As a new parent, can you ever have enough swaddles? With the amount that healthy babies spit up and various other bodily fluids your baby manages to get on their swaddle, you will need a few clean ones on hand. But how many swaddling blankets would you need?
Key Points
- Parents and caregivers need approximately three to six swaddle blankets.
- How many swaddle blankets are required depends on how often they need to be washed and how many babies they have.
In This Article
- How Many Swaddles Do I Need?
- Why Do You Need Multiple Swaddles?
- How To Manage With Fewer Swaddles?
- Why Should You Use Swaddles?
- What Are The Different Types of Swaddles?
- What Is The Difference Between A Swaddle And A Receiving Blanket?
- Why Should You Stop Swaddling When Baby Starts Rolling?
How Many Swaddles Do I Need?
The average baby must have a minimum of three to six swaddles per child. This ensures your child has one or two that they can wear, while another two can go for a wash and at least have one as a spare.
Ultimately, the amount of swaddles you need for your baby depends on your preference. But let’s look at why you’d need swaddles in the first place.
Why Do You Need Multiple Swaddles?
Aside from swaddles being available in many cute patterns, many factors determine why you need multiple swaddles for your baby. Here are some of the reasons why:
Washing
As soon as there’s a newborn in the house, you can expect your laundry load to increase exponentially. It’s essential to keep your baby’s swaddle blankets clean because you don’t want spit-up and poop staying too long around your washing pile.
Spit Ups
Babies spit up a lot, and it’s just a part of life. As much as you can be prepared for this, some babies spit up more than others. So, you’ll need to be ready with an extra swaddle blanket just in case they spit up more than expected.
Nappy Blowouts
Due to babies’ poop being very watery, you can expect them to have the odd blowout. This is when their diaper isn’t enough to contain your baby’s bowel movements. You don’t know when this dreaded moment will happen, so it is best to be prepared with an extra blanket on hand.
Spares
Whether the other swaddle blankets are dirty or one has gone missing in action, it’s always good to have a few extras.
How To Manage With Fewer Swaddles?
While you’re going to need more than one swaddle for your baby, there are some things you can do to keep to a regular rotation rather than having piles and piles of swaddles taking up valuable storage space.
One of the best ways of reducing the number of swaddles you need is to create a laundry routine and utilise your washing machine’s features. Many washing machines have “quick wash” features that dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes to wash something. By using this function, you’re able to clean, dry, and use the same swaddle blanket every other day and avoid washing mounting up in the process.
It’s also easier to get by with fewer swaddles in the summer, as the high temperatures mean that you need to keep your baby cool. So, rather than relying on traditional swaddle blankets, you can use lightweight baby wraps, such as muslin blankets instead.
Why Should You Use Swaddles?
Many parents, first-timers especially, will lose precious sleep because their baby is not used to being out of the womb. The world is a big, scary void for babies fresh out of the womb. But swaddles can do a lot to help them adapt and, therefore, save your sleep patterns as much as possible.
It Reminds Them Of Being In The Womb
When your baby is swaddled, the tight-wrapped feeling reminds them of being in the womb, where things were nice, dark, and cosy. Now, being out of the womb, they’ve lost that constant comforted feeling.
This thin blanket makes them feel like you’re holding them tightly, which does wonders to calm them and can help newborns fall asleep a lot faster.
It Prevents Them From Experiencing the Moro Reflex
Babies experience a reaction called the Moro or startle reflex, which occurs when your baby gets a fright from a sudden movement or a loud sound.
When this happens, your baby’s arms and legs fall back out of position while asleep. This makes them feel like they’re falling, and they’ll wake up abruptly and start crying.
When tightly wrapped in a swaddling blanket, it restricts their limbs from moving and prevents them from experiencing the Moro reflex.
It Helps Them To Sleep On Their Back
To reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), it’s always best to put your baby to sleep on their back. Then, the next part is to try your best to keep them on their back while they sleep. Swaddles restrict their movements and mean they’re less likely to roll accidentally onto their tummy.
It Helps Soothe Colic Babies
Colic is a parent or caregiver’s nightmare if they can get any sleep. It’s an incredibly difficult experience, but swaddling can do a lot to alleviate Colic. The development of the digestive system predominantly causes it, making it difficult for your baby to digest their food.
The intense pain and discomfort from gas can cause your baby to fuss and cry a lot, but as swaddling applies pressure to their tummy, it can help to reduce the symptoms of Colic in babies.
It Can Help Babies Regulate Their Body Temperature
As long as you swaddle them correctly, by avoiding covering their head and face and not over-bundling them, the soft and breathable fabric of the swaddling blanket helps to keep your baby warm without running the risk of thermal shock.
Helps Parents/Caregivers And Babies Sleep Better
Swaddling your baby can keep them comfortable because it regulates the Moro reflex and body temperature, helps your baby sleep better, and helps them wake up less during the night unnecessarily. So, a baby sleeping well generally means their parents and caregivers are sleeping well, too.
What Are The Different Types of Swaddles?
There are two main types of swaddling blankets. They are:
Traditional swaddle blankets
Traditional swaddling blankets are also known as muslin blankets. They are thin blankets, which, because of their simplicity, have made them so practical and easy to use that it’s an ancient method of ensuring babies get enough sleep.
Swaddle sacks
Some parents are looking to save as much time as possible when wrapping a baby, in which case a swaddle sack might be the thing for you. It takes a while to grasp how to wrap a baby correctly, and if you’d like to be on the safer side, swaddle sacks can help you achieve the perfect baby burrito in less time.
These brilliant inventions come with zips, snaps, and even adjustable hooks to ensure your baby has the safest and most comfortable fit.
What Is The Difference Between A Swaddle And Receiving Blanket?
Receiving blankets can be used as swaddle blankets, but not all swaddle blankets can be used as receiving blankets. Here are some key differences between the two types of blankets:
- Swaddle blankets could have features. This can include Velcro straps, zippers, wings, and pockets, to name a few. This helps make wrapping your baby easier on a daily basis.
- Receiving blankets are simple. Some might say its simplicity makes it incredibly versatile because it can be used for many different functions, aside from being a receiving blanket, including a swaddling blanket or even a makeshift baby bed sheet.
- Receiving blankets are usually bigger. This is a more notable difference between the two different types of blankets; they’re bigger.
- Receiving blankets are not stretchy. Their primary function is to wrap the baby when you receive them.
Why Should You Stop Swaddling When Baby Starts Rolling?
Not every person chooses to swaddle their baby, and there are a lot of benefits for those who do decide to wrap. But parents and carers need to stop swaddling the baby as soon as they start rolling or moving more. As your baby starts wriggling around more, the risk of unexpected infant deaths increases because they could suffocate on the loose blankets.
Final Thoughts
We recommend always having more than three swaddles per baby. You don’t want to be stuck in a situation where, oops, the laundry’s not done, you’ve got a dirty swaddle blanket, and your spare has gone missing. It happens more often than you know. So when you and your baby depend on the comfort of a swaddle to get some sleep, it doesn’t hurt to have an extra few around the house and a spare tucked strategically in your nappy bag. You’ll never know when you’ll need it.