Gro bags - What tog for May/June newborn

[moomin35]

I want to buy a gro bag sleeping bag for my newborn but what tog/style make etc will i need for a May/June baby?

Watching with interest, will also have a newborn in May/June. Vaguely recall DD born in scorching 2010 summer just sleep under a tucked in sheet, you know, tucked in at the bottom of crib so no way she could wriggle under the sheet but was still covered by it.

You have a lot of questions, maybe you should do just one post?

Re: grobag, I don't think you can put newborns in them, I think there's a weight/size minimum, wait until 6-8 weeks perhaps.
You'll be changing nappies so frequently anyway that a plain old baby grow and a couple of cellular blankets will suffice.
(By 'babygrow' I mean sleepsuits/onesie whatever some people call them now)

And obvs depends how warm May and June are of course!

Depends how hot it will get in your bedroom at night. If its a steady 18-19-20° I would get a 1-tog and see how it goes. Baby will be wearing some combination of vest and sleepsuit as well so layering up or down is easy for especially warm or cold nights.

If it gets really hot this summer I know Aden + Anais do some lovely linen 0.5tog grobags which are just like having a large muslin over them and nothing else.

I would expect to start needing 2.5tog bags again in about late september/october.

Some babies aren't big enough for even the smallest bags so bear that in mind, you can get some lovely gro-swaddles for those first few weeks if they would rather be wrapped up.

Look at baby merino ones. Last 2months-2 years and one weight fine for all weathers due to the merino. You just add clothing layers according to temp.

Ie summer - long sleeved vest and bag
Autumn - short vest and sleepsuit and bag
Winter - long sleeved vest and sleepsuit and bag

I'm due with DC3 in June.

With the first two, they were 4kg at birth which I think is big enough for a grobag (the minimum weight is around 4kg iirc) but we used swaddles and blankets for a while as they're a bit easier with all the nappy changes I find.

Once sleep was more settled and night feeds more predictable we moved them to grobags - around 3 months I think.

So with DC3, he'll likely not be in grobags until September ish in which case I'll use our 2.5 togs.

I find layering with vests, babygros, sheets and cellular blankets is good in summer anyway as it is easier to adjust the clothing and bedding to the warmth of the night.

IME grobags work best from 3 months onwards - mine used them until about 2 1/2 years then.

Sorry to bother you with all my questions FarTogo!!!

Thanks evertonmint, how big is 4kg in llbs out of interest?

You can get baby bundlers too, which are like sleepsuits but without separate legs, iyswim, more like a grobag at the bottom but with poppers. V handy for newborn night changes! More popular in the US you can get them from Old Navy

8.8lbs. My boys were 7lb6oz and 7lb2oz at birth respectively so they were both too small for a bag. Their heads can't be able to slip down into the bag.

I had my June baby in a summer swaddle thingyx

I agree with the merino recommendation. They look expensive but they are usually really big so cover a wide range of ages (0-2 years) so actually better value than buying a whole series of bags for 0-6, 6-12 months etc. They last well too, you can wash them in the machine at 30 degrees, and you don't need to worry about overheating in the same way as they are more breathable.

Get the ones with a slit at crotch area for car seat straps to ge through.

As others have said, you may need to use something else for the first few weeks until your LO is big enough.

It's high 8lbs (13/14/15oz), not 8lbs8oz as the Grobag website itself says (lazy misinterpretation of 8.8lbs). Mine were both 9lbs on the nose and were just under 4.1kg.

Grobag 0-6m have special underarm poppers for newborns to stop them getting out so other makes may not be suitable until the baby is bigger. Check the label of each one you look at for specific guidance.

So it is! I just did 2.2lb to the kilo as I was taught which gives 8.818lb. Of course this is easily misinterpreted as 8lb 8oz when its actually 8lb 3.096oz - much nearer 9lb.

Even so a tall skinny baby who is over the minimum weight may still struggle with the neck while a squat fat baby just under it may not have any problems at all.

Yep Juniper - your 8.8lb was right, but Grobag's interpretation as 8lbs 8oz is woefully wrong (given it's their own guideline!). 8lbs 8oz is actually 8.5lbs. Can you tell I'm a maths geek/freak who much prefers metric measurements :)

How did you find that worked out Scuttlebug?