STMs: How many blankets?!

Rseed

Hi ladies! I'm hoping your insight and experience can help me figure things out. I had my shower last Saturday, and I think we received an over abundance of blankets and receiving blankets. I'd say we have approx. 12 blankets and maybe 16 or so receiving blankets. I can exchange some if need be, but I'm really unsure as to how many I may need as this will be my firstborn. I'd hate to realize that we go through them quicker than expected - and then have to go out and buy more. How many, in your experience, would you say is good to have? Thank you so much!

Parker16772

It seems like people always give you a ton of blankets because they are so cute. For DS1 we had probably 4 swaddle blankets and two or three heavier blankets and that is probably all you really need. I wouldn't want to store that many blankets. Honestly you don't really go through them that fast I would just have 1 or 2 as backup in case they pee through their diaper or spit up on them. I would take most of them back if you can and put the money towards diapers or something. 

Katherine8908

I had about 5 or 6 baby blankets of various sizes that was plenty and worked for us.
as far as receiving blankets im not sure how many I had but I had alot and I used them all the time for different things mostly spit up ( I used them as burp cloths),  cleaning poop explosions and swaddling the first couple months ( baby didnt like the swaddle me).  I dont think you can have too many really unless its like excessive amounts lol and after baby if your not having another you can use them for cleaning around the house .

skruhmin

I think we've had 4-5 baby blankets - they work great for floor blankets especially - you can use one for every level of your home and a couple in the nursery.  You can never have too many receiving blankets - I use those as burp rags.  It seems like you go through a ton of those and you'll never have enough clean ones.  I'd say a MINIMUM of 16 receiving blankets is good. 

mshukh

I think I had 2 or 3 and that seemed like more than enough. 12-16?! overkill imo. 

arcanejinx

Not a STM but work with infants and I don't feel like I have enough blankets. I like to lay receiving blankets on floors/carpets when doing tummy time, use them as burp cloths, clean up spit up, or if baby is getting a red bum letting them air out on one. I also know that poop and pee leaks happen and like having a few extra clean at all times. I know moms who use a ton like I do doing the work day and others who only keep a handful. It all depends on what you see yourself using them for. For example, I have 0 burp cloths, and I plan on cloth diapering with flats and if something happens and I can't get laundry done the extra receiving blankets can double as diapers in an emergency.

yodapup

I would return about half of the regular blankets but keep most of the receiving blankets. I used the receiving blankets way more (mostly for spit up) but didn't use the regular blankets nearly as much.

FutureMrsCaesar

I would keep like 6-8 nicer, warmer blankets and at least a pack of 4 flannel receiving blankets and a pack of ~4 Muslin swaddling blankets.  
I don't have any of the flannel blankets for this girl but I'm thinking I might pick up a pack.  I also use burp cloths, but sometimes your blanket becomes your burp cloth!

PinkSunglasses16

I had a november baby and I'm in MI so full on winter weather for the first 4 months of her life. I preferred the bigger, fuzzy blankets vs. receiving blankets. I think 4 receiving blankets are plenty unless you have a baby that spits up a lot. i would maybe keep some in the packages and take back after baby is here and see what works for you.

irenewslee

We have about 6-7 blankets and towels that DD uses on a regular basis.  They are in various thickness and sizes.  DD likes to sleep and roll around with at least 1 blanket, and then we layer another one on her when she is fully asleep.  When she was younger though, we only allowed 1 at a time to prevent suffocation.  DD also tends to throw up a lot, especially when she is coughing, so sometimes we can go through a few in a night to wipe her down or to gather all that mess.

amaniupendo

I think 2-3 regular blankets and 5-7 receiving ones is good. I don't like having too much stuff.

jenniferamcooper

Our first was a reflux baby we had probably 12-16 receiving blankets and we used them all of the time for spitups. 
We really only used 2-4 regular blankets (3 knitted/crocheted and 1 heavy fleece) and 3 muslin swaddle blankets (which honestly I used as loopy scarves when baby spit up on me).

ceds07

We got an insane number of blankets as gifts when DD was born. Hard to saw a number but besides Aden & Anais which to this day we bring everywhere, our favorites were the soft, fleecy, WASHABLE ones. All of the white knit/yarn ones were beautiful but not really practical for long. And for the lighter weight ones I just used A&A. 

ClaireBear90

I guess I'm the oddball, but I only kept about two of the many, many receiving blankets we were given with our firstborn. Spit up can be cleaned up using just about anything and a blanket seems too nice and expensive for that. Receiving blankets are impractically small for a baby if you want to swaddle them and they're not very thick for warmth. I prefer to have larger, warm blankets... maybe 3-4 for the house and one for each vehicle that you drive. That should be plenty! I have four swaddle blankets, but never use them much . . . swaddle sacks work better for us. For spit up, I used some very soft and absorbent cloth diapers. They work FAR better at cleaning up/containing spit up than a blanket and they're cheap!

2-Step

I had a ton of blankets with my first but I put some away and cycled them out when the first ones got worn out and used some with my second. My 4 year old still likes to take a blanket with him sometimes so I still use 3-4 of those and cycle through the washing them. Others we have lost or worn out over the years. I would keep 6-8 blankets and maybe 8-10 recieving blankets. 

Rseed

You ladies have been very helpful, despite everyone's different experiences and opinions! I think the best thing for me to do is wash some and keep the rest for now, then I'll learn if I will use more or if we are fine with what I have washed and ready to use. I try not to be wasteful so I was very unsure, but I also want to be smart! Thank you very, very much

vgirl33vb

I had a lot of blankets with my first. And with this one I received three big blankets and hand me down receiving blankets.  I also kept some of the receiving blankets I got from the hospital when I had my son.  I used the receiving blankets as burp cloths.

meg_2006

I received a ton with DS and hardly use any. I used my favorite 2 or 3 to bundle DS up in his car seat. As he became a toddler we kept one in each car during the winter months.  With DS 2 I anticipate using some to lay him down when we're out in the grass this summer. Other than that...nope, don't need many!

CecilB93

So hijacking this post a little...FTM here and I'm about 99% sure (without getting out of bed to check) that I received NO receiving blankets (or swaddling blankets for that matter) at my shower, only fun ones, or cute ones, or homemade ones (a couple quilts and a couple crocheted). A couple of them are the security blankets with the animal head in the center. Should I go get receiving blankets myself? Or could I be okay without? I think we got a couple burp rags, so planned on getting a couple more of those at least, but we still have other big-ish items to get and not much money to do that since we're trying to save for when I'm on leave.

ClaireBear90

CecilB93 said:

So hijacking this post a little...FTM here and I'm about 99% sure (without getting out of bed to check) that I received NO receiving blankets (or swaddling blankets for that matter) at my shower, only fun ones, or cute ones, or homemade ones (a couple quilts and a couple crocheted). A couple of them are the security blankets with the animal head in the center. Should I go get receiving blankets myself? Or could I be okay without? I think we got a couple burp rags, so planned on getting a couple more of those at least, but we still have other big-ish items to get and not much money to do that since we're trying to save for when I'm on leave.

You will be fine. I used old (clean) towels, diaper cloths, a few burp rags . . . whatever was handy. The important thing is just to have something available for clean up/burping, but it really doesn't have to be a blanket.

smushi

Let's see.  From my first, I have 8 square light fleece blankets, 8 aiden and Anais swaddle blankets, 4 regular bigger blankets, and about 10 tea towels my mom bought to have handy as shoulder protectors (DS was a super spitter).  We used them all, kept a few in the diaper bag, kept a few upstairs, and we still have them all, and they are washed and ready for this LO. 

amyid

Ahh ditto !! After my shower today I counted up... 14 blankets and 3 on the way in the post !! Total overkill... I wish I could return some of them but they didn't come with exchange receipts ! 

GraciesMom189

This happened to us too.  Our first had even more though!  Yes it was a bit too much but not as much as I originally thought!  Look at the sizes of your traditional blankets before you return.  My 2 year old daughter now uses the bigger ones on her big girl bed.  Several receiving and thin swaddles are great in the beginning (5 of each maybe?).  We were swaddlers so we also liked sleep sacks.  I cut up flannel receiving blankets later on to use as wipes when she had a bad diaper rash once and I also liked to keep one (receiving blanket) in my bag at all times.  If it got chilly in the car or I forgot to bring one- it was there as a backup!  My advice is to return some but keep a good variety of sizes and weights.  

elle313

This time around I've stocked up on 4 nice sized muslin swaddling blankets, and about 8 receiving blankets (that we'll also use as burp rags). With my first daughter I had too many receiving blankets (12+) and no swaddling blankets. 

oceanchild

Receiving blankets are amazing for *everything.* Spit-up, playmats, making a neckroll in a sling or a bump to sit on in a buckle carrier, headrest in the car seat, changing pad cover for diaper messes (so you don't have to take the elastic one off and wash it every change, bc poopsplosions happen and I only had two changing pad covers and they were always in the wash!), nursing cover, using as a swaddle or even as an actual blanket … I know I'm forgetting a million more. Keep 2-3 blankets, but I'd save alllllll the receiving blankets, like @skruhmin said. They are just SO super handy!
love the muslin swaddles too! They are so awesome and snuggly! My kids still carry them around for sleeping and making capes and everything.  

smushi

@oceanchild You are so right!  I had forgotten all about that.  We used our receiving blankets to cover the diaper pad too.  We never bought a diaper pad cover.

Funny enough we never actually used one blanket to swaddle DS1.  Kid hated having his arms pinned lol

bntfroggie

amyid said:

Ahh ditto !! After my shower today I counted up... 14 blankets and 3 on the way in the post !! Total overkill... I wish I could return some of them but they didn't come with exchange receipts ! 

If you can find it at Target or Babies R Us they will take it back without receipt, usually for the cheapest they've sold  that item for.

skruhmin

CecilB93 said:

So hijacking this post a little...FTM here and I'm about 99% sure (without getting out of bed to check) that I received NO receiving blankets (or swaddling blankets for that matter) at my shower, only fun ones, or cute ones, or homemade ones (a couple quilts and a couple crocheted). A couple of them are the security blankets with the animal head in the center. Should I go get receiving blankets myself? Or could I be okay without? I think we got a couple burp rags, so planned on getting a couple more of those at least, but we still have other big-ish items to get and not much money to do that since we're trying to save for when I'm on leave.

Honestly I would go get a few packs.  And they have 4-5 packs for under $10.  That will save you from doing laundry all. the. time.  It's really the burp rags that cause us to go through so much laundry in the beginning. 

Melodyags

Maybe 3 or 4 regular heavy blankets. I'd keep most of receiving blankets. They are good for covering and swaddeling and also I use them as burp clothes instead of the traditional ones. They give you more coverage and still small and easy to wash.

J234

In my experience, 2 fuzzy blankets to keep baby warm in the car seat, 2-3 muslin swaddle blankets, and then get the velcro swaddle wraps.  Whatever you think you will need, get two because they will spit up or pee on it.