If you’re in any sort of Mommy group whether in-person, on Whatsapp, on Facebook or elsewhere, it’s impossible to have not heard about the Ollie Swaddle. I felt like I hit the jackpot when I was able to get my hands on one as they are routinely sold-out. In fact, when the brand launched at Target’s nationwide and on their e-comm site in February they sold-out in a matter of minutes. There are now lotteries to pre-order the swaddles and there are countless reseller groups dedicated exclusively to buying and selling Ollies online.
When I received mine I didn’t immediately understand what made it so special. It wasn’t until I wrapped my newborn in it and saw that he slept peacefully for hours that I appreciated its magic. Literally, we had to wake him to feed, not the other way around! The swaddles are like gold, crafted in a way that isn’t mimicked anywhere else in the market from the fabric, to the fit, to the velcro fastener. The day I came home from the hospital I showed my postpartum doula the Ollie and told her I wanted to double swaddle using it with the Snoo. She told me that while she had never personally used an Ollie, she wasn’t a fan because of the velcro which would surely wake up the baby. By the end of our first Ollie swaddle experience she was a convert as well. Even though the velcro is loud it doesn’t seem to bother babies.
Ollie was founded by Hindi Zeidman, a social worker, after noticing a void in the baby/infant market. Hindi, now a single mom to Olive, was a foster mom to 3-month old foster child Oliver, who struggled to sleep soundly, eat properly and reach developmental milestones. After using The Ollie, Oliver started sleeping through the night, eating and catching up on developmental milestones. The Ollie, with its varying loop sizes and moisture-wicking fabric, allows infants to feel snug on top and loose on the bottom which enhances neurological development, creates positive sleep cues, decreases irritability while promoting self-soothing, allows for healthy hip development and makes diaper changes easier.
Another thing I love is that the Ollie is one size fits all, so you don’t need to buy multiple sizes like with some competing products. Because we double swaddle and our baby is pretty good with burping we haven’t had too many issues that require washing the Ollie. Most of the time we use a blow dryer so that we can quickly re-swaddle him since we only have one!
Obviously I wish I had two Ollies in my baby room, but Zeidman is very strict when it comes to production, which is why there has been a huge backlog in Ollie orders. She recently took to Instagram to say that she could easily sell thousands of Ollies right now, but that the ones she has gotten from production aren’t up to her standards. She promised that she is hard at work near 24/7 to get the quality where it needs to be so that all parents can get their hands on this amazing product. In the meantime, check the brand’s social media, so you know when they are once again being sold and if you’re desperate for one now, check online for Ollie Swaddle BST groups.
