Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe 100% Cotton Knit Small, Circle Bear

These are great for babies that love to be swaddled. They are fast and easy. We couldn't figure out how to use the bottom "release" portion for easier diaper changes though and you do have to be careful to "close" all the velcro tabs when washing or they get kind of mangled.

These work great to keep babies soothed and comforted to help them fall asleep; babies who would otherwise flail their arms and keep themselves awake. You decide! My twins just outgrew the small size, so I'm upgrading to medium.

4 stars only because of the price.

There is a stage with my babies during the wiggle stage but at the same time they still liked to be swaddled. This was perfect and my kids loved it. Diaper changing was a lot easier and faster and it kept them cozy:) gr8 buy worth trying!

This is a godsend for new parents. Newborns love to be swaddled, but it's easy to get frustrated with learning this technique with a traditional blanket. This makes it so easy. Our little "Houdini" makes his way out of this with his arms, but it takes him at least a couple of hours.

A receiving blanket might work as a swaddler for, oh, maybe the first two weeks, but after that a baby will be strong enough to loosen the swaddling and startle themselves awake. That's where this comes in. With the same basic design concept as a swaddling blanket but thoughtfully placed Velcro and a leg pouch, this is a much more secure way to swaddle your baby. The designers were thoughtful in making sure that any Velcro that faces your baby is the soft loop side. There are two slight flaws, which in no way make this anything less than a lifesaver: the leg pouch that "pops down for easy diaper changes" is a nice concept but is secured by Velcro that is loud and will wake your baby up if you open it. It's also rather difficult to get the leg pouch re-secured as you're having to tuck it back under the arm wings and then line up the Velcro again. Secondly, the Velcro does wear out but for us it was right about when the baby outgrew it so not such a big deal -- just won't be hanging onto it for any future children. At $10 each, these are not a huge expenditure and it's definitely worth having several on hand.

My wife and I have used the Swaddle Me blanket as well as its main competitor, the Miracle Blanket.

The pros of the Swaddle Me are: it's cheaper than the Miracle Blanket, and it's less fiddly to get the baby in. This is much appreciated when you're sleep deprived, and it also makes it less likely that you'll wake up an already-sleeping baby when you put her in.

But there are tradeoffs that come with this extra convenience. The Swaddle Me is much less snug; it leaves the baby's arms free to wriggle around, and as our baby got older, we found her arms were slipping out more and more, resulting in a less effective swaddle.

Most disconcertingly, when her arms got strong enough, she was able to slip one wing of the blanket up over her shoulder, where it ended up pulled around her neck by the velcro fastening! As you can imagine, this gave us a moment of sheer parental terror. Fortunately, there was no harm done; the pressure was on her shoulder rather than her windpipe. But the incident was enough to make us stop using the Swaddle Me immediately, and switch to the Miracle Blanket.

I'm still giving the Swaddle Me 3 stars, because it did a great job in the first two months or so. And since I couldn't find any reports of a Swaddle Me actually harming a baby (and it didn't actually harm mine), I have to assume that it's perfectly safe, no matter how scary it looked when it slipped up around the shoulder and neck area.

Still, on the balance, I think it's paying a little extra for the Miracle Blanket, and taking a little extra time to get the hang of it. You'll get a more effective swaddle longer--and you won't have to worry about it slipping.

There is no way I could've survived the first few months without the Swaddle Me! We had a preemie, colicky, reflux baby who would NOT sleep unless she was either being held or tightly swaddled. She kept quickly unwrapping herself if swaddled in a recieving blanket, so we bought one of these Swaddle Me blankets. We quickly went back to teh store and got another so we'd always have a clean one handy!

Once she got a little older and didn't wnat to be wraped up so tight, we graduated to the sleep sacks, as she'd pull anything loose over her face. These really are great!

I loved the swaddle me - I brought mine to the hospital with me and all the nurses loved them. I will get some as gifts for anyone expecting!

Even though my husband and I watched the "happiest baby on the block" DVD while still in the hospital, I never got the hang of swaddling (my husband, however, can swaddle our son super tight). I purchased this and the much more expensive Miracle Blanket at the same time. The swaddleme is so easy to use and the velcro makes it stay nicely. I will say that my son is particularly adept at wrangling one of his arms out through the course of the night, but he seems to still sleep as long as both of them aren't out waving in the air. I take the swaddleme in the diaper bag in case he gets to worked up and needs to calm down (sometimes swaddling is the only thing that will work for him). He is now 13 lbs and a happy baby.

These are great. Bar none the easiest swaddle. Yes blankets are nice but these are so much easier.

Great for quick swaddling, especially at night when you just want to get back to bed and haven't got time to spread out the swaddle blanket on the floor and re-do it when you get it wrong.

Baby looks very cute in it too!

This works well and helps our child sleep longer. She stays warmer and cannot roll over when swaddled in her kiddopotamus...

These swaddlers are great and make it really easy to swaddle your infant. We struggled with regular blanket swaddling a few times before moving to these full time. Definitely worth the cost.

I was recommended to get one of these while I was pregnant and so I did but some people had said that they weren't that impressed. However I now have 2 and I am looking to get more. my little one did go through a stage of not wanting to be swaddled at all at about 2-3 weeks old, however when he got to about 5 weeks old he went back to loving it. I find these blankets very easy to use and as long as I wrap him as tight as they will go I have never really had a problem with his arms coming lose. This means he no longer jumps himself awake and manages to sleep longer at night.

We had received one of these as a baby gift. First it was too big. After my daughter had grown into it, she was able to get her arms out and it was never very snug, so she wouldn't like it very much. It's not a bad product, but it just doesn't work as well as a blanket.

This is by far the best of any of the swaddle blankets I tried. As soon as I started swaddling my baby in it, he slept through the night. He is amazingly content when swaddled. I can't recommend this enough. I now buy it as a gift for all expecting mothers I know!

When we finally discovered swaddles (about 2 months into newborn life), Kiddopotamus was the brand we found was the easiest to use with a squirming baby - the tabs hold him tight and the different fabric options give you plenty of choices depending on the weather. Just be careful - once your baby gets strong enough, he can pull those velcro tabs off the blanket!

This swaddle is my favorite gift I give to all moms-to-be I know and all of them just love it. It's so easy to use, soft and comfortable, and it works so well! I think this swaddle is the reason why we have never really had any sleeping issues. We used this swaddle up to 8 months (then the larger one). Great, great thing.

We tried many different types of swaddle blankets (e.g. the Miracle Blanket, etc.) and the Kiddopotamus was the only one that worked right.

The Miracle Blanket definitely kept our baby swaddled, but it literally took 2 of us to get it on her correctly, and it was such an ordeal that she was very upset by the time we were finished. In contrast, the Kiddopotamus is extremely easy to work with and wraps your baby up very quickly.

My only word of advice is to buy the cotton knit instead of the flannel. We thought that the cotton knit would stretch more than the flannel (and indeed it does), but we thought this would make the cotton knit less effective (as in the baby would be able to get out more easily); however, what we found is that the stretchiness allows you to wrap it more tightly and effectively than the cotton flannel.

Also out of 3 flannel ones we bought, 2 tore holes in them very promptly. And even though the cotton knit was used probably 10 times more often than the flannel, it never tore a hole.

My son loved to be swaddled during his first months, but this product never fit him right. It would gap and he could put his arms out and eventually wriggle it loose. We tried it a few times and then put it in the donation bag. Old-fashioned swaddling with receiving blankets worked much better (and is less expensive).

Our 2 week old cannot stay a sleep longer than 10 minutes without her hands and feet waking her up.

Thanks to the Swaddler we are able to get her to sleep for a full 3 hours (or until she wakes up to be feed).

This is a must have for any new parents.

I was very disappointed in this item. My daughter could easily pull her arms out, no matter how tightly we tried to close it. It didn't hold nearly as well as the Miracle Blanket. Although swaddling worked wonderfully for us, this product did not.

A must-have for a newborn baby. I would not recommend buying the larger size because my older baby does not like being so wrapped up. Would definitely suggest getting this for a newborn baby. It is so convenient and secure. Works best if you swaddle with a regular swaddle blanket (like the hospital kind) and then put this over the top. Baby will stay warm and cozy and safe.

This was by far our most useful baby gift-- it helped our baby get to sleep and even saved our sanity a few times. Nothing calms a crying newborn better than a good swaddler. At first it's a little tricky to figure out how the velcro fits together, but once you've tried it a few times, it's easy. Just buy 2 or 3 so you won't go into a panic when it's in the wash.

If you want a really effective swaddle just get an oversized blanket. These don't swaddle the legs/ lower body tight enough.

This product is a lifesaver! My 1 month old son won't sleep without it. My only regret is not having more then one! One night his diaper leaked and we had to take him out of it. Worse night sleep ever!

I have used several of these in both the cotton solids and prints. I have a 3-month old daughter and at 11 pounds she is just starting to outgrow the small size but is too little for the large size. They need a medium size. One thing I like about the prints versus solid colors is that it's easy to tell when the swaddle is right side out which can be tricky with the solid colors in the middle of the night when the light is low and you're getting the swaddle set up one-handed because the baby is in your other arm. There have been several occasions where she manages to wriggle an arm out which is why I don't give this 5 stars. Even though the velcro pads are designed to avoid catching on other things in the laundry, the swaddle has been stuck on something more than once when I take the clothes out. We also own a "Miracle Blanket" which really keeps her arms from escaping, but I find it a pain to use compared to this one. When we first brought her home we swaddled her in blankets but found that most of the time they would loosen up and her arms would get free. For the price, I think it is a worthwhile product.

I can't rate "how good it works" yet as my grandson is due in March. BUT, the quality of the material is great and the concept of swaddling the baby makes sense. I ordered two, so there will be a "back up" handy if the blanket becomes wet or soiled.

I wish I had gotten more of these...I have two so when one gets soiled I immediately start a load of clothes to get it cleaned! My son doesn't like his arms swaddled, but the rest of his body stays close and warm.

The blanket is a little too thin but it swaddles very well. My baby will actually stay swaddled until we take her out of it.

This swaddle blanket WAS a lifesaver or so I thought. The concept is a GREAT concept but this particular material was the worst. My baby is a 'wriggler' and always manages to wriggle her little arms out of the blanket up to her face,which is worrisome at best because once the material is that stretched then the problem becomes two-fold either her hands wake her up or the material follows her hands to her face and now we have a suffocation hazard, or sometimes her hands will find the opening in the bottom of the blanket where the 'flaps' overlap. I found the cotton knit material to be more counterproductive than helpful and HIGHLY suggest the cotton flannel. I have the microfleece, but have yet to use it. I've had minimal problems with the cotton fleece, the material isn't the stretchiest. The only real problem I have with the overall design of the blanket is the velcro. I think this blanket, especially the cotton knit, would benefit from a larger area to fasten the velcro at, therefor making it a possibility for a tighter swaddle. Also, the tabs start to 'bend out' after just once wash, making it a scratching hazard if you don't watch yourself.

While it's not a miracle every time, it does help a lot. We bought this blanket when she was about 4 weeks old. It fit her pretty well, and still does (she's 6 weeks now). I can tell that it will be too short before too long, though.

The velcro has stayed put, and she has only wiggled an arm loose once. Swaddling her helps when she is over-tired and fighting sleep. Once she is in the blanket and we give her a paci, then rock her, she is usually asleep within a few minutes.

The material is great for the weather right now, since it's a jersey/cotton material; it's not too hot nor too light. We usually put her in a short sleeve onesie, and that keeps her from over-heating.

I like that it's created in a way that allows you to change diapers without undoing the swaddle around her arms.

For those that gave the blanket a poor review because they say it didn't help their children, they have to remember that each child is different. They may not like swaddling; or maybe sometimes they aren't crying because they need the comfort of swaddling, but possibly they are hurting or have a different want/need at that moment. It doesn't mean the product doesn't work as it should (the velcro stays in place, holds their arms down, etc...). The product doesn't promise to make the baby quit crying, but it says that it swaddle the baby, which is known to help.

Good luck to everyone!

I'm a father of two, one is currently swaddled in this. She sleeps in this. No crying! Buy a few as your wife will want to wash it when the infant spits, throws up, etc..

I bought several of these for my daughter. First, she was too small, so I swaddled her using a traditional blanket. Then, they fit, but the fabric would stretch out during the night and she'd get her arms up and wake herself up. Finally we spent the extra money for an Amazing Miracle Blanket. It is AMAZING and worth every penny--instead of buying several of these, buy ONE Amazing Miracle Blanket and test it out. You'll see that I am right!

I've used this and other Kiddopotamus products. They're not bad, but never rise to greatness. The Miracle blanket worked much better for keeping our baby tightly swaddled.

When my baby was four weeks old (now one year old), he would not sleep on his back. The only time "we" got any sleep was when he was on his belly on my chest or laying next to me in bed. When my hubby mentioned this to our pediatrician, we got a stern talking to and he insisted that we make our baby sleep on his back in his bassinet or crib. I researched ways to help my baby sleep comfortably on his back and found lots of positive reviews for the Swaddleme. So...I forked out the cash and bought one. Much to my surprise, it worked! The main reason my son had such a difficult time sleeping on his back was due to the startle reflex. He would wake himself up when his little arms would flail around. The Swaddleme kept him bundled and he had less episodes of waking himself up. I bought two more and used them until he was around 6 months old. Make sure your wrap your little one up nice and tight otherwise they tend to do a Houdini and get their arms out the top. By the time my son was 4-5 months old, he was sleeping with his arms out (and the startle reflex was mainly gone), but he still enjoyed the comfort of it wrapped around him. Also, don't put your baby in really warm clothes since this adds a layer to their sleepwear. I highly recommend trying a Swaddleme if you are having a difficult time with your baby sleeping on his/her back.