*Swaddle provided by Nested Bean for reviewing purposes.
We recently welcomed another baby into our household. A new baby always seems to equal more sitting around, yet far less rest. The first two questions I get whenever I have a new baby are “how old?” and “is he a good sleeper?”
Good sleeper? Well, that is all relative. My approach to newborn sleep (and new mom sleep) has always been Do What Works for you. For some people, the best sleep setup is a separate nursery and monitor, for others a co-sleeping arrangement works better. I like to set up a baby station in our family room and camp out on our couch for the early weeks. I’m also big on snug swaddling. I’ve gone through a huge number of infant swaddles since we wear through several with each baby. My first son loved being swaddled so tightly, we used two at a time! He would have been a great candidate for a weighted swaddle.
I recently started using a Nested Bean Zen Swaddle on our new baby boy, and he seems to really like the gentle pressure as well.
The Nested Bean Zen Swaddle is a two-size gently weighted swaddle that simulates the weight of your palm on your baby. This light pressure can help baby sleep and feel soothed. It is really rather brilliant to incorporate the feeling of being touched with the comfort of a swaddle.
The Zen Swaddle has an inner and outer sack so you can swaddle newborns in the smaller sack, then transition to the larger until baby is six months old. The soft cotton fabric is comfortable and easy to wash. The Velcro tabs are sturdy and secure. The light weight built into the swaddle is made from securely sewn in ‘bean bag’ areas. There is one weighted zone in the center of the chest and two more located on the sides near baby’s arms.
Swaddling is helpful, in that it can help baby fall asleep more readily and stay asleep when needed. Swaddling can calm down a baby woken due to startle reflex (Moro Reflex) by pulling the limbs in closer to the body. The startle response happens when a baby is exposed to stimuli they don’t experience in the womb and a swaddle recreates that warm, confined space. Learn more about Moro Reflex and swaddling benefits.
You can burrito up your baby just like you do with any other structured swaddle. If your baby is the type who likes being held constantly, the pressure offered by the Zen Swaddle might be just what you need to lay baby down and grab a shower.
Our current little guy is one of those easy, yet difficult babies in that he is happy as a clam……so long as you are snuggling him up against you nonstop. This has made for some tough nights since there are some situations where I do not feel comfortable having him sleep with me in bed. He hates his crib unless he is swaddled up pretty tightly. The Zen Swaddle Classic is perfect for him. I can wrap him up and lay him down in the crib in my office, allowing me to feel productive for a couple hours. Or as productive as I can be with all these kids home all day!
Nested Bean also has a Zen swaddle premier and the Zen Sack, which is a weighted sleep sack. The Zen sack looks great for summer nights. I’m a big fan of sleep sacks for the first three years, quite frankly.
You can learn more at Nested Bean! (Free shipping on U.S. orders!)
*Swaddle provided by Nested Bean for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own. Review is not otherwise compensated.