4 Styles Of Baby Blankets — And Why Receiving Blankets Are The Best

Rosa Wade
3 min readAug 16, 2021

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Having a new baby means you need a lot of new things.

A crib, stroller, bottles, diapers, toys, car seat — the list seems to go on forever.

Enter one of the most important tools in any parent’s arsenal: baby blankets.

They come in a number of different types, and each one has its own specific purpose.

There is a clear favorite though, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

Here are the 4 main varieties of baby blankets you might come across.

  1. Swaddlers

These blankets are typically smallish and often have added fastenings.

As the name implies, they’re meant for swaddling.

If your baby is often restless or on the move, you might find these blankets very handy.

While you can obviously swaddle a baby in any blanket, the extra fastenings speed up the process — and make sure your baby stays securely wrapped.

Photo by Tim Bish on Unsplash

2. Security

Security blankets aren’t really much good at being blankets.

They’re sort of at a weird halfway point between a stuffed toy and a warm covering.

That’s because their job is to provide comfort.

When looking for a security blanket for your babe — make sure you get one that’s sturdy.

They tend to hold on to these for a long time, and they can go through a lot.

If your bundle of joy gets attached to a security blanket and then it gets damaged beyond repair… let’s just say you could be in for some long nights.

3. Receivers

Receiving blankets are my clear favorite.

Photo by Michal Bar Haim on Unsplash

Not because they’re extra beautiful, or cute, or even because babies particularly love them.

They do that of course — they love them. But not for the same reasons as the others.

Receiving blankets are like the swiss army knife of baby blankets.

They’re long, simple, lightweight, durable, and good for every purpose.

As a blanket? Obviously.

For swaddling? Sure.

As a playmat? Of course.

Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash

Need a stroller cover? No problem.

Even as a spit-up catcher over your shoulder or on your favorite chair. You got it.

If there’s one type of blanket most useful for new parents — it’s the all-purpose receiving blanket.

4. Sleepsacks

Okay, I admit it — they’re durn cute.

The cutest of all the baby blankets.

If you haven’t seen a sleep sack before, you should take a look.

They’re like tiny baby sleeping bags that they can’t escape from (oops, this sounded creepier than I meant it).

These blankets are mostly just good for sleeping in — but babies do sleep a lot… hopefully.

I hope this helps when you’re looking to stock up for a new baby.

While every blanket has its uses — and some of those uses can be pretty cute — there’s no better all-around cover than a receiving blanket.

Photo by Fé Ngô on Unsplash

They’ll have so many uses for your new baby — you’ll never want to be without one.

(the blanket, I mean. And the baby, too.)

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