Aden & Anais vs. Miracle Blanket... Or other options for swaddling

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long o you swaddle? Only at night?

Until your child can roll, so 12-14 weeks, after that its consider unsafe.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PPs -- I received the A&A blankets as a gift and almost returned them because I didn't see the point of yet another blanket. But I love love love them for cuddling, lightly wrapping a napping baby, draping over anything that needs draping, etc. I've stopped using all the other blankets we have.

The velcro swaddles never worked very well for us, but the Woombie was awesome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know everyone raves about Aden & Anais swaddles, but I want to hear why they're so fabulous. They're pricey, and I'm just weighing options while creating my shower registry. Is it one of those status-based "must have to be seen with" items, or is it actually worth the price? Beside their swaddles, are their bibs and burp clothes worth it?

How does Aden & Anais compare with the Miracle Blanket, which I also hear really great things about?

Any other favorite brands for this department?

We loved A&A blankets for both of our babies - they're huge and soft and so useful. I found them easier to wrap snugly than other swaddles we tried, but I should say that we both disliked the miracle blanket and other similar swaddles. Both of our kids preferred having an arm out while swaddled and that's not really an option with the more structured swaddles. The A&A blankets also have a long life after the newborn days - our daughter used one as her nap blanket at daycare for years, and they're nice to toss into a bag for a blanket to throw down for a snack at the park, nap on the go in the stroller, etc.

[Anonymous]

Get a $10 swaddle me. I honestly think A+A blankets are just a status symbol. If you're looking for practicality, you need something that swaddles for you, not a blanket.

[Anonymous]

We use the A & A for day swaddling and general use (over cars eat, carriage, etc). Nighttime requires something harder to escape from- in the early weeks we seemed to prefer the miracle blanket but we've now switched to mostly using a halo sleepsack swaddle. Different stuff works for different babies and if you're like us, what works best with your own baby will evolve with you both. But boy it's nice to have things on hand!

[Anonymous]

We loved Miracle blankets, and got it in two different sizes as our DC outgrew them. They were awesome.

[Anonymous]

Apples and oranges. As PPs have said, A&A blankets are great for swaddles, but also as stroller covers, nursing covers, cover while in the carseat, burp clothes, etc. They are easy to stuff into a diaper bag and then pull out to lay on a floor when you are visiting someone, or use as padding for something, or whatever. My two-year old uses them as his blankets now. I really think they are worth it. We never used a Miracle Blanket, but we did use a Woombie (same purpose) for a short period when kiddo started breaking out of the A&A swaddles but couldn't sleep unswaddled - and it was a lifesaver - but we only needed it for about two months.

FWIW, I'd throw the A&A blankets in the pattern you like on your registry regardless because I've noticed other moms love to give them. We got three sets (did not register for any) and they used to be my shower go to gift until I realized I was rarely the only person giving them! I've seen them on sale before. At worst, you don't get them and then you just use the Miracle Blanket instead.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for the A&A blankets. Loved them for swaddling and everything else already mentioned by other posters. The best part about them, IMO, is that they're so breathable. That was the reason I bought them before DS was born (didn't have a shower, and had no idea they were a "status symbol"). I was a very nervous FTM, and felt much better putting the light A&A blanket over DS in the car seat when I couldn't see him, if he moved a lot during the night and the swaddle ended up near his face, etc. I just didn't worry as much with the A&A blankets as I would have with other blankets.

Also, since you asked, I like the A&A snap bibs too. They wash really well and the food stains seem to magically come out without me treating them. No idea why/how! I never bothered with the A&A burp cloths - other brands work well and are much much cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Love A + A burp cloths. They have a snap so you can wrap them around baby's neck like a bib, too.

[Anonymous]

Our son never liked being swaddled, so it would have been a huge waste of money and storage space for a bunch of swaddle blankets. You might want to leave the tags on just in case...

[Anonymous]

I like A&A for swaddling. But we swaddle arms out because DD can break her arms out of any swaddle (tried miracle, swaddle me and halo swaddlers).

I like that they are breathable, it means a lower suffocation risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get a $10 swaddle me. I honestly think A+A blankets are just a status symbol. If you're looking for practicality, you need something that swaddles for you, not a blanket.

I agree.
The hospital gave us a couple of cotton small blanket type swaddles. Used those for the first 12 weeks and we were done swaddling. After that used it to cover carseat from light etc. Dont waste people's money on the a&a.

[Anonymous]

For swaddling - we used Swaddle Mes. Miracle blanket or A&A blanket for swaddling didn't work for us. We used A&A blanket for other things, but any blanket would do. If I knew then what I know now, I would have skipped the A&A blanket.

[Anonymous]

I loved my Miracle Blankets. If your baby likes to be swaddled they are the best, and I have used Swaddle Me, A&A blankets and regular old receiving blankets for my DDs and will do it again for this baby.

FYI- If you want to try the Swaddle Me I always see them at Value Village Thrift stores for less than $2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Forget both of those. The A & A blankets are great if you master a nice tight swaddle on your own - DH and I did not. The miracle blanket was a pain to put.

Go with Swaddle Mes - they are super easy to put on, DS didn't wriggle out, and they wore well.

For the record, I have some of the A & A blankets and used them as stroller blankets, just not as swaddles.

+1 For swaddling the wee one, I used the swaddlemes and the halo sleepsacks with swaddling wings.

I love my A&A blankets - it's just a good, all-purpose, lightweight blanket for using in the stroller, draping as a suncover for the carseat, putting on the ground to stop 6-month-old from eating dirt while i garden, etc.