HALO Sleep Sack – Review and Giveaway

What Is It?

October is national SIDS awareness month, so I had the opportunity to review the HALO SleepSack Swaddle. It is a roomy sleep sack that you zip your baby into, with an optional swaddling band to wrap and velcro around the baby’s arms.

HALO wants you to know that putting babies to sleep on their backs can prevent SIDS. Your child’s sleeping area (wither a crib, bed, or cosleeper) should have a firm matress with a tight-fitting sheet, with no soft bedding or toys. Pacifiers can also help prevent SIDS (wait a month to introduce it, if you are breastfeeding) as does breastfeeding. Babies shouldn’t get too warm when they’re sleeping. 68-72 degrees are recommended. Also keep your baby away from secondhand cigarette smoke. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests using a wearable blanket instead of loose blankets to keep your baby warm.

Every one of your child’s caregivers (mom, dad, grandparents, babysitters, daycare workers) needs to be aware of safest sleeping practices.

HALO is donating $1 to SIDS Awareness for each new fan to join their Facebook page during the month of October. You can also follow the company on twitter.

My Thoughts:

I promise you I’ll always be honest in my reviews. And here’s proof:

It’s okay. Just okay. First of all, there is a LOT of velcro on this sucker. Of course, the swaddle strip velcros around to hold your baby’s arms securely…with two giant strips of velcro.

The back also has two giant strips of velcro to hold the swaddle strip in place. And the front has these two tabs (see below) of velcro to keep the strip from riding up and getting in your baby’s face. I understand the safety issues at hand, but since it’s not an expensive product, I’d prefer to cut down on the velcro and have the swaddle strip actually stitched in place… yes, you’d lose the versatility of being able to use it has a “wearable blanket” without the swaddle, but the whole thing would be much less…crunchy.

Also, if you want to impress me with quality workmanship, loose threads aren’t the way to go.

All that said, I did give it a fair try. I’ve used the SleepSack for several naps and several nights of sleeping. My baby girl can’t sleep without being swaddled because her arms fly around (strong Moro reflex!) and wake her up. So I used it with the velcro-y swaddler attached. It’s pretty easy to put on. There are arm holes like any other piece of clothing, then the whole bag zips down from the top (with a jacket zipper type thing) and then you wrap up your baby’s arms individually with the swaddle part.

It seems pretty secure at first, but she can definitely wiggle her arms out. Sometimes they poke out of the bottom of the swaddle strip, and other times she’s managed to sneak a fist out of the top to suck on, then worm her entire arm out of the top. Now maybe this is because my girl is on the higher end of the weight/size limit for the swaddle, or maybe it’s just something you have to deal with. It’s not a huge deal either way – she wasn’t woken by it since it still held her arms still enough for preventing the Moro “startle.”

I do really like the zip-open-from-the-bottom feature, because you can change diapers in the middle of the night without taking off the whole thing.

Still, when we need to swaddle our daughter, my husband and I both found ourselves reaching for our favorite blankets (I should do a review of those later, shouldn’t I?), instead of reaching for the HALO SleepSack. We’re both really good at wrapping a tight swaddle though, and if you haven’t been able to master that, the SleepSack might be a step up.

HALO definitely has your baby’s safety in mind and this could be a really good tool for a lot of families.

Buy It:

HALO SleepSacks and SleepSack Swaddles are now available in Target stores.

Win It:

HALO is giving one Joyful Abode reader a SleepSack product of your choice.

To enter the giveaway, you must comment to tell me how bad or good you are at swaddling your little one. Funny or sweet stories are even better!

Be sure to use a valid email address when commenting, otherwise I won’t be able to contact you if you win!

I will select the winner using Random.org on Monday, November 8 when I get up. I’m not giving you a specific time because, hey, I have a new baby. But it will be in the morning, Pacific time.

UPDATE: The winner is Karen, comment #38.

Extra Entries:

If you’d like an even greater chance of winning, you may leave an extra comment for each of the following:

• Tweet about this contest, including @JoyfulAbode , @HaloSleepSack , AND a link to this page. Comment here with the link to your tweet. (1 extra entry PER DAY)
• Subscribe to Joyful Abode via email, and confirm your subscription. (See in the right sidebar.) (1 extra entry)

The SupaFine Print:

HALO provided me with a free sample of this product to review, but I promise these are my real thoughts and opinions of the product. If you win, I’ll contact you via email and you will have 48 hours to respond with your shipping information, otherwise I’ll pick another winner. Sorry, Charlie, but that’s how it goes.

This contest is open to residents of USA and Canada.

This Product Was a Free Giveaway