When I was a brand new parent right out of the gates, I had no idea what I was doing. People told me I should swaddle my baby and I immediately thought they were crazy. Have you seen swaddles? They look like straight jackets. That must be some sort of torture. However, it didn’t even take an entire day in the hospital before I pulled out my Comfy Cubs Swaddle Blanket that was a baby shower gift and I used it from then until my baby was old enough to roll over.
But there are other swaddles on the market. How do you know which one to get? How can you find the right one for you when you don’t even know if your baby likes to be swaddled yet? Here are some things I love about the Comfy Cubs Swaddle Blanket, and some areas of improvement.
What I Love
Of course, I love that the Comfy Cubs Swaddle Blanket saved me from a life of sleepless nights, but beyond that, here are the specific features of the swaddler that I like.
Price
You cannot beat this price. Though prices fluctuate here and there, this is a very cost efficient swaddler. You get three in a pack and it’s really about the same price for three of these as it is for many of the other swaddlers.
3 Pack
Speaking of a 3 pack, I love that these come in a three pack. If it was just a single swaddle, I would assume that was all I needed. However, I found out pretty quickly that my babies had many blowouts in the newborn stage. And if there wasn’t a blow out, they would spit up all my hard earned breast milk all over their fronts. I love the smell of babies, but not when they smell like sour milk.
I was so grateful that I had a three pack in the middle of the night when I had to clean up mess after mess after mess.
Fabric
I also love the fabric that the Comfy Cubs come in. Of course they are cute and you have different options to choose from, but beyond that they are so soft!
Lightweight
The Comfy Cubs Swaddle Blankets are lightweight 100% cotton. They are completely breathable and cozy. I love that these are lightweight because there are so many thicker swaddle blankets on the market. When you have summer babies it can be difficult to swaddle your baby and keep him or her at a good temperature. You want your baby to be cozy, but you also don’t want him or her to overheat during the night while you’re sleeping.
I like that the lightweight fabric gives me the freedom to put my baby in a thick and warm sleeper or to put him or her in something a bit lighter depending on the season. There is not a lot of warmth that comes with this sleeper, which is exactly how I prefer it.
Two Sizes
There are some swaddlers out there that only come in one size, and it is usually 0-3 months. This is because babies will start to learn how to roll over and they sell more of the newborn to 3 month sizes. My babies were mostly on track developmentally, but they did not roll over for quite a while and I was squeezing them into my swaddlers similar to the Comfy Cubs Swaddle Blanket.
However, Comfy Cubs doesn’t have this problem because they actually come in two sizes, which I love! I love that they have a 3 to 6 month option. In all honesty, I would buy both right off the bat and probably use the large size after the first month. It’s nice to give your baby the extra leg room even when they fit snugly into the smaller size.
What I Don’t Love
There’s usually at least one thing that I would prefer slightly different on any given product. The Comfy Cubs Swaddle Blanket, though I love it dearly, does have something that I don’t quite love.
Velcro Tabs
The velcro tabs on the Comfy Cubs Swaddle Blanket are quite annoying in a few different ways. Have you ever been nursing your baby in the middle of the night and they let out a giant toot? All newborn flatulence sounds pretty juicy, so it’s hard to distinguish the dry from the wet. But this velcro drove me crazy!
There’s no way you want to put your baby to bed with a poopy diaper, so it’s not like you can just not check. My baby would be completely out and no matter how softly I tried to pull the velcro tabs, they always startled him awake. A zipper would be amazing, although you don’t get the flexibility in custom sizing it to your baby. There are swaddlers out there that do not use the velcro, but it would be a completely different design. I don’t know the right option for Comfy Cubs, but the velcro was the worst in those times.
In fact, even if they kept the velcro tabs, it would be great if they could have an upside down zipper so you could check on your baby’s diaper without waking them.
How To Use It
The Comfy Cubs Swaddle Blanket could not be easier to use. All you have to do is:
- Lay it out flat on a flat, soft surface and put your baby on top.
- Put your baby’s legs in the pocket down below.
- Tuck your baby’s left arm down and pull the left side over to center.
- Tuck your baby’s right arm down and pull the right side over the left.
- Secure in place with the velcro tabs.
Your baby is now good to go for the duration of their sleep cycle.
If you want to watch a visual guide of how to use this swaddler, watch the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4cjC26Arbg&ab_channel=ComfyCubs
Special Care
These Comfy Cubs Swaddle Blankets are completely machine washable and you can also tumble dry them. This is of extreme importance because as I mentioned earlier, your baby will likely have more than one blowout in these swaddlers. If they are anything like my babies then they will likely have more than one blowout in a night.
The one thing you have to make sure that you do when you are washing the swaddler is to attach the velcro to the loops side of the swaddle. Otherwise, your swaddler will make a whole huge snagging mess in your washer and dryer.
Conclusion
The Comfy Cubs Swaddle Blanket is a great, affordable basic swaddler design. This is great for introducing your baby to swaddling or for just seeing if your baby even likes to be swaddled at all. All my babies loved to be swaddled, but I know there are quite a few babies out there that can’t stand it and need their hands by their heads. There are actually swaddles that work for those babies as well.
If you are looking for a swaddler that has a few more bells and whistles then check out some of the other swaddlers that I’ll be reviewing soon! I have some pretty exciting ones coming up!