DIY Sleepy Wings: A First Attempt

Sleepy Wings is a swaddling jacket from a mom in Australia. The jacket goes across the baby's back and allows his arms to rest either up by his head or down by his side. Babies naturally sleep with their arms by their heads, so this sounds like a good way to maintain a normal position while controlling the arm flailing that wakes the baby up. It's also cooler than a Swaddle Me swaddle for the hot days. And it allows freedom of movement for Baby's legs, eliminating any possibility of Hip Displasia that may exist with traditional swaddles.

The product is available on Amazon (only in white), or you can get it from Australia, Singapore, or the UK. But I live in the USA. Before buying one, I thought I'd attempt a DIY version.

My DIY Sleepy Wings

This is a hastily assembled, hand sewn piece that ended up being way too small to put Baby Maple's arms in. (Baby is 8 weeks old.) It's made out of a burp cloth in the shape of a cloth diaper. I share it so others can improve on it and there can eventually be a good DIY alternative to the expensive real version.

How I Did Mine

First, I folded in the two sides, like you'd do for a prefold cloth diaper.

Then, I pulled up on the corners of the top folded part and flattened the flaps to make the "wings."

After that, a little stitching wherever made sense, and voila! - A first attempt at do-it-yourself Sleepy Wings.

What Worked

These aspects of the project make me feel confident that this can be done well and on the cheap.

1. It has the correct shape

2. It can be hand sewn by those of us who don't have sewing machines

What Didn't Work

So, opportunities for improvement on this:

1. Use a bigger cloth

2. Try to end up with less overlap so drying doesn't take so long

3. Use a stretchy fabric so it's easy to pull away for putting Baby's arm in, and then it'll bounce back into place for snugness

Make It Better

Has anyone else tried to make Sleepy Wings? What did you do, and how did it come out?