Disclosure: I was sent the product the following product at no cost to myself for review purposes. I am not obligated to give a positive review. The opinions expressed in this review are honest and are entirely my own.
We’ve swaddled all our babies. Each of them has seemed to like the tight, protective feel, reminiscent of being in mommy’s tummy. Over the recent years I’ve heard a lot about the benefits of swaddling. However, it wasn’t until very recently that I heard about the dangers of incorrect swaddling.
Hip dysplasia is the medical term for instability, or looseness, of the hip joint that affects thousands of children each year. This ranges from mild instability to complete dislocation. Approximately one out of every 20 full-term babies has some hip instability and two or three per thousand will require treatment.
In order to reduce the risk of hip dysplasia we recommend avoidance of swaddling with the hips and knees in an extended position. A leading proponent of swaddling, Harvey Karp, M.D., has stated, “Contemporary swaddling techniques…permit infants to be snugly wrapped with their hips being safely flexed and abducted.” Additional free movement in the direction of hip flexion and abduction may have some benefit. The HALO SleepSack wearable blanket and SleepSack Swaddle have sufficient legroom to allow safe swaddling and free movement of the hips and knees.
Charles T. Price, M.D.
Director, International Hip Dysplasia Institute
Halo SleepSack® Swaddle is used in almost 1,000 hospital nurseries and has been deemed “hip healthy” by the International Hip Dysplasia Institute. In fact, Halo has recently developed the HALO® Safer Way to Sleep Initiative:
HALO Innovation’s SleepSack® Swaddle has become the standard for hospital nurseries and parents alike. In fact, 1,000 hospital nurseries use the HALO SleepSack Swaddle instead of blankets through the HALO Safer Way to Sleep Initiative. That is 1.5 million births getting first-hand, in-hospital experience with the HALOSleepSack Swaddle and safe sleep practices! Leading health organizations agree that modeling proper baby care in the hospital is the single biggest influence on how parents care for their baby at home.
It was from Halo that I too learned about hip dysplasia and safe swaddling. Babies, particularly newborns, spend a lot of time sleeping. It is extremely important that, while they sleep, their bodies are in a healthy position for physical development. You can read more about safe sleep and swaddle practices at HaloSleep.com.
We’ve used Halo SleepSacks with our older boys when they were too old to be swaddled, but this was our first time using a Halo SleepSack® Swaddle. Overall we really liked the SleepSack® Swaddle.
Halo designed the SleepSack® Swaddle for easy use–so important for parents of a new baby! The SleepSack® Swaddle is essentially two pieces, but they’ve been sewn together to make it extremely easy to put on baby and to wash. The SleepSack® Swaddle can be worn in two different ways. While baby is sleeping you can swaddle the baby with arms in for a calm, comfortable sleep.
When baby wakes up you can unswaddle baby’s arms and wrap the swaddle part around baby’s torso. *Note: A few parents will find that their baby simply does not like to be swaddled–some babies just don’t. With the SleepSack® Swaddle design you don’t have to worry about “I bought these swaddles. What am I going to do with them if baby doesn’t like to be swaddled.” You can use the Halo SleepSack® Swaddle with the baby’s arms in or out.
Diaper changes are also fairly easy with the Halo SleepSack® Swaddle. The zipper zips from top to bottom so when you need to change baby’s diaper in the middle of the night simply unzip the bottom portion of the SleepSack–no need to unswaddle. The swaddle wrap does come down to baby’s upper thighs so with a smaller baby it is a little more difficult to get the top of the diaper right where it needs to be without disturbing the baby.
There is one thing I’ve found with most swaddles that are secured with velcro, and the Halo SleepSack® Swaddle is no exception. The fuzzy panel that the velcro attaches to does not extend far enough around the back of the Swaddle. Maybe we just have little Houdini babies, but in order to swaddle them tight enough that their arms don’t escape we wrap the top panel of the swaddle wrap tight. This always left us with about 3 inches of loose “hook” velcro in the back. It is kind of difficult to explain in text. At 11 lbs, Baby Brother is now at the top of the weight range for the newborn size (6-12 lbs) so we no longer have this problem. If that fuzzy panel would just extend a couple inches farther around the back of the Swaddle it would be just perfect!
The Halo SleepSack® Swaddle comes in 3 sizes: Preemie (up to 5 lbs), Newborn (6-12 lbs), and Small (13-18 lbs). Price starts at just $28.95 retail and can be purchased at several major retailers in stores and online.
You can keep up with all the latest from Halo on Facebook, twitter, and pinterest.
Finally, I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU!!! to Halo for being an Operation Baby Shower Sponsor! Halo generously donated a Halo SleepSack® Swaddle to help a military family in need! I would love for your help in thanking Halo for their participation in this event! Please, help me say thank you by retweeting the message below or by posting a quick thank you on Halo Facebook Page.
https://twitter.com/ohsosavvymom/status/320208304410333185
About Amy @ Oh So Savvy Mom
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