Advice on switching from sleeping bag to duvet and pillow

[ceebie]

My 18mo DD has been sleeping in a Grobag sleeping bag since she was a few weeks old. I am thinking it might be time to introduce a baby pillow, and maybe switch to a duvet. As with every minor change to routine, I am apprehensive and would appreciate any tips or advice!

She moves around a lot in her cot; I am sure she will never actually manage to stay under a duvet. How did anyone else find this?

Also how do you judge how warm they are at night? Do you put them in a sleepy suit? I would worry that with just pyjamas she would be too cold, but with pyjamas and a sleepy suit she would be too warm...

Thanks for your help!

22 month DD has a duvet and pillow as well as her sleeping bag - we'll probably stop the sleeping bag when she moves to a bed. Also she sleeps in a long-sleeved vest and a fleece sleepsuit as well. She doesn't get too hot. She does usually kick the duvet off initially but I go back in when we go to bed and tuck her in again - it usually stays in place till dawn. When it was really cold she had a fleece blanket as well, because it was about 12 degrees in her room at night.

My ds's stayed in grobags till they were around 3. Then I put a single duvet crossways on a single bed and tucked the ends under the mattress til I could trust them not to fall out of bed. Any long sleeved/legged pyjamas or sleepsuit would do.

mine was 3 years as well he loved them and slept perfectly ... I got hima lovely pirate one that goes up to 6 years!

Mothercare do infant pillows (expensive would probably get a thin normal one next time) and a large fleece blanket. My 18 month old has, pjs, grobag, fleece blanket and pillow. Since the pillow went in the cot she stays in position with head on the pillow 95% of the time. Im sure she really likes the snuggliness of the pillow and I thought the blanket would be a first stage towards moving onto duvet. The blanket rarely stays on to be honest.

ds stayed in his grobag until he was 2 1/2 and then used a lightweight cot quilt in the cot before moving him into a big bed with a duvet. He already had a pillow as they are ok from 1 year.

Yes my DD stayed in the grobag until she was 2 and a half. When I switched to duvet and pillow she spent the whole night throwing the duvet off though she kept her head on the pillow nicely. So I just ordered some fleecy sleepsuits from mothercare - they have ones on the the net that go up to age 5/6 - and put her in those. It's like having a big fleece blanket wrapped around your body! So it never matters (even during the awful weather this winter) if she throws the duvet off as she always keeps warm in these. i will switch to cotton ones for summer.

When we introduced a duvet we did it when the weather got slightly warmer so less chance of waking if DS kicked it off.

My DD is nearly two and she's still in a gro bag but we have introduced a pillow. She used to sleep all around the cot before the pillow but now she tends to stay on the pillow. She still has a daytime nap when she has a fleece blanket. If your LO still naps why not try pillow & duvet then, see how she gets on with them?

2 options:-
GreatLittle Trading Company do elastic straps that go under the mattress and grip the duvet either side so less chance of it being kicked off. We tried this and it helps a bit.
Gro company do a bed linen set that has zips- so the duvet cover zips onto the fitted sheet. my DDs have this now. it also has a pocket for the pillow- so that doesn't go wandering.

Thank you everyone for your messages, which have been hugely helpful as always! Sorry for being slow to respond. I have now bought a pillow (only £5 from John Lewis!) and a 4 tog duvet! I will introduce the pillow first, and I love Frawli's suggestion to try introducing the duvet at nap time - what a great idea! I will definitely try that. Also bosch's suggestion to tuck the duvet in. Thanks to all for advice on clothing and layers - I always worry about this and great to know what others do, and thanks Katy for advice re fleecy sleepsuits on the mothercare website - about to go looking now as although the weather is currently mild, I suspect there may be more cold nights ahead before summer is truely here! OMG this is sounding like an Oscar's acceptance speech. Now I feel badly for leaving some people out - I appreciate everyone's comments! I saw the Gro company bed set FGM although decided not to go for it - if the duvet doesn't work out I'll go back to sleeping bags for a bit and keep the traditional duvet and covers until she is a bit older.

Thanks again everyone for your advice!