When I was a child I had a the greatest baby blanket ever. Yeah, I know it really wasn’t but back then, in my world, it was. I wonder how many babies go through a similar experience? One in 10, 2 out of 5, or even more? No matter. In this post I want to outline my experience of thinking about trying to get my baby his special blanket, the one that he will find to be the best ever. Ok, so maybe he won’t but if he does I might as well make sure it is a darn good blanket. If he does like it will likely go through a lot as he may try to take it everywhere, and have it with him a lot of the time.
My first lesson in baby blanket was to learn there are a lot of different kinds.
Chenille Blankets – this seems to be the bomb of blankets. The fabric is real soft and has a velvety look. It has a great just-right-to-the-touch touch plush feel.
Fleece Blankets – fleece is cool and works well too. Soft and nice to the touch.
Security Blankets – these can be all sizes but a smaller one can be good for that take it anywhere carry-ability.
Receiving Blankets – what they heck are these, precisely? There does not seem to be any consensus. There are small, large, and swaddling receiving blankets. I think the idea is these are blankets to “receive” a baby. Hence the common dictionary definition that mentions they are often for a baby to be wrapped in after a bath.
Swaddling Blankets – roll em’ up and watch em sleep. A nice soft swaddling blanket can serve as a great wrap, which does have the nice affect of calming down most babies.
Cotton Blankets – probably the most practical. Cheap and easy but still quality and softness that your baby can enjoy.
Specialized Blankets – monographed, personalized with the baby’s name, christening blankets and others.
So what is a fellow to do when faced with all these choices? Buy as many kinds as you want because here are some other things I found out. There is no having just one baby blanket. You need lots because like anything that has to be on your baby, they get dirty and potentially meet with a variety of little accidents. The more you have the better chance you will have of easily getting your hands on a clean one when you need it.
Of course my wife wants the cutest blanket there is, as if cute is somehow practical or makes sense. I guess it does make sense though, at least to my wife. If this is what you are after there are any number of specialty websites and, at least in big cities, some shops that sell specially made baby blankets. Find one or two really cool blankets and start the pile there.
Me, I am all over covering what I kept reading over and over in my blanket (punny!) research. This means I can also buy blankets for my baby at places like Target or Amazon. Apparently having a dozen or so will not be any problem. Function, simple cotton will do, over form for the bulk of the stack of clean blankets that are kept on hand.
So does that about cover it? I hope so and my tales about baby blankets is now done.