Thank you for visiting baby's first! I'm always working to bring you the very best in everything baby. From baby's first blankets to Christmas ornaments to rattles and birth announcements, I've researched our vendors to bring you the best that the web has to offer -- from the comfort of your home, of course.
Baby's First Blanket
One of my favorite experiences in life has been the care of my babies. It's both magical and fulfilling, and incredibly fun, too! Buying for baby's first is just one of those times that I always remember and keep close to my heart.
I thought I'd start with the most important thing to all babies--that comfortable "mommy substitute", the ubiquitous baby blanket. There are literally tons of companies and websites that sell baby blankets. After 20 years of buying them, I've certainly seen some very pretty ones that don't last very long, as well as those that are worth the price. I won't write here about the lower end variety. Anyone can pick up a baby blanket from Toys R' Us, Target, and even Sears. Instead, I'm going to talk about your choices from mid-to-higher end, and the plus and minus points of each.
First, not all blankets are, of course, made the same. In some cases, a synthetic blend will last longer than most 100% natural fiber blankets, but there are certainly people who simply don't want a synthetic fiber on their baby. If you live in colder climes, a thick, natural fiber blanket will last half a lifetime. But that kind of thickness isn't reasonable for people living from southern California through the western plains, to Texas, the deep South and Florida. So, my first suggestion is to decide if the blanket thickness is reasonable for your local environment, and then secondly, decide whether to go synthetic blend or all-natural. I do not personally appreciate a 100% synthetic blanket. They absorb stains that can't be removed easily or completely, giving the feel of a constantly dirty or worse, contaminated blanket.
Once you've made those choices, you'll have narrow the scope of your shopping enough to be able to look at a lot of blankets without getting headache or wondering too much whether this one or that one is right for your needs.
Recommendations
As a first stop, I'd recommend checking out the first blankets at: My Blankee. They do a beautiful job with luscious materials, but I've never been able to find a 100% natural fiber blanket on their site. When their pricing was in the $60+ range, this was ridiculous for 100% polyester, which is what their blanket are made of it you read, read and find it in the finer print. Nevertheless, their do a beatiful job with design. And, the site is neatly arranged according to animal prints, traditions pastels, polka dots, etc. You'll get a very good idea of a wide design pallette that will assist you in determining your own, personal aesthetic.
One of my personal favorite shops is this natural fiber baby blankets store. They're a little short on high fashion, and you won't find many of the designs so easily made in fake fabrics, but you'll not only find cotton, you'll find 100% certified organic cotton, and made in the USA, too! These blankets last for practically ever, and you'll never feel badly about baby snuggling up close. Cotton fabric breathes!
The current one-stop-shop winner are the first blankets from Corner Stork Baby Gifts because they have both blended and natural fiber blankets. They also have a rather talented buyer. You won't find poor quality or bad design at this shop. I like them. One of my favorite's is this baby blanket not only for it's 100% content content, but it incorporates cable knit styling and will last forever. I don't always see "far out" designs there, but they have traditional, dots, animals and the usual range, and all in good taste and quality. Plus, they have a wonderful personalization (more...) More Baby's Firsts
I'm compiling additional research this Spring and will publish again soon.