Baby sleeping bags and swaddle bags

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First time mum here looking for some tips on baby sleep bags. Do you normally wash baby sleeping bags after every night? Do you use them for day time sleep as well? How many of each type do you need to make sure you don’t run out? We don’t have a dryer so relying on good weather to get them dry in time for the next use.

Only if they get spewed on. Otherwise they can do multiple nights as small babies don't really get dirty/sweaty. We have 3 I think in current size.

This. My youngest is a toddler now, I generally aim to swap them out once a week or so when I do a big load of her laundry but I'm sure I've left them longer! With a newborn it'll depend how much they spit up - I had way more laundry with one baby than the other.

I have three sleeping bags which is plenty but we have a dryer. If you're due soon you might want to get a couple in lighter weights in case of another heatwave.

To counter that, don't spend much in case they don't suit you or your baby - both of mine hated to be swaddled so I had plenty of brand new swaddles to pass on!

I washed them when the nappy leaked or if they got puked on so probably once/twice a week. We had 3 or 4 in each size and that was fine. We didn't have a dryer at that time either. I basically treated them as I would a wearable blanket - wouldn't change that every night :)

I never used swaddles though, only sleeping bags and blankets.

I have 4 sleeping bags - 2 in tog 1 and 2 in tog 0.5 as DS room is always warm. He would wear one for maybe 3/4 nights before swapping out for a new one.

Thanks for the tips! My newborn is now 2 weeks old. Initially we were just using a muslin as a blanket (tucked in) on these hot nights but just brought one of the 0.2 tog Love to Dream swaddle bags which she seems to like and sleep better in. Getting a lot of spit up though so it’s a bit of a mission to keep it clean enough. I’m going to order a couple more in the next size as she’s almost outgrown the newborn already but just trying to decide how many to order as they are not cheap.

Funny how every baby is different. I hadn’t brought any of the swaddle bags before birth but now wish I had. Some of the nights we have had since she was born were probably too warm even for the lightest 0.2 tog ones anyway.

Try eBay if you need some more sleeping bags. I sold all my unused ones on there cheaply. Then of course had an unexpected pregnancy and had to buy a load more 🙄.

My 5mth old has grown out of sizes pretty quickly. He was out of 0-6mths by around 3 months whereas my now 2yr old was in 0-6mths bags until she was at least 8mths.

Wash every night??? ffs no! Barring any accidents I wash it once a week, and yes I put him in it for naps as well. I don't have a pukey baby and there aren't a lot of leaks, so one spare works for us (though I get screwed if there IS a rare accident)

Thanks again all for the tips! Not sure how we can avoid washing them each day at the moment as we are getting constant spit up after feeds despite our best efforts at winding etc and feeding her upright etc . Hope this will pass before it gets cold enough for the heavier sleeping bags and harder to dry stuff.

It likely will pass don't worry :)

In this kind of weather I don't use any covering at night. I just put them in a vest and sleepsuit and they sleep with no covers. If it is really really hot, just a vest. The bonus is those things are plentiful and easy to wash and dry.

Also, look on vinted to see if you can get your preferred brand of swaddle bag on there. Also facebook marketplace and ebay. They grow out of them so fast it is well worth buying second hand.

I had two very vommy newborns and honestly I just swapped the bags every few days unless they got completely drenched. Lower your standards or you'll go insane, no baby ever died of sleeping in a slightly pongy bag. You might even find the milky aroma helps them settle!

Hanging them over the side of the cot and checking if they are dry at bedtime, yep, also a decent strategy.