Swaddles, Sleep Sacks, and Wearable Blankets: What’s the Difference?

Finding the best swaddles can be daunting with so many products on the market.

Whether you are just starting your baby registry, stocking up your nursery, or looking for sleep solutions, this guide has every swaddle, sleep sack, or wearable blanket to keep your baby warm and snuggly from day one to age 3.

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Safe Sleep ??

Did you know babies can’t sleep with pillows, blankets, or even stuffed animals in their cribs?! The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies sleep:

1. On their backs.
2. In a dedicated bassinet, crib, or pack n’ play with no other people.
3. With a firm, flat mattress and a fitted sheet.
4. No loose blankets, pillows, stuffed toys, bumpers, positioners, or other soft items.
5. Breastfeed if possible.
6. Don’t smoke.

Sleep sacks, swaddles, sleepsuits, and wearable blankets are great alternatives to traditional loose bedding.

Swaddles

There are two types of swaddles:

1. Swaddle Blankets (large squares of fabric): You wrap your baby yourself (like a baby burrito ?).
2. Zip-Up and Velcro Swaddles: These swaddles are “pre-done” and keep your baby’s arms and legs snug. All you need to do is put them on and do them up!

Sizes and Weights: Newborn (5-8.5 lb.), Small (7-13 lb.), and Medium (13-18.5 lb.)

Ages: 0-6 months 

The Love To Dream Swaddle Up provides the snug fit in the arms and torso that babies love with more freedom for the legs. Their swaddle places babies in their natural sleep position with their arms up by their heads, rather than a traditional swaddle that brings the arms down to the sides. 

Pro Tip: Love To Dream has a Swaddle Up Transitional Bag that allows the baby to transition to arms-free sleep. 

✅ Pros: Allows the baby to sleep with arms up but keeps the hands warm. There is a double zipper for easy diaper changes. There are multiple fabric types and weights to keep the baby at the right temperature. They have multiple transitional products once the baby outgrows the swaddle.

❌ Cons: You will likely have to buy multiple sizes. The newborn swaddle only comes in one fabric weight. 

Sizes and Weights: Preemie (up to 7 lb.), Small (7-14 lb.), and Large (14-18 lb.)

Ages: 0-6 months 

The Swaddle Me Orginal Swaddles are 100% cotton swaddles. They come in packs with tons of color and pattern options.

✅ Pros: The Swaddle Me Original Swaddles are affordable, with a 3-pack of swaddles typically costing less than one of the leading swaddles. They offer a transitional product called the Arms-Free Convertible Swaddle. 

❌ Cons: This is a big one: the velcro is loud. It would be nearly impossible to change diapers without waking the baby. 

Sizes and Weights: Extra small (8-13 lb.), Small (12-19 lb.), Medium (18-26 lb.), Large (26-34 lb.), and Extra Large (34 lb.+) 

Ages: 3 mo.-3T

As seen on Shark Tank, the Zipadee-Zip swaddle is starfish-shaped.  The design allows babies to feel snuggled and swaddled without limiting their range of motion. This long-sleeved baby sleeping bag also has enclosed feet to warm your little one. Babies look like adorable little starfish with ease of movement of the hands and feet.

✅ Pros: Safe for babies who roll and must be transitioned from a regular swaddle. This swaddle provides the safety benefits of arms-free sleeping, allowing the baby to roll and push up, keeping the hands and feet enclosed for a swaddled feel. This is a product to try if your baby shows signs of rolling early but isn’t ready for a traditional wearable blanket. 

❌ Cons: The sizing can be tricky, with the extra small and small having some overlap. Their sizes don’t offer a lot of growing room and may need to be replaced often.

Pro Tip: Halo was the brand of swaddle used at my hospital and the brand we trusted through the early months of our son’s life to get the most sleep. 

Sizes and Weights: Preemie (up to 5 lb.), Newborn (6-12 lb.), and Small (13-18 lb.)

Ages: 0-6 months 

The HALO SleepSack Swaddle In 100% Cotton is a super soft, premium feel fabric. This HALO Swaddle is a 3-way swaddle, meaning babies can sleep with arms tucked in, hands up, one arm free, or both arms free. 

✅ Pros: The HALO SleepSack Swaddle is versatile with the 3-way swaddle. It is offered in a variety of fabric types and weights. There is an easy-access zipper for diaper changes. If you have an early roller, you can use this swaddle to transition to arms-free sleeping without buying a specific transitional product.

❌ Cons:  The wrapping process has a bit of a learning curve so that babies don’t wiggle their little arms out.  

Transitioning Swaddles

Once your baby can roll, you must ditch the swaddle to enable hands-free sleeping. If the swaddle restricts their hands and they roll onto their bellies, they could suffocate.

Sizes and Weights: Small (12-18 lb.) and Large (18-21 lb.) 

Ages: 3-9 months 

My son slept through the first night (10 hours) in his Magic Sleepsuit.

• Swaddle transition product.
• It helps babies go from a snuggly swaddle to sleeping arms-free.
• The sleepsuit looks like a snowsuit but is made of breathable jersey fabric, polyfill, and a cotton lining. 
• The unique design adds just enough weight to babies to provide a feeling of security.
• Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit helps lessen the Moro Reflex that wakes babies after they stop being swaddled. 

✅ Pros: It is designed to transition from a swaddle to arms-free sleeping. It is made of super-soft materials that are cozy for babies. The zipper is strategically placed for easy use. The collar is scooped to prevent the fabric from riding up and covering the face. With thousands of glowing reviews on Amazon, my personal experience, and friends and family experience, it works really well.

❌ Cons: The suit is used for a specific period (3-9 months). I wish my son could have used it longer as it was so effective.

My second didn’t love the Magic Sleepsuit as much as my first, so we tried the Swaddle Up instead. We loved this brand because it allowed hands-up sleeping, but the sleeves zip off for gentle transitioning to a regular sleep sack. Using the Swaddle Up allowed for a seamless transition for our second from swaddle to sleep sack.

Sizes and Weights: Medium (13-19lb), Large (19-24lb), Extra Large (24-32lb).

Ages: 3-12 months

✅ Pros: Snug in the arms and torso for a swaddled feeling. It has a wide bottom to be hip-friendly. There is a two-way zipper for easy diaper changes. When your baby is ready, you can remove the sleeves for hands-free sleeping (one at a time or together). The transition is easier because the smugness of the sack stays the same.

❌ Cons: There wasn’t anything we didn’t love about the SwaddleUp. A potential problem is if your little one doesn’t like sleeping arms up (ours did).

Sizes and Weights: Small (13-20 lb.) and Medium (19-24 lb.)

Ages: 3-9 months 

The HALO Easy Transition Swaddle is a double-layer cotton quilted wearable blanket.  It features half-sleeves for babies who need to feel secure around their arms but are ready to transition from a regular swaddle blanket.  

✅Pros: It is one of the few long-sleeve wearable blankets on the market.  Typically, long-sleeved sleep sacks are made of fleece, which can be hot and doesn’t breathe well.  The HALO Easy Transition Sleep Sack is made of breathable cotton.  The heavier weight of the quilting around the arms helps to lessen the Moro (startle) Reflex that causes infants to wake at night. 

❌ Cons: While it is made of cotton, the HALO Easy Transition Swaddle has a TOG rating of 1.5, warmer than most swaddles.  It is important to ensure the baby and the room are at safe temperatures to avoid overheating. 

Sleep Sacks

These are for babies no longer swaddled but who aren’t old enough for loose blankets in the crib.

Sizes and Weights: Small (10-18 lb.), Medium (16-24 lb.), Large. (22-28 lb.), and Extra Large (26-36)

Ages: Birth-24 months 

The HALO SleepSack Wearable Blanket is the original wearable blanket. I love the 100% cotton as it can be layered with pajamas to keep warm in the winter or with fewer layers to stay cool in the summer. The material is so soft and gets softer with each wash. 

✅ Pros: The HALO SleepSack offers many types and weights of fabric to meet the needs of any climate. There are tons of gender-neutral patterns so that they can be passed down from child to child. There is a double zipper, even larger sizes for easy diaper changes. 

❌ Cons: These are sleeveless sleep sacks; layer them with pajamas underneath. There isn’t a lot of overlap with sizes, so your baby may outgrow them quickly. 

Pro Tip: Before the price tag on this one scares you away, it is meant to be worn from 2 months to 24 months. My first went through about 15 swaddles and sleep sacks in that period, and my second went through 8 or 9. At $20-30 each, this one seems like a bargain!

Sizes and Weights: One size fits all 

Ages: 2-24 months 

The Woolino 4 Seasons Sleep Sack is designed for all four seasons. There is an outer cotton fabric with an inner 100% merino wool lining. The Merino wool regulates body temperature, so babies can wear the bag year-round. 

✅ Pros: While it looks like a basic wearable blanket, the Woolino 4 Seasons Sleep Sack has very smart features like shoulder and underarm snaps to adjust for baby’s size, a double zipper for easy diaper changes, and seatbelt slots for easy transition between crib and stroller. With the Woolino 4 Seasons Sleep Sack, you don’t have to worry about switching the baby to a different sleep sack each season. Additionally, it is designed for 2-24 month wear; you also won’t have to worry about a transition period to a different size bag.

❌ Cons: the Woolino 4 Seasons Sleep Sack is one of the most expensive on the market; however, the bag is designed to be used for 2-24 months, providing a higher value. The temperature regulation of the merino wool also means you won’t have to shell out for different types and weights of fabric throughout the year.