FAQs

In the last several weeks of pregnancy, the baby curls up into what we know as the fetal position and is in a state of continuous touch and comfort inside the womb. Emerging from that warm cocoon-like environment, newborns usually have a difficult time adjusting to the outside world. Along with skin-to-skin and snuggling with baby during feeds, swaddling is a way to help your little one feel secure and calm.

When born, babies finally have the freedom to move their arms and legs about, but still don’t have the developmental maturity of being able to move their limbs about with purpose. Swaddling helps to keep babies from being disturbed by their own startle (Moro) reflex that leads to confusion, crying, and premature awakenings. If done correctly, swaddling may help your baby feel safe, settled, reduce the likelihood of SIDS, and even help to reset your baby’s circadian rhythm and, in turn, promote better sleep for both you and baby.

Meet our signature, safety-certified swaddle transition sleeves that gave our website its name! Swaddle Sleeves™ gives baby that reassuring feeling of being hugged or cuddled by mirroring a parent’s touch through our proprietary layering method and helps baby feel rested and able to eagerly meet their developmental milestones during their awake times. The gentle padding dampens the moro reflex while helping baby relax and gently drift off to sleep into the night. It also helps to keep baby cool and comfortable, and provides a relaxing and calming effect to help achieve a deeper and better night’s sleep. Swaddle Sleeves™ gives baby the feeling of being hugged or swaddled and a sense of warmth and safety, only second best to being snuggled up in your arms.

By using a strategic layering technique in our sleeves, we have created the same effect of dampening babies’ startles as they transition out of the swaddle that you’re used to with our products, but WITHOUT adding ANY weighting or restrictive design. The dampening effect is created through the air pockets in our inner polyfill layer. Similar to what’s found inside a higher TOG wearable blanket, our padded Swaddle Sleeves do not restrict movement, but do provide just an extra bit of reassurance to your little one as they transition out of the swaddle. Another way to understand our proprietary layering method would be to imagine the padded Swaddle Sleeves as being made of the same material of a wearable blanket with a higher TOG (thermal overall grade) rating, whereas our Mitten Sleeves would be classified as having a lower TOG rating, but without any added restriction in sewing or design. Sleep safety will always, always be #1 at Two Baby Bears and Co.

The Star Sleeves™ are a part of our Swaddle Transition Sleeves™ collection and are known for their tapered, rounded edges that provide gentle resistance, just enough to soothe baby's involuntary movements when asleep while still allowing for full range of movement for safety. They are characterized as being closed sleeve with a light "pull" at the center for gentle, built-in resistance to dampen baby's startles to ease the transition out of the swaddle and beyond. These extra long, wide sleeves are perfect for babies who are showing signs of rolling over and allow babies to safely roll over back and forth as desired.

Our Mitten Sleeves™ provide the secure feeling of being held in your arms without restricting movement and are the ideal long-term transition piece once babies lose the startle reflex but still need gentle comfort and security. With its namesake optional mitten cuff, it's perfect for babies who like to self-soothe and prevents accidental scratching on the face.

These are wide, full-length sleeves that are safe for babies who roll over back to tummy and are great for back sleepers, side sleepers, and tummy sleepers.

Our Mitten Sleeves also give the option of leaving the hands free and can provide comfort for those babies and toddlers who like to suck on their fingers as they drift off to sleep, while still providing gentle warmth and coziness for babies.

Our patent-pending, innovative sleep products encourage sounder, safer sleep in every part of your baby’s swaddle journey. The Swaddle Transition Sleeves™ are the perfect solution to gently transitioning your baby out of the swaddle and into arms-free sleep as rolling over begins. Our Hug Cushioning Factor™ helps to safely provide that snug, cozy feeling that babies still desire while leaving their arms and body free and unrestricted for more movement. Babies are left with having the freedom to move while still feeling secure and soothed without the risk of overheating. With any one of our Swaddle Transition Sleeves™, the transition is to arms-out sleep is gradual with minimal interruptions to baby’s sleep to provide the maximum comfort for your baby.

We wanted to make sure that our products were not only safe and functional, but also practical and easy to use for parents. Take our Product Quiz to find the perfect product for your baby!

We recommend at least two (2). Have fun with it! For example, you can either purchase two of one product, or you can try a couple different sleeves and body options to see which one your little one likes best. The best part is that we have included mitten sleeves with each of our Swaddle Sleeves' products, too, so if it doesn't work out for your little one, you can still use the product with just normal sleeves!

We wanted to make sure we have each and every baby covered! One of the biggest problems our founder and mom of 6, Umma, had when transitioning her babies out of the swaddle was the lack of versatility in the swaddle transition products that existed on the market. We wanted to make sure we addressed every possible pain point that parents might have ranging from potential overheating concerns, to a baby not preferring a certain type of product, to a baby with hip dysplasia. Whatever your concern is, you can rest assured that we’ve thought of it. And if we haven’t, shoot us an email at care@twobabybearsco.com, and we’ll be sure to forward it to our Innovations’ Team! 

Our mission was to find the safest material and fabric without sacrificing on comfort for your baby and ours. All of our sleeves are made from a soft cotton blend (93% cotton, 7% elastane) for breathability and extra coziness. The filling component used in the Swaddle Sleeves™ is revolutionary in its composition. By using a strategic layering technique in our sleeves, we have created the same effect of dampening babies’ startles as they transition out of the swaddle that you’re used to with our products, but WITHOUT adding ANY weighting. The dampening effect is created through the air pockets in our inner polyfill layer. Similar to what’s found inside a higher TOG wearable blanket, our puffy Swaddle Sleeves™ do not restrict movement, but do provide just an extra bit of reassurance to your little one as they transition out of the swaddle. 

Another way to understand our proprietary layering method would be to imagine the padded Swaddle Sleeves™ as being made of the same material of a wearable blanket with a higher TOG (thermal overall grade) rating, whereas our Mitten Sleeves™ would be classified as having a lower TOG rating. Rest assured, we went through several additional rounds of mandatory and voluntary safety testing to make sure that our manufacturing materials met the most stringent, rigorous rounds of quality and safety control in order to bring you and your baby the best and safest product possible.

Not at all! We have 4 different body types to make sure that you can choose the best option for optimal temperature control for your baby!

We continue to offer the same kind of startle dampening sleeves that you love. Our puffy Swaddle Sleeves™ and Mitten Sleeves™ still have an optional fold-over mitten cuffs, so you get to decide if your baby needs the extra coziness and warmth based on the temperature of the room they’re sleeping in. The body of our products continues to be made of a single layer of signature soft, stretchy fabric. We will soon have fleece and higher TOG body options available (take me to the handy dandy TOG chart!) as well for those cold winter months when you need a warmer wearable blanket or pajamas for your baby. Even with different TOG and fabric options, you can rest assured that our zippered sleeves will always be made of our signature cotton blend for optimal temperature control. Overheating will now be a concern of the past!

We use a high quality stretchy fabric blend for all of our products—cotton and elastane—that is ideal for all seasons and temperatures and is designed to keep baby cool, comfortable, and prevent the risk of overheating. We have two TOG options for our wearable blankets, a 2.5 TOG option for the colder months and a 1.0 TOG option for the warmer months. To learn more, take a look at "What is TOG?"

Because as parents ourselves, we know how difficult it is to buy a product and have it just not work for your baby, and then be stuck with it! That is why we provide two different sets of sleeves with our Swaddle Sleeves™ products and also give you the option of removing the sleeves entirely so that 1) in case the product doesn’t work out for your baby, you can still use it as a standard sleep sack/bodysuit/pajamas, and 2) to give you and your baby multiple options of how to use our product in case your baby doesn’t like it one way. This is also why we sell our “Add-on Sleeves,” and 3) for longevity of use! It’s no fun when you can only use a product for a set amount of time and once that time is over, throw it in the dresser drawer never to be seen again. We want you to get the most use out of our products and be able to use them long after you’re done with the swaddle transitioning stage! 

Yes, all of our sleeves are interchangeable. For example, let’s say you purchase the Swaddle Sleeves Sack™. With it, you get 2 sets of sleeves, our Swaddle Sleeves™ and Mitten Sleeves™. You can use either one (most parents prefer to start off with our Swaddle Sleeves™ and then transition over to the Mitten Sleeves™!), or you can also purchase our Add-On Star Sleeves™, for example, if for some reason your sweet baby isn’t taking to the Swaddle Sleeves™, without having to purchase a whole new product! As we grow, we’ll be offering bundle options for our sleeves, but currently, we only have our Add-On Sleeves™ as a purchase option so you can mix and match without having to buy a whole new product!

We've got you!

Our Swaddle Sleeves are part of our Swaddle Transition Sleeves Collection and are for babies with a strong startle reflex. They're also our most popular product! They are padded sleeves that provide just that little bit of extra comfort that babies need when they are coming out of the cocoon of a swaddle to drift off into dreamland.

Our Half-Up Sleeves are part of our Swaddle Transition Sleeves Collection and are for babies who love to sleep with their arms UP. These sleeves are also perfect for those babies who like to self soothe with their hands.

The Star Sleeves are part of our Swaddle Transition Sleeves Collection and are closed, tapered sleeves with a gentle, built-in resistance in the middle to help baby transition easily out of the swaddle. These are helpful for babies with a mild startle reflex and provide just that little bit of coziness that baby might need. They can also be used long-term, even after baby has transitioned from the swaddle.

Our Mitten Sleeves (included in our Beyond the Transition Sleeves Collection) have an optional mitten cuff, and you are able to continue using with hands covered or uncovered according to your baby’s preference. These are a natural transition out of the Swaddle Sleeves once your baby has successfully transitioned out of the swaddle.  

We have products ranging for babies 0-24 months. But we do have sizing and weight/height recommendations for each product. Please check out our "Fit Check!" and our "Sizing Chart" for more deets!

We know laundry is an important part of any household with little ones, so we wanted to make sure washing our products was as easy as possible: Make sure sleeves are attached. Wash on the normal cycle in cold water with a mild, baby-safe detergent, and tumble dry on a low-heat setting. Finally, dress your baby in their sleeves for a one-stop ticket to dreamland.

Yes! We included dual-sided zippers on each one of our products exactly for this reason. We see you, moms and dads!

An HUGE advantage of our products over other swaddle transition products is that they can be dressed up or down depending on how hot your baby normally runs, or depending on the season and outside temperature. You can choose the product that is best for your little one based on the season/temperature. Is it currently summer where you are? Try our Footie or Bodysuit! Is it winter and you want to keep your baby layered? The Sack 1.0 or 2.5 TOG is perfect for your little one. Since our cotton blend fabric used is ideal for hot or cold weather and helps to keep baby from overheating, we suggest that you use your discretion as a parent and knowledge of your baby to determine what the best layering option is for your little one. It is important that parents adhere to the ideal safe sleep temperature guideline for babies, which is 68-72 F. For further help, always consult with your child’s pediatrician to determine the best way to dress your baby for sleep, and read more about "What is TOG?" here.

Zip on the sleeves on your bodysuit, pod, footie, or sack, and you're good to go! Check out our How to Use page for videos and more.

For as long as they would like! Most babies either love being swaddled or need help containing their startle reflex until they are about 4-6 months old. Some babies, however, still need the Hug Cushioning Factor™ for a while longer and sleep better with the added security and snugness that our products provide. For the Swaddle Sleeves, however, we recommend to leave the mittens open if your baby is rolling over, or if your baby absolutely loves the mittens, to switch over to our standard Mitten Sleeves (included with your Swaddle Sleeves' product!) for additional comfort.

If your baby is under 8 weeks and hasn’t shown signs of rolling over yet, you may simply keep them swaddled in your preferred swaddle product or our Swaddle/Star Sleeves Pod until they do show signs of beginning to roll. Once this stage is reached, it is vital to stop swaddling your baby because of suffocation risks. This is where our Swaddle Transition Sleeves™ come into play. Just choose your preferred body and sleeve type, and get ready for happier days and sleepier nights!

At Two Baby Bears and Co.™, we take sleep safety very seriously. Our products have been designed according to the AAP’s (American Academy of Pediatrics) guidelines for safe sleep. Not only have we undergone certified third-party laboratory testing and surpassed the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s safety standards, we also partnered with pediatric physical therapists, pediatric nurses, and pediatricians throughout our development and design process to ensure that you and your baby are getting the safest, most effective swaddle product possible. Our products have been approved by worldwide safety standards and verified through Intertek and SGS Testing, both of which are world-leading inspection, verification, testing, and certification agencies .

In addition, we also made sure to get our product “mom-approved” by mothers nationally and internationally before bringing it to market. Moms are a vital component of the safety equation, and we knew we simply couldn’t launch until we got unanimous approval from moms just like you in order to bring your baby and ours the best and safest product possible. Visit our "Product Safety and Use" page for more info regarding our safety clearances.

As long as the infant is dressed appropriately for the temperature, swaddles and sleep sacks (or wearable blankets) with sleeves are perfectly safe. Since your baby can't exactly tell you how they feel, it's up to you as a parent to find the right room temperature and use your judgment with help from the AAP's guidelines for a safe and comfortable room temperature. The recommended temperature for babies is between 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 to 22 degrees Celsius. Experts recommend to check the back of baby's neck to see if your little one is warm instead of their hands or feet for a more accurate reading. Another helpful measure for temperature is to dress baby in just one more layer than what you are comfortable wearing. Finally, we have multiple sleeves options that come with an optional mitten cuff, so you have the option to leave the hands open or covered depending on your little one's comfort!

The Snuggle Phenomenon™ in our sleeves provide the benefits of traditional swaddling, but without the restraint and confinement that normal swaddling entails, making it car seat and stroller appropriate as well. Our Footies and Bodysuits give your baby a swaddle-like environment while on the go, but without compromising the safety of the harness by going under or over the belt or baby’s torso. With these products, your babe stays calmer longer due to our Hug Cushioning Factor™. Our Footies and Bodysuits can be used safely when baby is safely strapped into the car seat or stroller while running errands/grocery shopping/Target runs, at the zoo, etc. as a sleep and swaddle aid for your baby while you’re out and about. As always, make sure you are following your car seat manufacturer’s instructions for proper placement and angle of the car seat when not in the car for the safety of your baby.

All of our sleeves are safe for daytime and nighttime sleep due to their design and securely-zippered attachments. Our products are safety-certified and pediatrician-approved, and are in accordance with AAP guidelines for safe sleep. Not only have we undergone certified third-party laboratory testing and surpassed the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s safety standards, we also partnered with pediatric physical therapists, pediatric nurses, and pediatricians throughout our development and design process to ensure that you and your baby are getting the safest, most effective swaddle product possible. Our products have been approved by global-wide safety standards and verified through Intertek and SGS Testing, both of which are world-leading inspection, verification, testing, and certification company.

At Two Baby Bears and Co., you can rest assured that we will always put safety first, as evidenced by the immediate disposal of our weighted inventory (at a huge financial loss to the company’s detriment) as soon as the updated AAP safe sleep guidelines were released in June 2022. We believe that transparency matters, and our relationship with our parents and customers is of utmost importance to us.

Yes, all of our sleeves are safe for babies who are rolling over. Our products are not restrictive in design and are not intended to continue to keep baby on their back once they do learn how to safely roll over. However, the first couple of days of using, don't be surprised if your baby looks at the sleeves and goes, "New sleeves? Who dis?!" and decides not to move around as much as normal.

We do recommend to leave the mitten cuffs open in the Swaddle Sleeves™ if baby is rolling over, just to ensure that the sleeves don't get in the way if they are a bit long. We do try our best to create different sizes, but we do have ranges--for example, 12-18 lbs--and if your baby is 12 lbs and rolling over already, then the same sleeves might fit a bit differently on a baby who is 16 lbs. So as a general safety rule, if your baby is a roller, leave the mitten cuffs open in the Swaddle Sleeves.

Or if your baby absolutely loves the mitten cuffs, you can also switch over to our standard Mitten Sleeves™ at that point for additional comfort.

For more details, visit "Help, I have a roller!"

Yes! All of our Swaddle Transition Sleeves™ allow for complete range of motion--your little one can safely stand, sit, pull up, and crawl. Some babies may rely on side rolling as a self-soothing mechanism as they acclimate to an arms-out environment, which is safe to do with our products.

For more details, visit: "Help, I have a roller!"

Not at all! Our products do not function as a straight jacket or a “positioner” that is intended to keep baby on their back. If your baby can normally roll over when sleeping, your baby will be able to easily roll over in the Swaddle Sleeves™, too. Now it might take a day or two for your little one to get used to having sleeves on their arms if they’re used to a standard sleep sack or swaddle, but try it for yourself! Hold out a toy for your baby and see what he/she does. We do recommend for babies who are rolling over, to use our puffy Swaddle Sleeves™ with the mitten cuffs open or rolled back, so that the extra fabric doesn’t get in their way. We have also included our standard Mitten Sleeves™ in our Swaddle Sleeves™’ products that you can use at that point for additional comfort if desired...we’ve thought of everything so you don’t have to!

Our Swaddle Sleeves™ products are NOT weighted. Before the updated American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) safe sleep guidelines of June 2022, our sleeves were gently weighted. Since June 2022, NONE of our products are weighted in order to stay in compliance with the most up-to-date AAP recommendations surrounding weighted products on or near baby. We never had a reported incident of any adverse event or death surrounding our previous gently-weighted products, but sleep safety and following the AAP will always come first at Two Baby Bears and Co., even if it did mean that we had to dispose of all of our inventory and start over from scratch that Tuesday in June 2022.

Yes! Our different sleeves are the perfect solution to help your baby get through this regression, especially since for many babies, this is the time that they may be learning how to transition out of the swaddle as well. With the Swaddle Transition Sleeves™, you can keep calm and sleep on.

If your baby is the type who doesn’t like to be swaddled or cries whenever you try, use our Swaddle Transition Sleeves™ collection as an alternative to swaddling and help you baby against premature awakenings due to the Moro reflex. When not swaddled, because of the startle reflex, your baby may experience a sensation of free falling and suddenly lift up their arms and legs while asleep. This causes a disturbance in your baby’s sleep cycle and interrupts your sweet baby’s peaceful slumber, causing them to wake up prematurely and scratch their face, squirm, inadvertently hit themselves with those tiny little hands, or—our personal favorite—accidentally take that beloved pacifier out of their mouth even though they were sucking on it vigorously a few seconds before!

We wanted to create a solution that would help to soothe the startle reflex and keep baby feeling like they were still being cradled in your arms while still giving them the freedom to move their arms and legs safely. Our Swaddle Transition Sleeves™ collection can give your baby that added security they need to sleep comfortably all night long. Your baby gets the best of both—they won’t be suddenly startled awake yet will still have the ability to comfortably move about their arms.

Yes! This is why we created our Swaddle Sleeves Pod™ and our Star Sleeves Pod™. If your baby wants their arms out and not pinned to their sides as in a traditional swaddle but also doesn’t like their arms up by their face, these products can help by giving your little one some freedom to move their arms while making sure that they don’t wake themselves up by accidentally scratching their face or their arms suddenly flailing about. Our Pod is the only convertible swaddle that functions as a true swaddle or a swaddle transition product. 

Our Swaddle Transition Sleeves™ are designed to help babies transition to arms-free sleep with the slightest of sleep disruptions and maximum sleep comfort. As with anything new, your baby may take a few days to adjust. We have found that most babies sleep better on their first run with our products, but for those babies whose sleep isn’t showing signs of improvement immediately, we suggest a more compassionate approach. We recommend slowly introducing your sleeves' product for naps before using for nighttime sleep. Also, it is important to give your baby a period of two to five days to acclimate to their new sleep environment, especially if you are introducing it as you’re transitioning baby into the crib. Give your little one a few days to settle and become acquainted with the new way of sleeping, and soon enough, once baby gets used to our Hug Cushioning Factor™, your baby will soon become a champ at sleeping!

When we first filed our provisional patents back in 2018, the AAP had no safety guidelines against weighted products for infants. As such, we cast a wide net around “added” weight or combination of potential weights in the sleeves to make sure our products and intellectual property would be protected against other businesses.

Since there is much interest around this matter, the explanation below might be easier to understand: Based on our patent, by mentioning "additional weighting" in our claims, we would have been able to use weighted beads and perhaps the polyfill fiber as a cushioning for the beads (which is what we did before the updated 2022 AAP guidelines). For further understanding of the nuances of patent filing and protection of intellectual property, please contact a patent attorney in your area.

Since June 2022, we have stopped selling any and all of our weighted sleeves and instead pivoted to our puffy Swaddle Sleeves, which in essence fulfill the same purpose as the gently-weighted sleeves, but without any additional weight added, in order to stay compliant with the 2022 updated guidelines for safe sleep.

We know all babies prefer something different, so we currently have two options (our Swaddle Sleeves™ and our Star Sleeves™) in our Swaddle Transition Sleeves™ collection, with plans to add another special set of sleeves within the next few months!