aden + anais Baby Bath Wrap Review

Yesterday afternoon we arrived home from new car shopping (unsuccessful unfortunately) with one very sweaty baby. Poor Number Three was too warmly dressed for the gorgeous day it ended up being and, to top things off, the air conditioning in the car is broken. The poor little fella was clammy, red in the face and the little bit of hair he has was damp.
Needless to say, I was only thrilled to be met at the front door by a parcel containing an aden + anais baby bath wrap to be reviewed. Number Three was badly in need of a bath and I was dying to get the gorgeous looking towelling wrap unpacked. Handily enough, these wraps come pre-washed, so it was all ready for its first use. 

This is what the wrap looks like in the original packaging. It would make quite a pretty newborn gift. We got the Jungle Jam pattern. The wrap is also available in other patterns, including some lovely star patterns. 

The package contains the wrap itself and instructions on how to use it. The instructions are provided in various languages, including English, German and French.

As you can see from the tag on the wrap, it is made from 100% cotton. I checked the washing instruction and was pleased to see that the wrap can be tumble dried on low. I like to give my towels a spin in the dryer before they are completely dry. I find it makes them nice and fluffy. Whether that is the case here remains to be seen. 

I had to smile at the penultimate instruction: "Do not iron". That's usually the kind of thing I like to hear, but this is a towel. Who irons towels? Seriously?

So what makes this a wrap and not just a hooded towel like any other? Well, there are a couple of things here, the main one being that there is a little belt attached, like you would find on a dressing gown (more on this further on). The second point here is the softness of the materials used. All the patterned elements are actually very soft muslin sewn over the towelling. The yellow trim around the edge is made from jersey material and is particularly soft to the touch. 

And how did it fare in the actual wrapping and drying of baby? 

I was a little concerned about the size of the wrap when I unfolded it, but once I lay Number Three down in it after lifting him out of the bath, I found it was larger than I'd thought. Number Three is about 70cm in length at the moment. The wrap is designed for use from birth. The hood goes over the back of the head (fairly obvious) and the bottom end can be folded up over the legs, if there is sufficient length there. In our case there wasn't. [Please bear in mind that Number Three is a partcularly active eight month old. Think baby octopus]. The sides of the wrap are meant for pulling in around the baby snugly. Then you tie the belt to keep the baby snugly wrapped. That's the theory and I am sure it works fine for the first three months. But once the baby becomes mobile, things get trickier. Getting the wrap tied around Number Three was a bit of a challenge, but I managed it in the end. We went for a kind of sumo-wrestler style wrap (our own invention). The towelling is nice and absorbant and left Number Three bone dry in no time. The belt doesn't look terribly long, but is actually a great size for a double knot on my little chunky monkey.

Sumo-Style

Damp squib or totally wrapped up? - My Verdict
What I really liked about this wrap:
1. The softness of the muslin and jersey used and the thought that went into the design (material, shape, colour and pattern).
2. The pre-washing is a genius idea since it meant that the towel was absorbant, a crucial feature in towels but too often I find that new towels need a few washes before they really work.
3. There is a little hook on the top of the hood so that you can hang the wrap up without ruining the shape of the hood. As a mother of three, I have a collection of 3 or 4 misshapen hooded towels because of them being hung up on the bathroom door by the hood.

The hang up hook - a brilliant addition, I find. 

The patterned muslin and the jersey trim are both beautifully soft and so gentle on baby's skin. 

The belt means that the wrap won't slip off even when baby reaches crawling age.

The things I didn't like or feel could be improved can be reduced down to:

1. The window on the front of the packaging is open rather than having a clear plastic cover. While this gives you the chance to feel the material before buying, it does take away a bit form the pre-washed idea. How many hands have run over that soft, pre-washed material? Who knows.

2. The wrap left quite a bit of fluff on Number Three. Even on the second use this evening, I had to dust off a good bit of fluff before putting his sleep suit on him. 

All in all we are pleased with our aden + anais baby bath wrap. It does what it is supposed to and is soft and pretty too. The two points I mentioned above that I wasn't impressed with are small problems really. I'm sure that the first couple of washes will sort out the fluff issue. And should there be anything negative arising after the first wash, I'll be sure to post something about it. 

Disclaimer: I was sent this product for the purpose of posting a review. I was not paid to review the product nor was the content of this post written for me. All text and photos are my own, as are the opinions expressed here.