To ask you for help understanding SIDS overheating / togs

[JustinesBentoBox]

How come we're in a (say) 16 degree c room and DH and I have a 12tog duvet, 2 throws and PJs on... Yet DC is supposed to be in a long sleeve vest & sleep suit with just a 2.5tog sleep bag? That's according to the manufacturer guidelines (reputable, no arms on the bag). Little one keeps waking up with blue hands

The togs don't make sense.

And what happens at about 18 months, this time next year ... No more sleep bag so next winter how do you know not to overheat because I assume it's just a normal adult style duvet & pillows you transition to?

I don’t have any advice on your question because I always wondered the same but you can get sleeping bags that go to 3 years.

I think if it’s 16 when you go to bed it’ll drop a couple of degrees more overnight so I’d consider a sleeping bag with arms, maybe a 3.5 tog.

Babies can't regulate their body temperatures like we can so, so they need to be kept cooler. Don't go by their hands, go by their chest or back.

My ds used an 18- 36 month sleeping bag.

Gro website says this:

Why only 2.5 togs when my Winter weight duvet is 12 togs?

Health professional guidelines recommend that Baby Sleep Bags should be ‘lightweight’. Our own research and our mounting body of “parent testimonials” confirm that our 2.5 Tog Grobag Baby Sleep Bags are ideal for the UK climate and for the recommended nursery nursery temperatures of 16°C to 20°C. A Baby Sleep Bag surrounds the baby, providing insulation from both below and above, and also a warm pocket of air around the baby.

Because of the low tog rating, Grobag Baby Sleep Bags also provide great versatility throughout the year, simply by adjusting the level of your baby’s nightwear. When the weather is very cold, simply add more clothing (this could include a sleepsuit, socks and even a cardigan). When the weather is warmer, or perhaps if your child is unwell, you can remove layers of clothing while still keeping your baby at the right temperature.

Remember:never use a duvet or quilt with a Baby Sleep Bag.

He's smaller and heats up faster so 2.5 tog is the baby sized equivalent of an adult sized duvet, plus if we get hot we can kick our duvet off but he can't so it's better for it to be slightly too low than too high. A 2.5 tog bag is suitable down to around 15/16 degrees, you can buy 3.5tog bags which are for use up to 14/15 degrees.

His hands would be cold even with traditional blankets as they should come up no higher than armpit height so there's not a great deal that can be done there, he's likely waking up for other reasons and not due to his hands being cold. You could buy sleepsuits with foldover mitts or use scratch mitts if you did want to cover his hands up though.

Young babies can struggle to control their temperature, and over heating tends to be more dangerous for them. If they’re a little cold they’ll usually shout to let you know they’re uncomfortable!

Can you buy the sleepsuits with the bits that fold over their hands to help keeps their hands warm if you’re worried about that? My DD hated them personally and although I thought a few times her hands felt chilly she never seemed bothered about it.

It is quite normal for babies to have cool hands and feet, especially when sleeping.

Right, I wondered the same, but may have an answer for you.

I have an adult size grow bag. Its a 2.5 tog one, and the same thickness as my child's one. With a thin nightie underneath I'm s cold. But when on similar laters to a vest and PJ's (so vest top and tracksuit, for example) it's actually fine. And I normally wear a thick duvet. Its on the cooler side, so sometimes I use a thin blanket on me as well, but it's broadly about right.

I think because it's fitted, and enclosed, you need a lower tog rating. That's my theory anyway, but either way, a 2.5 with stuff underneath isn't far off right, as tested by me as an adult.

Also, remember the recommendations are based on what is safest, not what is most comfortable for the child. They probably aren't the same, given they really deep sleeping is thought to increase the risk of sids. So them being a bit cold probably helps keep them safer. I probably dress them a bit warmer underneath it to aid comfort, but it's not as much off as you'd think.

My baby isn’t yet in the minimum weight category for gro bags and so I use thin cotton cellular blankets instead (it doesn’t really matter if they go over a a baby’s face as you can still breathe through them) and keep the room at 20-21 degrees. Babies hands are still cold.

I always assumed it was because they are smaller. So if you put an adult duvet on a giant, say, it wouldn’t keep them warm: they’d need something bigger, thicker and warmer. That’s how I explained it to myself anyway!

Probably an unpopular opinion but my 6 month old co sleeps under our 12.5 tog duvet. If she gets hot she kicks it off.

That does not sound safe at all. A 6 month old should not be under a 12,5tog duvet

I think some babies do have cold hands, especially at night. My DS never had cold hands and we used the same sleeping bags and clothing guidelines for DD and she did get cold hands.

The maximum tog rating for a 1 year old + is 4.5tog. Duvets shouldn't even be used under 1 year and certainly not that tog

Could you just warm the room up to 18c instead?

My 10 week old always has cold hands at night but his back is lovely and warm when I check it. I was always told 'cold babies cry, hot babies die'

16 is really cold for a little baby. I'd heat the room up to 18 rather than letting them be cold.

Every baby's different. My baby wasn't cold in 16 (dressed appropriately)

Heating is on all night to get it to 16, window is fucked, broken seal. End house on a windy bend; Duct tape has helped tho.

Thanks, I'll stop worrying about the cold and stick with the bag guidelines. I have been using the scratch mitts over hands to help a bit but if it's normal I'll just continue

Didn't know you could get bigger bags beyond 18 Months, thank you!! I'll look online

It is so stressful for the first few months I took our grow egg everywhere and was obsessed with keeping it by my son and in the right temperature!

I would say onesies with the hand fold over bit to keep the hands warm, otherwise no advice just hugs becuase baby temperatures are difficult to understand and control!