The perfect blanket for your baby is out there, probably somewhere in one of those elusive or exclusive online companies offering to deliver African cotton, Asian bamboo, or even organic baby blankets from Madagascar, right to your door. Yes. There are blankets for babies that are luxurious and plush, fancy with lace or simply knitted or embroidered by hand. It’s all about WHERE to find them.

At Your Baby Blankets You will find articles about different baby blankets and find useful suggestions to choose something for yourself and your baby or to give as a gift. But the most important service this site provides is that it sorts through hundreds of other sites and narrows down your baby blanket choices to a select few high quality items that won’t disappoint. These suggestions may lead you to your ideal personalized baby blanket without the headache of hours of searching or shopping.

What you want is to put a smile on baby’s face and lighten mom’s load, because a baby must snuggle and smile and giggle and a mother has enough to care for without wondering if her baby blankets are hypoallergenic, organic, synthetic, or knitted with the right kind of lambs wool.

Here you will also find articles about the baby security blanket, which is a type people often forget about since its purpose is less obvious. However, a security blanket could be one of the best gifts your baby will receive, or perhaps it will be you who gives this thoughtful gift to a newborn friend.

Please take a moment to browse through the posts. I’m sure you’ll discover a few fun things about baby blankets you didn’t know. This site will also answer the following questions:

• Why choose natural or organic baby blankets?
• Why wrap a baby in swaddling blankets?
• What fabrics breathe and why does it matter?

• What can you do to help baby have fewer rashes and skin problems?

• What do skin problems have to do with baby blankets?
• What should I avoid when monogramming personalized baby blankets?

• Are traditional handmade and embroidered baby blankets always a safe gift?

• Must a new mother have blankets only in teeny baby size?
• What’s the big deal about baby security blankets?
• Where can I buy a baby blanket that’s a bit wild to suit mom as much as baby?

My baby sister (who now has babies of her own) came into the world when I was almost 10 years old. Since it was before the era of ultrasounds, no one actually knew if she’d be a SHE or a HE, but it was practically guaranteed by local townspeople, especially the midwife’s intuition, that she would be a BOY!

During the months of waiting I saved every penny of my allowance to buy a present for my little brother.

The Sunday before the arrival of the new addition, I went secretly to the local market to select a gift for my little brother. I looked through baskets of plush toys, was offered the latest cartoon bearing baby bottles and bibs, pondered over the packages of white cloth baby diapers and was bewildered by the tininess of a myriad little baby undershirts. But I wanted something special, and I finally found it at the little old lady’s stall at the back of the market. She had the most marvelous handmade baby blankets I had ever seen. There were dozens of blankets for babies, even organic baby blankets before organic was popular, and knitted baby blankets, and embroidered baby blankets and…

I selected a very large baby blanket (because I refused to believe my brother would fit in one of those cute, tiny ones), actually it was a huge, thick cotton baby blanket in pale BLUE! Very satisfied with myself, I went home, wrapped it up and waited.

When the little bundle emerged from the midwife’s delivery room a week later I was not at all prepared to hear the verdict.

My baby brother was a GIRL!

But everyone was so terribly thrilled about my brother being a sister that practically the whole town arrived with delightful PINK presents, pink baby blankets, pink frilly dresses, tiny pink satin slippers and pink lacy bonnets. I was quite devastated.

There was no way I could present my sister with my brother’s BLUE baby blanket as a gift!

So I hid it in my closet and never said a peep to my mother or anyone.
As the weeks passed, I grew to adore my little sister, and helped with her care as much as a 10 year old could. I learnt to change her diapers, bathe her, powder her tiny bottom and swaddle her in the teeny tiny pink receiving blankets.

One day she became ill, allergic to the formula she’d been drinking, and this caused her to soil or vomit upon every single baby blanket she’d been given. When at last, several vomity hours later, her little stomach had been calmed with goats’ milk (and she had been bathed and powdered), my mother turned to me exhausted, almost in tears, and said, “I have nothing to wrap her in…go find a small sheet or a towel or something…anything….!”

And that was when I ran to my closet, unwrapped my brother’s special blanket and returned to swaddle my little sister in the soft folds of the huge BLUE baby blanket. I cradled her in my arms until she fell asleep… all swathed in blue.

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.

And she was right. When her daughter was born she was the happiest little baby ever. She had the softest white cotton diapers made from natural cotton gauze and she slept next her mother’s breasts in a little gauze snuggly. At night she was wrapped in organic baby blankets her mother had made from cotton gauze as well, and during the day she wore natural white cotton dresses.

My friend’s clothes line had nothing but white cotton hanging in the African sun and her daughter always looked so fresh and clean. Perhaps it was the natural white that surrounded her, but that little baby’s skin glowed. I don’t recall ever seen her little bottom bothered by diaper rash and I changed her often enough to know. I can’t attribute her cheerful nature and good health entirely to her organic cotton attire, but it was certainly part of what made her one of the most beautiful babies I would ever see.

It may seem as if organic diapers, cotton baby blankets and gauze clothing is the ideal choice for children in the tropics or those who live under the heat of the African sun, but in fact going natural and using organic baby products can be a lifestyle choice no matter where you live, even in Alaska or a Fjord in Norway.

Here are some organic baby blanket suggestions in all natural cotton, fleece, wool and silk:

I was recently impressed to discover Ali Hewson and Bono – founders of a company called EDUN, specializing in organic clothing and other natural products, and whose mission it is to aid developing economies with sustainable employment through fair trade practices.

Their line of organic EDUN products is produced in Peru, Tunisia, Kenya, India, Mauritius and Madagascar. They don’t have many baby products, but they have ONE that is quite impressive: an organic baby blanket, 100% Organic Cotton which Features an African poem called Splendid City, softly printed on the blanket. It’s made in Kenya at Wildlife Works.

Another company is Robbie Adrian, in California, who manufacturer organic baby blankets in very tasteful designs. They have a line of what they call luxury organic baby blankets and they aren’t stretching the truth. Their products are truly luxurious – a long way from merely natural fibers, gauze and wispy cotton baby blankets. All their plush baby blankets are 100% certified organic cotton velour or 100% certified organic cotton fleece, and the trims are all 100% natural silk.

They have exquisite soft baby blankets, cotton baby blankets and organic baby blankets in natural, raspberry, chocolate, eucalyptus, taupe dot, ocean blue and raspberry dot starting at $26 and going up to about $68 for the larger baby blankets.

Kushtush Organics is another place to find organic baby blankets. They have an unusual baby blanket from Organic Caboose, which is an Eco Fleece baby blanket produced by Malden Mills using Polartec Ecospun fleece made from recycled soda pop bottles. The Eco Fleece organic baby blanket is machine washable and dryer friendly. For only $14 it is an Eco bargain.

They also have organic baby blankets made of merino wool – suitable for baby’s delicate skin, yet warm enough for the coldest nights. – $97.50 Kushtush Organics also has knitted baby blankets in organic cotton jersey. Receiving blankets are all organic and come in 7 eco-friendly pastels: lavender, pink, blue, buttercup yellow, sage, natural and mint. – $15.95 to $17.95

ECOCHOICES is another company to keep in mind for all organic baby products including embroidered baby blankets. They have a good selection of natural baby bedding and other supplies. Here are some of their most popular products:

• Organic Cotton Changing Pad–organic cotton Sherpa fleece changing pad – $39.95
• Organic Cotton Chenille Changing Blanket – $29.95
• Travel Organic Cotton Changing Pad – $19.95
• Natural Organic Wool Crib Baby Blankets – Natural/baby Blue/Baby Pink but contain no dies – $89.95
• Natural Chemical Free Wool Blankets -$39
• Organic Cotton Weaved Crib Blankets – 35.95

• Super Soft Organic Brushed Cotton Crib Baby Blankets -$42.95

• Organic Baby Blanket – Poetry Blanket: with inspirational quotes by Kate Douglas Wiggin, William Blake, or J.M. Barrie -$35.95
• Embroidered Alpha Baby Blanket and Pillow Case Set – Alpha Blanket- $60/Alpha Pillow Case – $28/Alpha Blanket /Pillow Case – $86
• Organic Cotton Receiving Baby Blankets – natural or low impact dyes of blue and green – $64 each
• Embroidered Baby Blankets – Hand Embroidered Organic Cotton Forest Crib Blanket – $96
• Embroidered Baby Blankets-hand embroidered organic cotton receiving blanket -$49.95