She initially hated it but got used to it after a few weeks.
Swaddling is a great way to ensure your baby doesn’t wake him/herself up with their startle reflex but do try to see if they can slee well also without - if so, it will be much easier when they get older as you don’t have to transition them out of it.
Good luck!