An Everday Parent’s Guide for Buying the Perfect Baby Blanket – It’s all about the TEXTURE

March 8th, 2009

Amie, 32, Cincinnati, Ohio
Proud mom of Allie and Ella

The top three qualifiers for a great baby blanket are definitely texture, color and size says Amie, mom of two. However, she says a great texture is the number one baby blanket attribute by a wide margin. Below, Amie shares why texture is key when it comes to finding a baby blanket that both you and your baby will love.

Well for me, it’s all about the texture…

Textures for play
Of all the baby blankets I owned, the one I liked best was a “tag” blanket that my sister-in-law made. The blanket is a 24” square, colorful blanket with all types of ribbons on the exterior for babies to feel and chew. Babies love to play with fun textures!

Textures for temperature
Recently I saw that they’re making baby blankets out of the same material as the extra-soft North Face coats. The micro-fleece blankets feel fantastic and fleece is a great material for keeping your baby warm and cozy.

Textures for swaddling
For swaddling a newborn, the perfect blanket texture is just like an extra thick, cotton t-shirt. The material is soft against your baby’s skin, not too hot and not too cool. The elasticity in this type of material allows for the stretch needed for a good, tight swaddle.

Textures we could all live without
A dear friend made us a flannel blanket when one of my girls was born. I love it because she made it for us, but we really never used it because it was just too stiff and bulky. You wouldn’t use a blanket that was stiff, bulky, hot, itchy or otherwise uncomfortable. Why wrap your baby in a texture you wouldn’t wrap up in?