Sleep sacks: The best baby blanket alternative

Pop quiz:

What do you get if you combine:

The construction and comfort of a sleeping bag...

with the softness and light material weight of a baby blanket?

Stumped?

The answer is a sleep sack

… A what?

A sleep sack is essentially a wearable blanket and will look very similar to this:

You may be looking at this and thinking:

Great, another useless piece of baby gear I will buy once and never use.

I used to feel the same way.

But then I tried one. And I was hooked…

Have you ever had your little baby wiggle out of his blanket? I did. I would constantly wake up to my baby crying only to discover he had wriggled out of his blanket.

Once I put the blanket back on the crying would stop and he would drop back off to sleep.

If the blanket did not slide off my baby I would have been able to grab a few more moments of uninterrupted sleep.

And that is valuable.

Now my baby may not be normal, he case. But a sleep sack also helped put a major concern of mine to rest:

My precious baby getting tangled up in the blankets and being unable to breath!

Once I zipped my baby into a sleep sack I noticed that he was able to move naturally throughout the night without the sleep sack coming off.

No matter how hard he kicked and wiggled.

If your situation is even remotely similar to mine then I cannot recommend a sleep sack enough. Whether it provides you with peace of mind or an uninterrupted sleep, the sleep sack will pay for itself ten times over.

Now it’s not just me that is a huge fan of sleep sacks. I asked a variety of other parents what they liked about sleep sacks.

• A sleep sack can help ease the transition from swaddling to a blanket

Gabby says:

I could not get my baby to sleep without swaddling, which he was getting too big for. I used a sleep sack to help him kick the habit. Because a sleep sack feels more like a swaddle than a regular blanket it was a familiar enough for my baby to give up the swaddle for good!

• A sleep sack is perfect for travel

Dave says:

I love that I could place my baby in a sleep sack wherever he was. Whether he was on an airplane, in a stroller or even in a car seat. No more picking up dropped blankets!

• A sleep sack can help your baby sleep longer

Jennifer says:

My toddler loves his sleep sack. Without it he just doesn’t seem to sleep as well. With the sleep sack he averages an extra 2 hours of sleep which means I get more sleep too!

So as you can see, parents love sleep sacks for all different reasons. If you have never tried a sleep sack on your little one then why not give it a go? You have nothing to lose!

There are two different styles of sleep sack:

The most common type of sleep sack. Essentially a wearable blanket, this sleep sack seals your baby into a loose-fitting cocoon.

If your little one was to stand in a baby sleep sack then he would quickly end up face down on the ground. As soon as your baby can pull himself to his feet it is time to abandon the baby sleep sack and transition to a toddler one…

Toddler sleep sacks are exactly the same as a baby sleep sack except that they have feet openings. The openings allow your baby to stand upright in his crib without tripping himself over.

When sleep time comes you simply tuck your toddler feet inside the sleep sack where there is an abundance of room to kick and wiggle.

It is worth noting that these sleep sacks will appear to be too large for your baby. They are not designed for daywear, they are designed large so that when your baby’s feet are pulled inside there is enough room to comfortably move about.

Now before you rush out and buy your sleep sack there are two things you need to look out for:

• Top to bottom zipper - I cannot stress how important it is to choose a sleep sack with a top to bottom zipper. The zipper should finish at your baby’s feet. If he cannot reach it, he cannot free himself.
• Material Thickness - You will need to pick a material that is appropriate for the weather. Thin is good in summer. Thick is better suited for winter. There are also Merino wool sleep sacks that are suitable for all seasons but these can be costly.

It is also worth mentioning that sleep sacks are not designed to replace pajamas, your baby will still have to wear those. The sleep sack replaces your baby blanket.

With the basics out of the way it’s time that I showed you some examples of excellent sleep sacks...

There are so many sleep sacks out there.

Some are way better than others.

So that you can avoid a sleep sack that sucks; I will show you my favorites and explain why they are the best sleep sacks on the market.

• check Cheap sleep sacks
• check Mid-priced sleep sacks
• check Premium sleep sacks

If you are raising a baby on a budget then you will find these sleep sacks reasonably priced.

I chose these sleep sacks because for the price point, the quality is great. A huge risk of cheap baby products is that the quality is lacking. While there are cheaper sleep sacks available, I could not justify recommending them for the few dollars you will save.

It is important to remember that cheaper sleep sacks are made from thinner material and not designed for winter use.

Emily George, RN, Dixie Regional Medical Center NICU had this to say:

We absolutely love the HALO SleepSack wearable blankets in our Intensive Care Unit. The preemie and newborn sizes work well for our various patient population sizes.

Full disclosure: Halo will ship sleep sacks for FREE to hospitals under this program. But the way I look at it is if they were not up to scratch then the hospitals wouldn’t use them even if they were free.

The sheer amount of choice in styles is what makes me absolutely love the HALO SleepSack above all the others.

Now the material of the HALO sleep sack is a little thinner than the others. I assume this allows them to keep the cost down, making the sleep sack more affordable than others.

At this price point you will see a big step up in quality, simply run your hand over the material and you will see. You will also find sleep sacks that are suitable for winter wear. If you live in a colder part of America (I’m looking at you North Dakota) then a winter rated sleep sack is an absolute must.

For those of you who want the sleep sack best for their baby, no matter the cost. At this price you will find sleeping sacks that not only fit your baby for up to two years but have the quality materials to ensure the sleep sack lasts the difference.

Now I usually like aden + anais products. I really do.

But their range of sleep sacks are simply awful.

Super thin material, flimsy zippers, poor stitching are but a few of the problems that myself and other parents have had with their sleep sacks.

I will come back and amend this When and if aden + anais lift there game. But as their current range stands, I expect more from what is often perceived as a quality brand.

If you have made it this far then you will no doubt be aware that sleep sacks are the perfect alternative to a traditional baby blanket. I strongly believe that every parent should give sleep sacks a go at least once. It’s very likely you will be happy with the results.

You know the drill guys. Leave me any questions, wisdom, love or hate in the comments section below. Stay awesome!