If you’ve read some of my recent swaddle reviews, then you know that I value a great swaddle because it means a better night’s sleep for myself and my baby. The Happiest Baby Sleepea is a great example of a swaddle that has everything you need in a swaddle and a really great support group to boot. But what makes it stand out from the other swaddles out there on the market?
Read on to hear about my favorite features of this swaddle!
Neckline
You may have heard me mention before how much I hate it when my baby wiggles out of the swaddler. There is almost nothing more frustrating than your baby waking him or herself up endlessly throughout the night because an arm wiggles loose from the swaddler. With the Happiest Baby Sleepea, you never have to worry about this because the neckline is not part of the actual swaddling function.
The design of the Happiest Baby Sleepea has a binding portion that is actually within the sleepsack portion. You bind your baby into the swaddler with a strip of fabric that will give the right amount of pressure to your baby’s trunk so that they feel snug and safe in their swaddler. Then you just zip them into the sleep sack portion.
This is really an ingenious idea because even if your baby’s hand does slip out because you didn’t bind it snug enough, or because you’re related to Houdini, then your baby will still remain asleep because their arms will not fling them in the face. Their arms will remain tucked away in the sleep sack.
So Fast
This swaddler is so fast and so easy. The company that makes it literally made a YouTube video about how fast it is:
Honestly, that right there is a huge selling point for me. There is nothing harder than watching your brand new baby wear him or herself out crying. In fact, I just hate seeing my infant cry at all, so messing with a complicated swaddler is the last thing I want to do. I want to get them swaddled tight and swaddled fast.
This swaddle definitely fits the bill.
Reverse Zipper
A reverse zipper is a God send. Whoever thought about that must have been a mother. So now you can check if your baby has a poopy diaper without even unwrapping them. It is absolutely brilliant. Now that I know that a reverse zipper is a thing, I would never even consider buying a swaddler that didn’t have it.
There were so many times that my baby would let out an enormous toot that sounded a bit juicy and I didn’t want to unwrap them but couldn’t fathom the thought of putting my baby to bed with a poopy diaper. One of my friends actually suggested that I just lather my baby’s bum with Destin before bed in case of this. I like the reverse zipper option a whole heck of a lot better than that.
Fabric
Whenever something touches my baby’s skin, I like to know what it is. The Happiest Baby Sleepea is made from 100% organic cotton. This is an ideal fabric for a few reasons.
Breathable
Any natural fiber is breathable and cotton is just that. Overheating is a very serious issue and it can contribute to babies dying from SIDS. So even in the warm winter months, it is always best to dress your baby for the temperature of the room and have a light swaddler overtop that won’t overheat them.
Organic
I love organic cotton because it doesn’t use any pesticides. It also doesn’t use any harmful chemicals or flame retardants in the processing of the textile. This is very important for sensitive baby skin. It’s really important for anyone’s skin actually, since your skin is porous and you are technically putting things in your body.
Cotton is also one of the more dangerous crops to harvest because of the chemicals used when growing them, so supporting organic cotton farms is important to anyone who is environmentally minded.
Mesh Panels
Speaking of breathable fabric and overheating, one feature that I love about the Happiest Baby Sleepea is that it has mesh panels on the chest area and on the legs. This mesh panel works well to make the sleep sack extra breathable and keep your baby from getting too hot.
It is also a great feature for just checking on your baby. You can view your baby’s legs and see from the outside if they are in a good position. If your baby’s legs are wrapped too tight then they could develop hip dysplasia. It is not common, but it does happen and it is something to be aware of as a parent. As long as your baby can let their legs lay naturally and they are not bound tightly in a straight line, then they should be in a healthy position.
Arms Free
A lot of people wonder why some swaddlers like the Happiest Baby Sleepea swaddle have an option for arms free. Isn’t the whole point of swaddling to keep the arms tied down so they don’t startle themselves awake?
It is true that the most important function of the swaddle when your baby is very small is to keep the arms snugly in place so they don’t wake themselves, but soon enough your baby will need to have their arms free. Once your baby starts to be able to roll over, they should not be swaddled anymore.
However, it can be dangerous for your baby to sleep with a pillow or blankets at this early stage of life and sometimes a sleeper is enough for your baby to be warm at night. The Happiest Baby Sleepea works with the arms out by giving your baby another layer of warmth and also keeping your baby feeling snug. They still like the pressure on their trunk and you can still wrap your baby’s stomach so they feel that snugness. This will keep them cozy and help them sleep at night while they have the added safety of having their arms out in case they roll over in their sleep.
Why Swaddle?
Swaddling is meant to mimic how the womb was for your baby. You baby likes to be held snugly. They like to have their arms pressed against their body. Things were pretty tight for your baby when they were in your womb and that makes your baby feel safe and secure.
When I wrote the post about bouncers I found some information on Psychology Today that I found interesting. It stated in a portion of the article that babies are calm when they are held as a part of the parasympathetic nervous system. When they are able to understand their body movements and where their body is in space. While they are laid flat on their backs, it is more difficult to feel safe and secure. When they are held, bounced, or swaddled, they feel tucked in a cozy and like they can feel their position in space a bit better.
When Should You Start Swaddling?
The Happiest Baby company also has a YouTube video answering this question along with many other questions you might have about pregnancy and infant care. They have a doctor, Dr. Harvey Karp, who gives medical advice about these things, so take a look below about early swaddling:
So should you bring your swaddler with you in your hospital bag? Absolutely. I knew about swaddling with my first baby, but I had never heard of actual swaddlers or sleep sacks. I just knew how to swaddle a baby with a blanket. It worked okay, but it wasn’t very long before my baby was strong enough to break out of it.
Someone gave me a swaddler a little later on and it changed everything. You had better bet that the first thing I packed in my hospital bag for my second baby was a swaddler. And they even had a freebie sleep sack there waiting for me!
So don’t hesitate to swaddle your baby. Most people swaddle during the infant stage and you can taper off after that. Doctors, nurses, midwives, and your mother in law will be sure to tell you all about the benefits of swaddling, so give it a try!
Conclusion
Overall, the Happiest Baby Sleepea is a great swaddler with a great design. It is a swaddle that has several different fabric options and sizes. It’s affordable and it covers all the bases that you would want for a sleep sack. It doesn’t have a free moving arms inside the sack like the Wombie and Love To Dream Swaddle Up, but there are loads of babies who love the Sleepea and respond to that kind of swaddling very well. There are different ways of swaddling a baby, and each company assumes their design is the best, but whatever design your baby likes the most is what is important.