We’ve swaddled four babies over the past eight years and my husband has mastered his swaddling technique. Mine isn’t quite as refined, but give me the right blanket and I can get the job done.As much as I like swaddling, I can’t be the only parent swaddling my baby and thinking “There has to be an easier and more comfortable way to swaddle.” When I was invited to do a The Ollie Swaddle Review, I was curious to see if it would meet the promise of improving the quality and duration of sleep for my baby.
Hindi Zeidman created The Ollie Swaddle to meet the needs of a foster child, named Oliver. Little Ollie was not thriving and Hindi believed that a swaddling would help improve the quality and duration of his sleep. Unfortunately, the available swaddlers on the market left both of them frustrated. Hindi decided to create her own swaddler that would accomplish the following:
- Move with baby throughout the night.
- Keep a comforting pressure from shoulders to feet.
- Keep baby cool.
Once Hindi started wrapping Ollie in her new swaddling blanket, he began to sleep through the night, eat, and reach development milestones.
Our youngest, Sebastian, has struggled with sleeping since we brought him home from the hospital. Self-soothing seemed to evade him and 
he often found his way out of even dad’s masterful swaddles or was clearly overheated. While I won’t claim that The Ollie Swaddle magically solved all of his sleep issues, it has most definitely helped.
It did not take long for us to see the benefits of The Ollie Swaddle. First of all, it is so easy to use. You simply center baby in the blanket, wrap one side with aplix across his body, then secure the other side. He is kept cozy and comfortable in this swaddle position, even moving his arms below the blanket without escaping to startle him awake. The bottom also secures to keep him warm, but opens easily to change a diaper (assuming you are not using a zippered sleeper).
We’ve tried other popular swaddlers, but I think the lightweight stretch fabric of The Ollie Swaddle sets it apart from competitors. It’s cooler and more flexible than other swaddlers with a closure and more secure than simple stretch-fabric swaddling blankets. The only thing I’d change? I would love to see this product in more vibrant colors and patters, over the standard pink and blue.
Sebastian is aging out of the arm swaddle because he is trying to roll over, but we will still use The Ollie. It’s become a comfortable part of his routine and will provide a cool way to keep him swaddled as the weather warms.
Do you swaddle your babies?
Disclaimer: I received product to review for this post. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links included in this post.
I’ve been eyeing this swaddle for a while now!! the price is a little scary, though. 🙂 My little guy has a hard time sleeping during the day and he always gets out of my swaddles! He also gets too hot, and he can’t self soothe, yet. If I could ask, In what aspects did you see improvements in his sleep?
Hi there! The price is definitely high. I can just tell that baby is more comfortable. It seems easier for him to settle himself when he has some room to move in the swaddle (without getting his arms out). He sleeps for longer stretches and is clearly not as hot as he gets in other swaddlers. Hope that helps!
We have used the Ollie Swaddle from day one and WE LOVE THIS SWADDLE. Our babe has been sleeping 10+ hours since 6 wks old. Now that she’s 4 months and rolling over we still use it with both arms out. (I did contact The Ollie World for confirmation that this is safe, waiting to hear back). We slowly transitioned her from both arms swaddled, to one arm swaddled, to both arms out as she grew and got older.
They came out with 4 new colors and when we have another babe I will definitely be purchasing more Ollie swaddles. They’re seriously the best and my go-to baby shower gift!