An Everyday Parent’s Advice for Buying the Perfect Baby Blanket – Unique animal blankets

Sherri, 36, Cincinnati, OH
Proud mom of Makayla and McKinley

I love unique animal baby blankets.  They are a blanket and a toy in one.  My girls love to play and cuddle with them.

One animal blanket I received as a gift was the “Puppy Blankie & Little Friend Set”. The blanket has a little puppy head on the corner (pictured).  Too cute!  You can find it on the American Gift Factory website (link below).   We also own a similar giraffe animal blanket.

If you are looking for a unique animal blanket, here’s some info:  The FunBath Angel Dear Blankies are square-shaped and made with super light, cashmere material.  I love how soft the fabric is, and so do my kids. The blankets also come with a “Little Friend Toy”.  The best part is that the whole set is machine washable—we all know how messy babies can be.

If I were going to buy a baby blanket as a unique shower gift, I would definitely purchase an animal blanket.

American Gift Factory

An Everyday Parent’s Advice for Buying the Perfect Baby Blanket – Lightweight, cotton receiving blankets with unique designs

Sherri, 36, Cincinnati, OH
Proud mom of Makayla and McKinley

Cotton receiving blankets can be used for several functions:  swaddling an infant, covering a growing baby, burping (if you can’t find the burp cloth), making a child feel secure and more.  Below, Sherri, mom of two, describes why she would recommend these baby blankets.  Sherri says—

I’m not a fan of heavier fleece blankets.  They are much too warm for baby and the material doesn’t have much give.  Lightweight, durable blankets with unique designs are my favorite.  They are practical, stylish and easy to find.  Typically, a cotton receiving blanket is what meets all these criteria.

One brand I recommend is Just One Year (a division of Carter’s, Gift).  You can often find this brand at Target or Walmart.  Try the cotton, standard-size receiving blanket made of a soft, stretchable cotton.  There are various designs on this type of blanket.  They usually have two designs with one on each side.

What’s a swaddling blanket and how do I use it?

Have you bought or received a swaddling blanket, but do not know how to use it—or do you own many baby blankets and wonder if you already have one that will work for swaddling?  This post features links to two different resources that will teach you how to swaddle a baby and the type of blanket to use.

-    Robin Elise Weiss, LCCE offers some tips for swaddling on her pregnancy/birth blog hosted by About.com.  In the introduction to her post “How to Swaddle a Baby”, Robin says, “Swaddling a baby is an age old remedy for calming a newborn. New parents would do just about anything to limit crying. There are a couple of techniques for swaddling and here they are step by step.”

Visit Robin’s Pregnancy/Birth Blog

-    Jessica Hartshorn, American Baby magazine, wrote an article titled “How to Swaddle a Baby”.  The article details what she terms the “art of swaddling”.  It gives a 5-step guide to swaddling along with helpful holds and techniques.

Read Jessica’s swaddling article

A Unique Use for Baby Blankets for your growing baby or child from a mom of five

April, 35, Burlington, KY
Proud mom of Kelsey, Jackson, Sydney, Elisa and Kaira

For my 5th baby, a friend gave us a homemade fleece blanket.  It is the kind that has two pieces of fleece material tied together, creating fringes all the way around.  I love it because it is so soft and warm.  I line her cradle with it right now because it is so cold outside.  The best part is, as she gets bigger, she will still be able to use it.

My older kids have they same type of blankets someone had given them for Christmas two years ago. We’ve used them a ton in our travels.  They’re big enough to cover them, but small enough that everyone can grab their own blanket and get cozy in the van.

A unique way I use blankets is for quiet time for my kids.  They each get our their blanket and put it on the floor and sit on them to have 30 minutes of quiet time.  The blanket is a visual representation of this time to them.  This is a great way to teach my children how to be content in quiet and a great time for mommy to have quiet time too.  There are some pictures of the quiet time below.

An Everyday Parent’s Advice for Buying the Perfect Baby Blanket – Mom of 5 tells us some things to avoid when buying a baby blanket

April, 35, Burlington, KY
Proud mom of Kelsey, Jackson, Sydney, Elisa and Kaira

•    Avoid baby blankets that are not intended for everyday use
Wash-ability is important!  Someone gave us a dry clean only blanket once.  It was beautiful to look at, but I never actually used it as I was afraid I would ruin it.

•    Avoid baby blankets made of coarse material or that your baby will get stuck in
I received a crocheted baby blanket for my son at one of my baby showers.  It was hand crocheted with a course yarn and had fringes on the ends.  When he was a baby, he didn’t mind it that much (although it was not his favorite to cuddle with).  Now that he’s older, he doesn’t like it because the fringes tickle his face.  We also avoid crocheted or knitted baby blankets with holes larger than baby fingers/toes.  In playing, they often get stuck and require a lot of getting out from mommy!

•    Avoid having only one type of baby blanket
You will need different types of blankets, made of different fabrics and in different sizes depending on the situation.  As you build your collection of blankets consider preparing for weather, uses, age, growth, nursing and more.

An Everyday Parent’s Advice for Buying the Perfect Baby Blanket – Mom of 5 shares about her favorite unique baby blankets and says “perfect is relative”

April, 35, Burlington, KY
Proud mom of Kelsey, Jackson, Sydney, Elisa and Kaira

I think there are a few different kinds of perfect blanket – one that keeps the baby warm, one that can cover them on a spring day, one they can keep as they grow older or one that’s portable (not huge).

It’s been my experience that parents rarely buy blankets.  For me, they have usually been gifts.  I received some of the blankets at baby showers, with many made by friends and relatives.  Being a mom of five, I have received many unique baby blankets over the years and have developed some preferences.

I do have a few favorites:

Waffle knit thermal fabric baby blanket from Target
Target always seems to have cute blankets and I love their colors (a few of my favorites were purchased there), but they have a limited selection.  I own a pink “long john” type small blanket purchased from Target—I think the brand is Amy Coe.  I like it because it is small enough to fit in my diaper bag.  It’s also light-weight, so I can cover the baby while nursing without both of us breaking into a sweat.

Receiving blankets
Receiving blankets are nice because they can double as a burp cloth, but they’re only practical for the first several months of life.

Fleece blankets
I own another blanket from Target.  It is a very soft, small fleece blanket.  It is pink with polka dots and is pictured.

My family also owns several fleece tie blankets (pictured).  For my fifth baby, a friend gave us a handmade blanket—the kind made of two pieces of fleece material tied together, creating fringes all the way around.  I love fleece baby blankets because they are so soft and warm, and my kids love to play with the fringe.  I line her cradle with it right now because it’s so cold outside.  I’m sure as she gets bigger, it will be a favorite.

My older kids have they same type of blankets someone had given them for Christmas two years ago and we’ve used them a often in our travels.  They’re big enough to cover them, but small enough everyone can grab their own blanket and get cozy in the van.  It’s great when a blanket can grow with a child.

Snug & Tug Swaddle Blanket by Go Mama Go Designs

We at blanketmybaby.com have featured swaddling blankets before, and now we want to review another fantastic product by Go Mama Go Designs – The Snug & Tug, winner of the iParenting Media Award.

The Snug & Tug is described by Go Mama Go as a swaddling blanket with style and strength. It comes in seven different colors and designs, including pastel, aqua, retro, pink, blue, apple green, and animal crackers. The blanket comes in two sizes: small and large. The small is for age 0-3 months, a weight up to 16lbs. and a height up to 25″. The large is for age 3-6 months, a weight from 14-22 lbs. and a height up to 28″. The two options make an excellent transition is your baby is not ready to leave their swaddle blanket behind as they grow. Go Mama Go realizes that one size of swaddling blanket does not “fit all”.

The description boasts that , “the triangular design of the Snug & Tug is the ideal shape for swaddling. It can be used anywhere, anytime – and doesn’t re-quire a lot of space for swaddling your baby.”

The Snug & Tug is designed solely to be a swaddling blanket. They warn their customers not to be fooled by blankets that claim to be “2 and 1″ blankets. It sounds good, but blankets work best when they are used for their original purpose.

To that end, Snug & Tug appears to be an excellent swaddle blanket. It’s made of high quality, breathable, stretchable cotton. I believe the nicest part of this blanket is the extremely strong velcro closure, which won’t snag on other laundry items. The blanket is designed to have a solid adherence so that your baby doesn’t wiggle out in the middle of the night.

Created by moms with some extensive research, this product is a must have for swaddling mothers.

Snug & Tug Retails for $29.99

Valentine’s Day Baby Blanket Gift Ideas Part 2 – Baby blankets for special occasions series

This is part two of our list of Valentine’s Day baby blanket gift ideas.  This list includes items for sale and ideas for making your own unique baby blanket for February 14th!

Unique Baby Gear Ideas – Red Valentine’s Blanket

On the Unique Baby Gear Ideas website, they suggest buying a cheap, red fleece blanket at a store and then adding a white stitch around the edges, attaching lace or sewing on accents.  They also advise personalizing the blanket with your baby’s name and embroidering hearts or other Valentine’s Day images.

What a great idea for a quick, homemade blanket!

Green Start Baby Art

Green Start Baby Art carries the unique, eco-friendly, love-bug-themed baby blanket on the right.  It is 100% organic and made of natural jersey cotton. The fabric color is natural cotton (looks almost white), which has no dye.  The blanket is made in the USA.

The cutest part is the creative text on the blanket.  On one side, the blanket has a picture of the love bug with a heart and says “little luvbug”.  On what Green Start Baby Art calls the bum side, the blanket says “luv stinks”!  Creative.

Messages from the Heart Baby Blanket on eBay

This pink blanket made by Messages from the Heart is very soft, featuring a pink & brown argyle border and stitched corduroy and chenille hearts.  The words “Work of Heart” are embroidered on this classic style blanket.  The many textures and colors will make this blanket fun for your baby to touch and cuddle with.

Valentine’s Day Baby Blanket Gift Ideas – Baby blankets for special occasions series

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.  If you have a special someone, I hope you have the perfect gift in mind.  We at blanketmybaby.com have some ideas for what to buy for your sweetheart…and we mean your baby of course!

Here is a list of Valentine’s Day baby blanket gift ideas:

-  Have a blanket in a Valentine’s Day color or print personalized or monogrammed for your baby.

-  Make your own blanket – For the talented with needles, knit a red and pink blanket or sew a heart-shaped blanket.  For the not-so-talented with needles, buy a red, pink or white baby blanket and sew or iron on a heart-shaped patch.  You could also buy heart-patterned fleece and a plain fleece and make a tie together fleece blanket.

-  Buy a unique Valentine’s Day baby blanket from a store.  You can find a very cute example of a baby blanket for Valentine’s Day from The Land of Nod.  The “Be My Valentine Blankets” feature a red/pink Valentine’s hearts pattern on a white background.  You may choose between a swaddling blanket made of 100% pre-shrunk cotton flannel with swaddling instructions and a cotton flannel security blanket with a silky satin border.  Both blankets are machine washable and made in the USA.

With a blanket this cute and holiday themed, your baby will be winning the hearts of everyone around!

An Everyday Parent’s Advice for Buying the Perfect Baby Blanket – What baby needs a toy when they have a fun blanket?

Maggie, 27, Union Township, Ohio
Proud mom of Benjamin

Have you ever seen a young child open a present and throw their new toy to the side?  To the gift-giver’s dismay, the child was more interested in the colorful wrapping paper or imagination-provoking box than the new toy.

Below, real-life mom Maggie gives our readers some advice for selecting a baby blanket that may have the same effect.  Your baby will pass up the toys for the chance to play with their favorite blanket.  Maggie says:

When buying a baby blanket, softness is the most important factor, followed by baby-friendly colors, textures and designs.  I like unique blankets that have strings hanging off that my baby can pull on or a fun trim that he can play with.  Ben likes bright colors and various designs all over the blanket…it keeps him entertained!

I own a baby blanket that is small with a giraffe coming out of the middle.  Ben likes to hold it and chew on the giraffe.  It serves as a great play blanket.  When he tires himself from playing, I can just wrap him up and carry him to the crib!