Baby blankets are more than bedding to a baby, they are a soft home where a newborn human begins life outside of the warmth of a womb. In the first few hours, days and weeks, the blankets baby needs most are the ones that will sooth and calm, keep warm and swaddle for a feeling of protection.

Later personalized baby blankets with designs and names and cartoon characters and fun colors with alphabets and numbers may become something they themselves select to snuggle or play with, but in the beginning blankets for babies are a cocoon of softness and comfort, and that is what we should never forget when selecting a layette set, which is a small selection of clothes, baby bedding and products for a teeny newborn.

Cotton Baby Blankets

Baby doesn’t need half as many things as advertisers wish to make us believe. Just a few undershirts or nighties with drawstrings for easy access, a couple sleepers, a pair or two of teeny little socks, some cloth or disposable diapers, and a few receiving blankets. Knitted baby blankets are nice to have for throwing over a carriage to take a stroll or to drape over mom’s shoulders while nursing, but medium sized baby receiving blankets will be just fine as well. Cotton baby blankets (in fact all things cotton) are best for baby’s delicate skin because it breathes and still keeps them snug and warm. If at all possible I would recommend organic baby blankets that are free of chemicals and dyes even if baby doesn’t appear to be allergic. Organic is a good way to start life.

Baby Bassinette and Baby Bedding

During the first months, personal baby bedding isn’t a huge priority unless baby will be in a crib in their very own baby nursery right from day one, but otherwise it’s enough to snuggle her/him in some blankets, pad a small baby bassinet with two or three medium sized baby fleece blankets (folded to fit the bassinette shape) and on top of that just spread a cotton baby receiving blanket to act as a sheet that can be changed frequently, and that’s it.

After about 3 months or so, when baby has a crib and may sleep on her/his own during the night then you can slowly select a fancier baby crib set from the zillions of baby bedding sets on the market, but there is no rush to do so before baby arrives or immediately after.

Baby Products – Less is Enough

Don’t stress out about not having something, especially if it’s your first baby – babies primarily sleep, sleep and sleep, and every few hours wake up and look for a breast or a bottle and fall back to sleep. In between all this they soil their diapers and need changing – so lots of diapers, lots of wet wipes and a little powder is good to have nearby.

Once a day, usually in the morning, baby can have a bath, so a little tub is nice (but not essential), a soft washcloth, a little mild, preferably organic, baby shampoo or gel and a large very soft towel with a teeny hood. If your house is cold it may be a nice touch to have a portable heater to set in the kitchen or bathroom while bathing baby. But honestly, all the things you think you need, you really don’t.

Fancy dressers and changing tables, cribs and night lights and stuffed animals and padded crib sets and cartoon characters and monogrammed baby blankets and dozens of bath products and bells and whistles really are designed for parents not newborn babies. Teeny babies that arrive after 9 months in a watery womb are happiest when snuggled close to mother’s breast, allowed to sleep, kept clean, and fed when needed.

A Blink of an Eye

That simplicity of needing almost nothing will change, and after a few months you will want more things to make your job easier, like baby slings, carriages, strollers, high chairs and fancy baby accessories for the crib and maybe even personalized baby clothes, but don’t panic too soon.

Enjoy baby without a lot of baby stuff…revel in their tiny fingers and toes and little gurgling sounds and the way they smell and how they sleep in simple cotton baby blankets….don’t waist your time worrying and shopping because they will be newborn for only a blink of an eye…

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.