Get Your Baby Ready for Bed With One of These Safe, Adorable Swaddle Blankets

Bleary-eyed, sleep-deprived parents the world over have long relied on the super-soothing power of the swaddling blanket. The practice of calming your baby by wrapping them up in cozy cloth dates back to ancient times when parents would bathe the baby after delivery, lather them with oils, and then wrap them snugly in a square of fabric. And honestly? Not much has changed. We've just improved the fabric quality of the baby swaddles and added the convenience of disposable diapers.

Best Swaddles

All About Swaddles

Swaddling, or bundling your child with a blanket or swaddling blanket in a way that constricts their movement, mimicking the close confines of the womb, is a safe and healthy way to help your child get a good night's sleep, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). It also inhibits a baby's natural startle reflex, which can cause babies to wake up and wake up mad.

Parents will tell you that turning your baby into a burrito is one of the best ways to get your child to calm the heck down and maybe close their eyes for a while. Plus, when you open it in the morning, and they shoot their arms up? It's just that boost of cute you need to get you through the day.

Types of Swaddles

Wrapping your baby up into a cozy cocoon of cotton is a fairly simple task, but getting it to stay put can be a challenge. That's why there are so many options that do the work for you with Velcro tabs that keep baby's arms secure like the Sleepea. But few of those are super light, which is why muslin swaddling blankets like the aden + anais are so popular. Plus, they're such a light material that getting them to stay put is so much easier. There are a few that have the option to keep the arms or feet out,

A big part of how you choose will be based on the climate you live in and which one your baby likes the best. But don't worry — every swaddle blanket on this list is machine-washable. I know that they can and will get covered in spit-up and poop.

But what are the best swaddling blankets for babies? How do you know which to get, considering the fact there seems to be a million on the market?

How We Chose

We've used many of these ourselves, and we also spoke to dozens of parents about which swaddles they used for their babies. We've read hundreds of reviews and took the time to feel and play with each and every swaddle on this list — and yes, that even means washing wool swaddles in our tiny New York City apartments.