Ever since our first two children were young babies, we have used ‘Gro’ products, most notably the Grobags for sleeping and napping in from about 8 weeks. We have just started using a Grobag at night for Arlo, but have also had the opportunity this time around to test out a ‘Groswaddle‘, an easy way (and safe) way to swaddle your young baby. After reading more about the ‘4th trimester’ this time around, it made sense that babies under 3 months want to feel as safe and secure as possible, so the Groswaddle sounded like an excellent idea!
I was worried that Arlo might not take to the Groswaddle, as his older brother, Freddie, wasn’t so keen, and to be honest we didn’t even bother with Sasha. Thankfully with Arlo, he really seemed to enjoy the security of the Groswaddle, and it was pretty easy to use.
Swaddling is proven to improve quality of sleep in young babies, and the wrapped fabric mimics the closeness of the womb and suppresses the startle reflex. This (in theory) means that baby (and mum and dad) will get more sleep. The International Hip Dysplasia Institute (IHDI) acknowledges the Groswaddle as a ‘hip-healthy’ product when used as directed. After using this for a few weeks now, I can’t say that we are getting any more sleep (although Arlo is pretty good in this area anyway), but he is settling quicker when we put him down at night and for naps.
What I’ve liked about the Groswaddle is that the material is made of soft, stretchy cotton (super-comfy), and that it wraps around your baby without any complicated fastenings. As someone with two older children and always time-pressed, I don’t have time to faff around with complicated wraps, so the Groswaddle definitely makes our lives easier in this department.
At 11 weeks, we are now on the stage where Arlo can self-soothe a little more, so we have started swaddling him without the arms, which has made the transition to a Grobag much easier for him.
So what did we think of our Groswaddle overall?
Aimed at babies under 3 months old, I wish we’d had one of these from day 1, as I think it would have been great to use on Arlo (and will be recommending to friends who are currently expecting babies!). The only thing I would say is that feeding a baby who is wrapped in the Groswaddle can be a little tricky in terms of getting them comfy, so we’ve been feeding before wrapping him in it. The material is lovely and comfy, and also washed well (always high up on the list of baby ‘must-haves’!). It would be nice if there were slightly clearer instructions included with the box, as I thought these were quite limited to look at and some people might be confused, but it was easy enough to figure out from the diagram what to do.
A big thumbs up from us, and I would definitely add it to the list of ‘essential’ baby items to get before your little one arrives!
We were given a Groswaddle to review and compensated in return for an honest review.
