Swaddles & Blankets

Muslin, flannel and sherpa, from lightest to warmest:

muslin is a loose cotton gauze cut into big squares, and it gets softer with every wash. That open weave lets one square do many jobs: wrapping a newborn, shading the stroller, catching milk on a shoulder. Flannel receiving blankets are brushed cotton, smaller and warmer, sold in packs or sewn at home from fabric bought by the yard, which shows in the zigzag or blanket-stitched edge. Plush, mink and sherpa blankets in polyester are the warm end, too thick to wrap a baby snugly, so they go over the car seat or the stroller instead. Fitted sheets and crib quilts are in baby bedding.

Swaddle wraps and sleep sacks beside a plain square:

a plain square needs a fold that takes practice. A swaddle wrap does it for you with velcro wings or a zip, but it comes in sizes and a growing baby moves through them in weeks. Most families stop wrapping once the baby starts trying to roll over, so a wrap with zip-off sleeves that turns arms-out stays in use longer. After that comes the sleep sack, a sleeveless bag worn over pyjamas and sized by age, and many carry a TOG rating that tells you how warm the fabric is. Both are worn in the crib, so the warmth of the fabric counts for more than the print.

Blankets for highland nights and lowland afternoons:

in Guatemala, altitude decides which of these gets used. In Totonicapán or San Marcos the nights turn cold enough for flannel layers with a sherpa blanket on top. In Mazatenango or Puerto Barrios that same sherpa never leaves the wardrobe and a single layer of muslin is plenty. That is why so many used blankets turn up almost new: they were given to a family living at the wrong altitude for them. Buy for the place the baby actually sleeps.

A muslin square beside a sherpa blanket:

new, a single muslin square costs around Q70 and a thick sherpa or mink blanket climbs to about Q250. Used, the cheap one often holds up better than the expensive one. Muslin is made to be washed and only gets softer, so a clean, unstained square still finds a buyer, while sherpa that has matted in the dryer has lost the one thing it was bought for. Swaddle wraps live and die by their closure: with velcro that still grips they sell, and once it stops gripping they are worth very little, whatever they cost.

Velcro, hems and pile on a used blanket:

press each velcro wing down and pull it hard, because hooks clogged with lint let go in the night. Hold muslin up to a window to find thin patches and pulled threads, and look along the hem, where holes start. Milk stains that have turned yellow rarely wash out. On sherpa and mink, rub the pile: bald patches and a gritty, matted feel come from a hot dryer. A home-sewn flannel blanket should have its edge stitched all the way round, with no corners coming apart. And smell it. A blanket kept for months in a closed wardrobe can come out musty, which a wash fixes; mildew spots it does not.

Packing muslins and swaddle wraps for the next baby:

wash everything, then photograph each piece opened flat, plus a close-up of the velcro, the zip and the size label, since without the label nobody knows which baby a wrap fits. Say what each one is made of, how many are in the lot and which were never used, tags on if they still are. Mention pets or smoking in the house, because a buyer coming from Sololá will want to know before making the trip. Before you bag them, fasten every velcro tab onto itself, so the hooks do not chew the muslin they travel with.