Sleeping bags or blankets??

[messyjessy7]

I'm due in September and just looking for a little advise/recommendations, what's best for baby to sleep in? The sleeping bags look great but wonder if they're worth the money. Or should I just stick with blankets. What's the safest?
Any advise would be much appreciated, first time mum with no clue :)
TIA

[MissMartin10]

sorry not much help as im a first timer too.. so its not tried and tested but i got 2 cute little sleeping bags from tesco for £8 each in the current sale, so not too pricey .. im going to try both though and just see what works best for baby

[MrsHenryCrawford]

I used mainly sleeping bags. I had a few cellular blankets for the first few weeks until ds reached the minimum weight for the sleeping bag. Sleeping bags are much easier, they keep baby warm during night feeds and there is no sudden drop in temperature to wake them up when you put them back in the moses basket

[foolonthehill]

sleeping bags if it's cool enough. Just vest and sleepsuit if not.

Blankets were a PITA...always being kicked off, cold children...sleepless nights argh. I LOVED the baby sleeping bags....

did I mention that they were great?? and I liked them

[breakfastinbread]

Definitely sleeping bags. Try to borrow/ebay some 0-6m ones (mix of 1 and 2.5tog for a September baby) as they grow out of them so quickly. Invest in some 6-18m ones later. My 8.5m DS is such a wiggler now that blankets would be pointless!

[bittapitta]

Sleeping bags are definitely worth it! (You don't need the pricy GroBag brand though) we used them from a couple of months old until 18 months!

But note that all have a minimum weight requirement for safety so you might need a blanket for the first couple of weeks.

[LillyBugg]

Yes sleeping bags! Blankets get tangled in legs and also come off. But you will need blankets to start with as they are too tiny for sleeping bags initially.

[AvocadoLime]

Swaddling until they can roll/escape from it, sleeping bag after that.

Their startle reflex makes them suddenly throw their arms up and wake themselves up when they're little, swaddling really helps with sleep for a lot of babies. You have to make sure you do it tight enough though, I read in a sleep book that a lot of parents say their babies don't like swaddling but they're just not doing it properly (I did this early on).

After that, they will kick their blankets off so a sleeping bag is really convenient. I think it's easier for them to go back to sleep themselves in the night if their cover is fixed in place like with a sleeping bag. You can get summer sleeping bags, too, which are very thin, so the hot weather doesn't necessarily rule them out.

[PosterEh]

Sleeping bags. You can get the grobag ones in tkmaxx usually and they last brilliantly. I bought/acquired mine second hand for dc1. I've now packed them away in the same nearly new condition in case we have dc3.

[LorelaiVictoriaGilmore]

Sorry to jump in on this, but I have been so confused about what I'm going to put my baby to sleep in too! I was about to buy pretty much one of everything so I could experiment - one sleeping bag, one cellular blanket, one swaddling blanket . . . ! Is that just daft?! I didn't know that there's a minimum weight for a sleeping bag - what is it? I'm having a late August baby - so I guess that's the same as OP's September baby and I would need 1 and 2.5 tog ones? Or won't the 2.5 tog ones get used until later on? Thanks for any help!

[PosterEh]

I'd start off with a 1tog and get a 2.5tog later on.
Weightwise had a few that were suitable from pretty small - from memory one had no weight limit and the other was 7lb7 and up. It should say on the label/packaging. They don't move around when tiny so a cellular blanket is fine too but it won't be long before they can kick it off. Blankets are also good for the pram/car seat so no harm having a few.
I swaddled mine but only one of the two liked it and I think it's no longer recommended (SIDS and hips). I liked stretchy cotton blankets (like the type you get in gift sets with a little cotton hat) but in Summer a giant muslin square is a good bet too. (I've seen these in tkmaxx recently to).

[bittapitta]

It says on the laundry labels or packaging Lorelei

[LorelaiVictoriaGilmore]

I didn't know to look for a weight minimum but can see it on the websites now (having to do everything online as I have SPD - so frustrating!) - thank you!

[Limedaiquirialwayslime]

Sleeping bags definitely. We used blankets with dd just until she weighed enough. She does not stay in one place so great in the winter as she was actually warm!
We bought the mothercare ones (they have butterflies, elephants or I think tractors on them). Quite cheap, wash well.

[cjt110]

Until DS was maybe 2m we used a blanket as he was in his moses and we could happily tuck the blanket under the mattress and pull up enough so he had wriggle room but wouldnt get snuggled under it. We have found sleeping bags great because DS doesnt kick it off and I think it gives him extra security, plus now, when I put him in it, I say "1 arm insert arm through armhole 2 arms insert other arm 2 legs put legs in bag and zip! zip up bag and he giggles something rotten Its like a signal that its bedtime.

We had a 1tog bag for our son (Aug born) and moved to 2.5 tog in the winter. For the inbetween time when it was chilly we would put a blanket up to his armpits over the sleeping bag, tucking under the mattress but allowing wriggle room but not to snuggle down etc.

We have bought our bags from Asda and Matalan which were both great quality.

Some bags have extra poppers in the arm area to make the bag narrower too if your baby is on the skinnier/lighter side.

[MummyPiggy87]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but can sleeping bags be used from birth? I would feel safer using them to prevent suffocation, this ones clearly a wriggler since I've been able to feel her move!

[AvocadoLime]

MummyPiggy, I believe that they have a restriction of 8lbs minimum (check the packaging of your bag), so if your baby is born under this weight then the rules say not to use them (I think there is a danger of them slipping down under the covers).

You could get something like this for early on if you want reassurance gro.co.uk/gro-snug. It's a sleeping bag suitable for newborns which also swaddles their arms. And I know I am repeating myself, but I cannot stress enough the benefits of not having your baby waking up because they get involuntary crazy arms during the night.

[MummyPiggy87]

Thank you, didn't know that.
That little snug looks good, and I guess she'll be used to being all tucked up in my belly anyway so it'll be nice to keep her arms in!

[messyjessy7]

Wow, thank you all for your responses. Think I'll definitely look at getting a couple of the sleeping bags :)

[Runningupthathill82]

Sleeping bags definitely best, but don't splash out on the Grobags - they grow out of them so quickly, and they need washing so often, that it's far more sensible just to get Tesco ones!

(i learned this when, with my PFB, I wasted cash on the grobags.. which were always in the wash til he v quickly grew out of the first size. From 6mo up it was Tesco all the way)

[TestingTestingWonTooFree]

Sleeping bags are good. Zips are easier than poppers for the main fastening. I'd aim to have at least two in the first size you try so that you can cope with a midnight puke.