Different Types of Baby Blankets
NOT ALL BABY BLANKETS ARE CREATED EQUAL
Baby blankets come in an almost limitless variety of colors, materials, sizes, and prices. Natural fabrics such as cotton are the most popular in the ten to twenty-five dollar range, but if you want to get fancy you can easily drop more than a hundred dollars on a faux fur model like the Ultra Soft Baby Fur Blanket by MiniMink, that can also be used as a throw, wrap, or play mat.
As most parents already know and new parents will soon find out, children often become inseparable from their baby blankets. This baby blanket bonding often occurs well before baby's first birthday. As this happens, parents learn to appreciate the baby blanket's ability to act as a wonderful tool for calming an anxious child or quieting and inducing sleep with an overtired and cranky one.
But exactly because the baby blanket can grow so important to a child, it is more important that many parents may realize to choose one that is durable, easy to clean, and, most of all, safe. The last thing any parent wants is to have to tell their child an object of her devoted attention and fondness has to 'go bye-bye' because it is either too hard to clean or it starts to fall apart after a couple laundry cycles.
A Tale of Two Baby Blankets
A review of comments from parents who purchased Sage Luxe Baby Blankets, and those who chose Wamsutta Cable Baby Blankets shows two rather different experiences. Although this is not a scientific survey, the comparison can be very informative for consumers.
At the time of purchase, parents were more than satisfied with the softness of both brands. Descriptions such as "very soft," "the softest," and "extremely soft," arose often and with equal frequency. But the similarities largely ended there.
The Sage Luxe baby blankets were found to be highly durable. One mother's comments were typical. She wrote that after weekly washing and dryings, the Sage Luxe "held up extremely well and look and feel like new." Another said that after a dozen washings the blanket, "still is just as soft and I don't always use fabric softener." Rebecca Acuff, of Savannah, GA, wrote, "The thing I love most about [the Sage Luxe Baby Blanket] is that is [sic] has remained the same lushness despite being washed many times." One mother whose two sons are 4 and 20 months summed up her experience with this model saying simply, "they are super durable."
Typical parent comments about more than one model of Wamsutta baby blankets revealed concerns about lack of durability. Erin Straub, of Loveland, Co, warned, "If you wash it do not dry it or the material will shed in the dryer." An Oklahoma mom complained, "After a few washings [the Wamsutta - Cable Baby Blanket] really thinned out in the middle and started getting holes." One California mom identifying herself as J. Gauntt wrote, "It is cuddly and soft . . . but you just can't wash it without causing noticable [sic] damage." She echoed the sentiments of a number of moms by saying, "My son would rate it 5 stars if there were a review site for toddlers but since this is a site for mothers, Wamsutta chenille gets a disappointed thumbs down."