The Best Baby Swaddles

I spoke with a handful of baby care experts, including Rebecca Mercer, LCCE, CD (DONA), a Kentucky-based postpartum doula and infant care specialist and co-founder of Bluegrass Doulas; Hope Staves, MA, CD, CPD, a birth and postpartum doula and midwife assistant and the founder of southern Indiana’s Hope Birth & Beyond; Rebeca Moretto, MPH, CNM, a certified nurse midwife affiliated with UNC Health in Holly Springs, North Carolina; and Anna Weigand, RN, MSN, IBCLC, a perinatal RN working at Adventist Health Castle Hospital in Oahu, Hawaii.

I also pored over dozens of online reviews at company sites and Amazon, making sure to take into account feedback from parents in almost any type of baby-sleep situation. I consulted best-of roundups from popular parenting resource sites like The Bump and Babylist, and read in-depth reviews from baby gear bloggers, like Fathercraft. I also looked for recalls from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

I reviewed safe-sleep guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics as well. Though the AAP doesn’t endorse any particular type of swaddle, it states that swaddles are safe to use as long as a baby is placed to sleep on their back, the swaddle is not too tight, and swaddling is stopped as soon as a baby begins trying to roll over.

As a parenting writer and a mom of three, I’ve handled my fair share of baby items. In addition to putting these swaddles to the test with my own infant, I recruited four other families to test swaddles with their own babies, ranging in age from 2 to 12 weeks.

Especially in their first weeks of life, babies are nurtured by a secure environment that helps ease their transition into a big, bright world outside the womb. These early months are often termed “the fourth trimester,” an adjustment period for both babies and parents.

“A baby between 0 to 3 months is very different developmentally” than older babies, explained Rebecca Mercer, a Kentucky-based postpartum doula and infant care specialist, “and we do everything we can to try to mimic the womb.” Swaddling is one of the most effective ways to achieve this, as wrapping a baby snugly inside of a blanket to limit their movement helps reduce the startle reflex and mitigate stimulation. “Inside the womb,” Mercer said, “[babies] are very tucked. They can’t go very far. When we’re able to swaddle a baby, we offer comfort.”

According to Seattle Children’s Hospital, “Swaddling is the most helpful technique for calming crying babies. It also keeps your baby from waking up with a startle reflex.” Swaddling also allows you to cover your baby while avoiding any loose blankets or extra bedding in the crib, which is a major don’t for safe sleep.

Once a baby can roll from back to belly (usually between 4 and 6 months), swaddling can be dangerous because it can increase the risk (PDF) of suffocation or SIDS. (Though it’s still fine to use a swaddle that allows a baby to keep their arms free.) The AAP recommends parents stop swaddling once their baby shows any sign of trying to roll over, which can be as early as two months. Some experts say about 3 months is the limit of swaddling age, others say 4 to 5. And, of course, swaddling isn’t right for every baby. “We’re all different,” Mercer said. “There are some babies that decide they don’t handle swaddling well.” Others may benefit from using one type of swaddle in their first few weeks of life, and then might graduate to a different (less restrictive) type of swaddle or swaddling method (arms out instead of in, for example). For many, swaddling works best as one tool that helps a baby settle into a consistent sleep pattern.

We scoured Amazon, BuyBuy Baby, Target, and other retailers, read threads in baby care forums like BabyCenter, and reached out to local online mom groups to generate our original list of swaddles for testing. We excluded swaddles that are considered “transitional” (usually less restrictive models designed for older babies that are already rolling over) or that don’t successfully mimic the constriction of the womb and more resemble sleep sacks or sleep suits.

There are four main types of swaddles: Traditional swaddling blankets, which are large and thin and which the caregiver must manipulate and wrap correctly themselves; guided swaddling blankets (such as the Miracle Blanket), which allow a caregiver to swaddle a baby without any Velcro, zippers, or snaps; winged swaddles, which typically secure the baby’s body inside of a pouch and then hold their arms in place with Velcro wings; and peanut swaddles, which hold the baby, arms and all, inside of a slightly compressive zippered pouch. After reviewing parent feedback and taking my own experience into account, we determined that a good baby swaddle should be:

Effective at swaddling a baby: Dedicated swaddles should take time and guesswork out of the process compared with traditional swaddling blankets, so we looked for those that are simple to use and more likely to stay in place overnight. Although swaddling can be a useful calming technique, it doesn’t work for every baby, and factors like the best arm position and optimal fabric can vary widely from one baby to the next. While we noted any swaddles that seemed to calm our babies in testing or promote a more restful sleep, those personal results were only tangential to how we rated overall efficacy.

Easy to use: Babies aren’t the only ones who need sleep, so we looked for swaddles that are easy for parents to use. We kept in mind things like middle-of-the-night diaper changes and how much you might need to use fine motor skills in a dark bedroom for things like snapping and zipping—especially after multiple nights in a row of being up every hour with a hungry newborn.

Safe and fit well: One of the main safety concerns surrounding any type of swaddle is the risk of loose material being pulled up over a baby’s face. While ultimately every swaddle has received some complaints about this, we looked for models with fewer reports of this type or that were specifically designed to minimize its occurrence. An additional concern is that improper swaddling (if the material is too tight or the body of the swaddle is too narrow) can lead to hip dysplasia. We paid careful attention to how each swaddle is sized, how well it fits according to the height and weight recommendations on the package, and how the design impacts safety and health—including how easy it seems for a baby to break free, which can leave loose material that poses a suffocation risk. We also checked for any recalls or newsworthy safety concerns.

Comfortable for the baby: Swaddles should feel soft to the touch—made of cotton or a cotton blend, and should be comfortable for the baby to wear, such that they don’t constrict the baby in an unnatural way or lead to overheating.

Durable and easy to care for: Swaddles should hold up through multiple washes.

Using the criteria above, we came up with 11 swaddles to test.

We excluded swaddles from our list if they had only a handful of online reviews, or if they appeared to be a knockoff of another swaddle already on our list. We also excluded swaddles with uses that were too specific, like arms-only straps or swaddle blankets meant specifically for use in a stroller or car seat. While many of the swaddles we tested have at least some ability to be used transitionally as a baby outgrows the need to be swaddled, we decided not to include specifically transitional swaddles.

I inspected and tested each swaddle on my own baby, who was around 12 weeks old when testing began. (Because she was beginning to roll over, I tested with her only during supervised naps). Then I split the swaddles between our four test panel families with babies ranging in age from 2 to 9 weeks, and they tested our finalists for two weeks.

Top pick

Happiest Baby Sleepea

The best baby swaddle

The Sleepea is the most effective swaddle we tested. It keeps babies snug and secure with a unique interior Velcro panel and it’s safe, comfortable, and easy to use.

Buying Options

$30 from Amazon

$33 from Babylist

Created by baby sleep expert Dr. Harvey Karp as a standalone version of the sleep sack included with his high-end Snoo bassinet, the all-cotton Sleepea is designed to address common problems with other swaddles, including easy breakout, overheating, too much constriction at the hips, loud Velcro, and loose material near the baby’s face. It relies on a unique interior panel for an extra-secure arm wrap, plus an exterior zippered pouch, creating a cozy, effective swaddle. (For our full review of the Snoo see Is the $1,700 Snoo Smart Sleeper Bassinet Worth It? What to Know Before You Buy.)

Though the design of this swaddle helps keep the baby extra secure, there’s no such thing as a swaddle that’s truly eliminated the possibility of a tiny Houdini breaking free. We can say that the Sleepea is escape-resistant, though, with a lower chance of a baby breaking free mid-wear than many of the other swaddles we tested. The Velcro panel on the inside of the sack creates an additional built-in security feature—and even if a baby breaks free from the panel, their arms are still secure inside the zippered sack. The design also means there’s no loose material, even if a baby has broken out of the panel, and this is an outstanding safety measure.

The interior panel uses a thin strip of “quiet Velcro,” which isn’t silent but is definitely less loud than the traditional Velcro found on some other swaddles we tested. The interior wings also use minimal Velcro compared with other models, which makes the material less stiff and more comfortable.

One mom of a 6-week-old who was part of our test group described the Sleepea Swaddle as very user-friendly, noting, “If the Velcro was pulled tight enough, [my son] calmed instantly, was not able to break the swaddle, and stayed asleep comfortably.” Her son slept for five-hour stretches at night while wearing this swaddle, longer than he had been doing previously, the mom reported.

Made from 95 percent organic cotton, 5 percent spandex, and polyester mesh, the Sleepea is softer and more lightweight than most of the other swaddles we tested. It offers some compression without being too constricting. It’s more compressive than the Halo, our runner-up, but not as much so as the Woombie Air, and has a roomy leg sack designed with safe hip placement in mind. Two panels of polyester mesh (one at the shoulder and another around the knees), offer ventilation to address one of parents’ biggest concerns about swaddling in general: overheating. This was one of only two swaddles we tested that uses mesh paneling for improved ventilation (the other being the Woombie Air), and of the two, it uses more mesh in two strategic locations for better ventilation.

This swaddle has a few features that allow it to grow with the baby. It can be used without the interior panel, or with the interior panel secured around the torso, and still provide comfort. This is great for a baby who likes the secure feeling of being swaddled but wants more range of motion with their hands or arms inside the sack, and makes the Sleepea work more similarly to another of our picks, the Woombie. The shoulders of the medium and large sizes of the Sleepea are lined with snaps, which you can undo to create armholes (similar to those built into the Halo, our runner-up) to let one arm or both out, helping the baby transition out of the swaddle as they grow.

Like our test panel participants, some reviewers found their babies slept better when using this swaddle. One reviewer writes, “This is the most effective swaddle I’ve used so far and has allowed my 8 week old to sleep 7 hour stretches at night.” Another reviewer highlighted the superiority of the Sleepea’s design, noting, “It keeps [my daughter’s] arms neatly by her side and I like the two way zipper for easier diaper changes.” A reviewer for Fathercraft shares a preference for this swaddle’s design as well, saying, “Sleepea’s smart band and zippered enclosure felt ‘snug’ not too loose, not too tight. This was definitely an improvement over some other sacks I’ve tried.”

While the Sleepea is billed as a “5-second swaddle,” we found that to be true in only the most optimal conditions, namely when the baby was asleep or nearly asleep while being put into it, and thus didn’t resist or squirm around at all. Outside of those instances, this swaddle was still quick, easy, and intuitive to use, even if it’s actually more like a 15-second swaddle.

The two-way tail-to-tail zipper, which is a common feature in zip-up swaddles, unzips from the top or bottom to facilitate easier diaper changes, but the body of the sack is a little too narrow for this to work well. Even when unzipping from the bottom, “I had to pull too much on baby’s legs to get them out of the bottom of the sack to change the diaper,” said one of our test parents, who reverted to unzipping the whole thing from the top. However, thanks again to that interior panel, the wings can stay securely fastened during a diaper change, so completely unswaddling the baby (which you have to do with some of the other designs we tested) isn’t necessary either.

For babies who need more freedom of movement or are ready to transition to a one-arm or both-arms-out swaddle, the convertible shoulders of the Sleepea are a clever feature. However, there’s no way to cover the open snaps, and the exposed stud of the plastic snaps may potentially create some discomfort.

As with any swaddle that uses Velcro, you have to be mindful of securing the Velcro before washing. If you don’t secure it, the Velcro can snag on the mesh panels and also catch on other items in the laundry.

One issue mentioned repeatedly among Amazon reviewers is that this model “does run a tad bit short.” When choosing the right fit, size for length rather than weight. For babies who are on the small side, this may create a different problem, which is that the interior wings are then ill-fitting. One reviewer who loves the Sleepea overall nevertheless mentions, “The only issue is the Velcro straps that keep the baby’s arms down are too loose,” even when pulling them as tight as possible. While the Sleepea was designed to address many common safety issues of popular swaddles, one reviewer notes that, like other peanut-type swaddles without exterior wings, it “bunches a little around the neck sometimes,” an issue they resolved by not zipping up the swaddle quite all the way to the top.

Runner-up

Halo SleepSack Swaddle

A wearable blanket with wings

This all-cotton swaddle uses less-restrictive exterior wings, and it has armholes for extended wear. Its roomy cut makes diaper changes more convenient. The Velcro is loud, however, and it’s easier to escape from than our top pick.

Buying Options

$30 from Amazon

$30 from Walmart

$22 from Babylist

The popular Halo SleepSack Swaddle, essentially a wearable blanket with exterior swaddling wings, is a good choice if you prefer a model that’s cozy but not as form-fitting. The all-cotton material (it’s also available in organic cotton in the newborn size as well as a micro-fleece version) is naturally less heat-trapping than the cotton-spandex blends of our other picks, though the lack of mesh panels for ventilation and the extra layers of material may make the swaddle less breathable overall. Like the Sleepea, our main pick, the Halo has a two-way zipper, but its roomier leg sack makes middle-of-the-night diaper changes a little easier to manage. The Halo is also longer than the Sleepea in the equivalent size, which means it can be used longer for arms-out swaddling as a baby grows or for taller babies who don’t fit in the Sleepea.

Many Amazon reviewers love this swaddle, and with large external wings and a wide Velcro panel, some reviewers find this brand ideal for hugging the baby around the arms and torso, creating a feeling of comfort and security.

However, other reviewers, and some of the experts we spoke to, are put off by such a broad swath of Velcro because it seems unnatural or too restrictive. (One doula we interviewed said it reminded her of a straitjacket.) The Velcro panel is also loud, especially compared with the Sleepea’s, making any repositioning or opening and closing of the swaddle potentially disruptive to a sleepy baby.

Some reviewers, as well as our own test panel, found that the exterior wings allow for a more natural swaddle experience, promoting placement of hands over heart and even making it possible for a determined baby to work a finger or fist up toward their mouth for better self-soothing. Others found the exterior wings to be a detractor, because they make it too easy for the baby to break free.

The Halo’s dedicated armholes make it possible to use this swaddle for longer than most others. When using the armholes, parents can wrap the wings around the baby’s chest for an arms-out swaddle that still provides a secure hug around the baby’s midsection. Like other swaddles with Velcro, you’ll want to remember to secure the Velcro wings before washing.

Reviewers appreciate this swaddle’s wearability. “I love that they are 100% cotton, breathable, and yet they keep [my daughter] warm at night,” writes one Amazon reviewer. A labor, delivery, recovery, and postpartum care nurse who has used the Halo to swaddle babies in the hospital and who used it with her second child notes, “I love that they stay on, maintain their shape and quality and wash easily while keeping him warm … the lightweight cotton design is great for most nights and can be layered with a flannel sleeper for cooler temperatures.” Others laud the versatility of the exterior wings. While some reviewers call this model “a new baby MUST HAVE,” multiple reviewers experienced issues with the Halo riding up and covering the baby's face. Halo’s customer service said that if this happens, the swaddle may be too big, the wings may need to be more tightly wrapped, or the baby may prefer their arms out.

Best for

Woombie Air

The best swaddle for those who don’t want Velcro

A form-fitting neck-to-toe sack, this “peanut” swaddle leaves a baby free to move their limbs and keep their hands closer to their face than with other swaddles.

Buying Options

$29 from Amazon

For babies who may need a little more freedom of movement but still benefit from the compression of a swaddle, the Woombie Air is a great choice. It’s a peanut swaddle, encasing a baby from neck to toes in a single, simple pouch. Instead of Velcro wings, the sack itself provides light compression and limits the startle reflex—though not as much as the Sleepea or Halo wings do. Overall, the Woombie is the closest-fitting swaddle among our picks but how constricting it is depends on the size of your baby; you can’t adjust it like you can our other picks. Beneath the cotton-spandex material, the baby is freer to move their limbs than with our other picks, and because this swaddle simply zips the baby in a single pocket it’s also the easiest to get a baby into and out of. But because it’s form-fitting, you need to take the baby nearly all the way out for diaper changes.

One tester with an 11-week-old baby wrote, “It seems like it provides the most natural (womb-like) environment of swaddles that I’ve tried. My son likes to hold his hands together and this swaddle really allowed him to do so! He slept great in this one, especially at night.”

To address parents’ concerns about babies overheating in a less breathable cotton blend, the company added a small amount of mesh paneling to the front of the Woombie Air. While this may be an improvement from the design of the original Woombie, it still doesn’t provide as much ventilation as the mesh panels on the Sleepea.

One of the features of this swaddle that our test panel didn’t love is the tighter neck. Without any wings to hold the arms in place, this design is intentional, as it helps keep the material from pushing up and covering the baby’s face as they move their limbs beneath the fabric. But some testers were concerned about the tightness of the neck and how comfortable this specific feature might be, especially for larger babies. Others found that some bunching of material around the shoulders was still possible as the baby moved around within the sack.

For some Amazon reviewers, the Woombie Air provides the perfect fit. One writes that her daughter was “too skinny for the halo swaddles, but [the Woombie Air] was perfect and she started sleeping longer without waking herself up.” Another calls it an “amazing and effective alternative” to Velcro swaddles. A few owners comment that the Woombie Air is especially good for babies who want to keep their hands close to their face or mouth.

The Ergobaby Original Swaddler brings some innovative features to its design, but one tester with a 7-week-old said it was initially “slightly confusing” to figure out. The main point of confusion is a piece of fabric inside the leg sack—called a “healthy hip positioner”—that fits over the diaper and Velcros internally. One tester noted there “wasn’t much airflow, and baby seemed overly warm.” It’s also hard to contend with both the zipperless leg pouch and the positioner during a diaper change.

The Ollie Swaddle was the most expensive (by at least $20) of all the swaddles we tested. With a unique shape (it’s smaller than most swaddles) and interesting design features (the bottom bands closed to form the leg pouch), results for this model were mixed. One tester, the mom of a 6-week-old, said, “I had a hard time getting my daughter into this swaddle—the pictures on the box were confusing.” Another parent in our test group, along with owners from several online reviews, mentioned how easily their baby was able to slip one or both arms out of the swaddle. Our testers also didn’t like the banded pouch feature, which is designed to allow the swaddle to grow with the baby and to facilitate easier diaper changes. The mom of a 4-week-old explained she had to undo the entire swaddle in order to change a diaper in the middle of the night, and the “quiet” Velcro was still loud enough that it woke up her baby.

The Nested Bean Zen Swaddle Classic is the only weighted swaddle we tested. It uses polymer beads in the front and in the tips of the wings to apply a small amount of pressure to the baby’s torso when swaddled. The weighted center is designed to be used over the chest (for smaller babies). The Nested Bean has a smaller interior leg pocket inside of the main sack. Once the baby outgrows the interior pocket, their legs get placed in the larger pouch. While this model worked great for a smaller baby still using that interior pouch, one larger baby in our test panel was able to kick the swaddle open during the night, creating a safety issue. Since our testing, the AAP, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Consumer Products Safety Commission have raised concerns over the safety of any weighted products for infants, and advise that they should not be used. As such, retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart no longer sell them.

The Velcro-less, zipper-less Miracle Blanket swaddle has a hardcore fan base, and two doulas we talked to mentioned it by name as one of the primary swaddles they recommend. However, its unique design comes with a steep learning curve; both participants who tested this swaddle had to watch a YouTube video in order to figure out how to use it, and it took some practice to get it right. With long exterior wings, it also has the most material of the models we tested. One parent, the mom of a 4-week-old, said the extra material made it “not very easy for middle of the night diaper changes.”

The SwaddleMe Original Swaddle is a popular inexpensive option and one of the easiest to find in big-box stores. The mom of a 4-week-old pointed out that “sometimes my baby can work his way down in the material, causing it to come up close to his mouth and nose.” Without a zipper, it can also be a little cumbersome to orchestrate a diaper change in the middle of the night.

The Love to Dream Swaddle Up is designed specifically to promote an arms-up position for the baby. If a baby prefers to sleep with their arms at their sides or in a hands-over-heart position, this particular swaddle would most likely be uncomfortable.

Many Amazon reviewers complain that the Woombie Original has sizing issues, is too tight in the chest, or ends up scrunched around the baby’s neck. It lacks the mesh panels of our also-great pick, the Woombie Air, which is an improved version of the Original.

The Aden + Anais large muslin swaddle blankets have long been a popular traditional swaddling option for many parents and come in an array of prints, patterns, and colors. Several Wirecutter staffers have successfully used Aden + Anais blankets to swaddle their children. However, getting the technique down using a blanket (as opposed to a dedicated swaddle) requires some instruction and practice, and for some parents, there’s just no getting the hang of it. “These are great as a blanket,” said the mom of a 4-week-old, “but they don’t create a very secure swaddle. My baby can get his arms out.”

Use your swaddle as part of a safe sleep practice by securing all Velcro, wings, snaps, and/or zippers. Always place a swaddled baby on their back to sleep, in a crib or sleeping space that’s free from blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, or bumpers. Some experts say that bed-sharing infants shouldn’t be swaddled. The AAP advises that as soon as a baby begins trying to roll over, you should no longer swaddle them because of the suffocation risk this creates.

Our picks are machine washable (the Sleepea and Woombie need to be washed on delicate). You can tumble dry the Sleepea and Halo on low heat, while the Woombie should be air-dried. Secure all Velcro tabs on each swaddle before washing and drying to avoid snags.