Receiving blankets?

[Laniecakes]

I found a list of "needed items for the first year" with twins and it says I need 20 receiving blankets. How are they different from a regular blanket and why do I need 20 of them? Any help would be great. Thank you.

[ITZALLFORME]

Yes they are diffrent and yes you do need em they are the blankets that they wrap the baby in at the hospital.

[kenzie]

I think 20 sounds like a bit much. I had about 4 receiving blankets for each baby. We did use them all the time for swaddling, but I know I didn't have more than 8-10. I was doing laundry all the time anyway so it's not like I needed a month supply or anything. I did laundry every couple of days.

[Lydia]

I got a bunch of blankets as gifts, and I ended up using 6 flannel blankets I bought at Target exclusively. They swaddled so much better, being a little larger and made of fabric that wasn't too slippery. I did fine with those 6, and never used any of the other blankets until the twins turned 2 and started sleeping with them.

[MaryJane]

I never bought receiving blankets. The hospital swaddles them in 2 blankets usually and they have extras. We just took those because they are so much better for swaddling. I probably have a ton of them around the house from 8 different babies. 20 is a crazy amount. 4 or 5 always did me fine.

[CdnBaby]

I had friends of ours make us a bunch and we used them all. I used them for spit up blankets, which they did a lot of so I used 20 I am sure. Everytime they nursed I would burp them and burp clothes were far too small for what would come back at me. I guess it depends on your babies!

[cheysum]

I use TONS of these! I probably have 20 at least. I will use two for swaddling and at least 3 more rolled up in between and at their sides each night. I also roll them up to keep the babies from rolling or help make them feel snug in the car seats and stroller. We didnt have to buy very many, we got most of them as gifts.

I learned that the larger ones do much better for swaddling. The ones that I bought in packs of 3 or 5 are generally too small for a good snug swaddle.

[Laniecakes]

Thank you all for your comments, I have found them very helpful. We have a lot to learn in this process and ever piece of knowledge I can get will make life easier later. Thank you.

[tggrsgrl23]

I only had 4 for each also. I used actual swaddling blankets for swaddling. The receiving blankets I use for burping, wiping mouths..everything. But 8 total did the job

[virginia+3]

Peeking in A yard of flannel, is like perfect for swaddling! Its all I used. You dont even need to sew the edges, unless it wants to fray really badly. And they are great for spit up and laying on the floor

[twinmom34]

We easily used 20. I had lots from friends with older babies and rec'd several as gifts. I would say more of ours went to spit up than anyting but we used them for swaddling. I agree, it depends on the baby. My girls were reflux babies and spit up all the time.

[JulieP]

I had a ton of them and we used them all the time. I would wait until you have shower to get any (if you haven't had one yet) because a lot of people seem to like to get those for shower gifts. I used some of them over again when I had my son. I ended up cutting them up into squares and making him a quilt out of them. He loved that quilt and I finally took it away and replaced it with a new flannel "big boy" quilt when he was 3. They are great to lay them on the floor, as burp cloths, swaddling, etc.