The origin of the Snuggle

A baby who has just been born misses the warmth and security of the womb. After all, the only world he knows is that of Mama. In the womb it was warm, dark and he heard a familiar sound all the time. After the birth, this world suddenly looks very different.

Not only is it light and cold, but a baby also gets clothes on for the first time and experiences what it is like to be hungry. All these changes can cause a lot of unrest. As a new parent, you will notice that your baby mainly wants to be held during those first months. This is because he does not understand anything about this new world yet. In addition, he is also completely dependent on others and can actually only make clear what he wants in one way; and that is by crying.

But not only for the baby is this whole world new, also for you as a parent a new world opens up. Especially when it is your first child! Your baby has never been a baby, but you have also never been a daddy or mommy.

The first few months mainly consist of getting to know each other and getting used to this new world.

Because your baby will communicate mainly by crying, this is something he will do regularly in the beginning. For parents this can be very frustrating because sometimes you just don't understand what your baby wants to tell you. Many parents therefore desperately search for ways to make their baby cry less.

In the past decades, various products have come onto the market to help you make the period with a newborn a little more relaxing. Of course, there is no product that can really replace mom and dad, but there are certainly some products that ensure that your baby feels safe.

Swaddling has been done for ages and has been making a comeback in the Netherlands for a few years now. Swaddling gives the feeling of being held and research shows that a swaddled baby sleeps longer and more peacefully than a baby who is not swaddled.

The disadvantage of swaddling is that the baby cannot move his arms freely, something he could do in the womb. Swaddling is therefore mainly suitable for naps.

For the daytime, baby nests and cocoons are available.

The first Cocoon dates back to 1997. Patricia DeLisa from Michigan invented a kind of swaddling bag made of fabric for her niece. When she noticed that this immediately calmed her niece, she grabbed her sewing machine and started producing her Cocoon. That's how the company Cozy Cocoon was born. In 2024, Cozy Cocoon is still actively designing and selling Baby Cocoons.

Cozy Cocoon 1999

In the decades since, several similar products have been introduced, both in fabric and the currently popular knitted variants.

Although the latter may seem recent, nothing could be further from the truth. The Irish knitting pattern designer Eileen Casey designed the pattern for the Best Baby Cocoon in 2010. She did this on assignment for the Knittingguide website of About.com. This was a large website that closed down in 2017.

example of a design based on the Best Baby Cocoon by Eileen Casey

Since the Best Baby Cocoon pattern was freely downloadable from About.com's website at the time, many different variations of this cocoon have been created by people.

Eileen Casey has since refined the pattern and still sells it on Etsy.

In my work as a neonatology nurse, I have also had a lot to do with various products to provide a baby with security. After all, a baby admitted to the neonatology department needs even more boundaries and security. In addition to nests and snuggles, we therefore even use a Cocoon (the BiliCocoon) when giving phototherapy (for jaundice). A great improvement compared to the past, when a baby would still lie flat on its back and often wave its arms and legs in search of boundaries!!

At Moalie we now have our own Snuggle . This is based on the many products I have worked with over the decades.

The Snuggle is made of Merino wool, which makes it soft and temperature regulating. The latter ensures that your baby will never get too hot or too cold. We have chosen a thin knit so that it is not too heavy for your baby to move against. The goal is limitation, but with the possibility of sufficient space for movement.

The bottom of the Snuggle is open. This makes it easy to change your baby without having to remove him or her from the Snuggle. Changing is an action that a newborn baby needs to be limited for.

A baby who is not limited will start waving his arms during the changing in an attempt to find a limit somewhere. This is why we often choose to care for a (premature) baby with two people in the hospital. This way one nurse can change the diaper, while another can support the baby.

An additional advantage of the open bottom is that it can also be used for children who have a home monitor (saturation meter). Because you can also tie the Snuggle with just the ends, the cord can run from the foot downwards. This means your child will not be bothered by it.

NB: Because the Snuggle has a hoody, this product is only suitable for use under supervision!