Baby blankets are a good choice because they are useful, practical and mustn’t match perfectly with the chosen nursery décor.

However, here are a few cautionary tips based on real comments from new mothers and mothers-to-be.

Be careful about monogramming to create personalized baby blankets if you are unsure of the EXACT spelling of baby’s name. And never put a date of birth on a baby blanket or other item unless you are absolutely certain the date is correct.

Carefully select where you get the personalized baby blankets monogrammed. There are many companies who use odd colors, poor quality thread and the end product just looks cheap and not personal at all.

Blankets for babies are NOT heirlooms no matter what the baby monogramming companies say. Baby blankets are blankets for a baby to sleep with, play with, snuggle in, pee soil and vomit upon, spit on, chew on… and will never be bronzed mantle pieces. So choose a blanket that is made of natural fibers, is soft and comfy and could double as a baby security blanket. The best heirloom is a blanket so tatty and worn and torn and destroyed by use that it ends up, after 5 or 6 good years, in the garbage!

Embroidered, knitted and handmade baby blankets may be treasured by traditional moms, grandmothers and some new moms as well. But if baby has been born into a an ultra modern, contemporary family or into a home where eco, natural, organic and vegetarian will be babies first words, then I suggest giving a blanket that matches the environment they will grow up in.

1. For good quality monograms to create personalized items -My Ubby Build a Blanket -Using their ubby blanket builder, you can choose from their more than 50 fabric styles, colors and print options. They also have 11 edging colors and stitch options and many personalized features and add-ons.

2. For baby security blankets -Fisher Price Animals of the Rainforest Security Blanket – available from Amazon – $29.99

3. For organic baby blankets – Nature Baby offers everything natural and organic you might desire for baby, including bedding, blankets, diet, organic food, and zillions of wonderful other products. This is a small family business in Auckland, New Zealand, which started simply to have the best natural products for their own family. They wanted their children to grow up in non-toxic world and they share their finds with you. Nature Baby is one cool natural shop! They have an online shop too and deliver worldwide if you set up an account.

4. For cotton baby blankets – The Peanut Shell is a great little shop with some unconventional cotton baby blankets like the Park Avenue Swaddle Baby Blanket for $34.99 It is sage and pink floral cotton lined with fuchsia minky.

5. For knitted pieces – some genuinely fine hand knitted baby blankets can be found at Irish Arans for as little as – $39.00. All their blankets are authentic hand knit, created in the historic Irish tradition by expert craftspeople. Contact them at: 353-234-6100
6. For quality handmade – some genuinely weird, but amazing hand crafted blankets for babies you must have a look at Nordic Kids in the UK. If you can’t find it here it doesn’t exist! Nordic Kids bring you the best Scandinavian designers’ funky baby blankets, baby clothes and accessories.

It was a piece of a larger baby blanket, I think, nothing too special, but I slept with it, rubbed it against my cheek when I sucked my thumb and cuddled it when I felt sad. I also dragged it around my dad’s coffee and sugar cane plantations, used it to wrap baby rabbits, sat on it when I needed a picnic blanket for my dolls and tossed it on the beach as a cloth at pretend seaside tea parties. I also wiped my nose on it, mopped up spills with it, and dried my pet monkey with it. (Yes I grew up in the tropics and had a monkey to whom I fed bananas and bathed once a week.) I imagine my security blanket had to be disinfected fairly often, but I can’t remember a day between ages 3 to 5.5 when Banky wasn’t with me.

I can’t remember much about my first banana boat trip to Livingston Island except that I held my security blanket real tight! And sailing in the Caribbean with my dad, sometimes in hurricanes and storms, would have been un-survivable without soft baby blankets to wipe the salty sea spray from my eyes. When I climbed an active volcano for the first time at age 4.5, with my parents of course, I remember the lava spewing out from the carter only half as well as I remember hugging my baby blanket as I crouched behind a tree.

I understand that the baby security blankets you might be wishing to purchase for your newborn baby or as a gift for someone special may not end up in such places, providing comfort to freshly bathed monkeys, being wipes for salty-eyed sail-boating toddlers, or being cuddled by volcano climbing children, but frankly you never know.

Baby security blankets have come a long way since 1966 when I was born. I’ve noticed, at friend’s baby showers, that there are the most extraordinary security blankets. They make me want to burrow my face in them and suck my thumb! Okay I’m a strange 43 year old woman with 3 cats (no monkey, now), but my inner child is alive and well.

When my sister had her two children, naturally I made sure they each had baby security blankets of their own, and that’s how I know where to find some very snug-able, tote-able, disinfect-able baby blankets that will make any newborn feel comfy, cozy and secure at sea, on mountains and islands or in their most exotic dreams.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Bear Security Blanket -personalized teddy bear– embroidered bear blankie/about – $29
• Aurora Tech Giggles Giraffe Plush Pink Giraffe Baby Security Comfort Blanket/ about- $8
• Plush Golden Retriever Lil’ Snuggler Baby Security Blanket by Douglas – about $14
• Personalized Lamb Blankies – extra huggable blankies/ about – $30
• Kiddopotamus Huggacub -luxe baby security blanket/ about – $11
• HuggaCub – luxe baby security blankets – soft microfiber fabric with satin trim – $19.99
• Spot the Dog Security Blanket – $19.95

• Kidsline Tiddliwinks Froggie Security Blanket – embroidered/ machine washable/ about- $10
• White Comfort Silkie- Designed by Mother of Comfort- /White Flannel /about – $18
• International Playthings I Play ChiChi Blankie – blue pastel baby tab blanket/ about $10
• Spunky Buddyluvs by Gund Baby from BabySakes – puppy security blanket/ about -$20
• Micro-cozie Puppy Security Blanket – a Micro Cozy Blankie/blue/ from Amazon /about – $31
• Chenille Giraffe Baby Security Blanket – super light cashmere/machine washable/ about -$11
• Lovie Jack Terrier Blanket – ideal for newborns/ breathable fabric / about – $23
• North American Bear Dog Baby Cozies Blanket – great for travel/machine washable/ about – $8