Sleep Bags or Sheets? Advice please . . .

[greatscott81]

Hello,

I'm new to Mumsnet, so apologies if I'm posting in the wrong area! I'm 26 weeks pregnant with my first baby and am confused about whether sleep bags or traditional sheets and blankets are best for baby? What have other people done, and why did they make that choice?

Many thanks!

Baby bags are great. My 23mo has only just gone over to covers in the last few months. The bag moves with baby so no re-tucking in during the night. You can lift him up to bf without him getting cold. You can always add on a cellular blanket if the room is cold. Also, with sheets, I've never understood how you stop babies from getting them up over their heads or am I being thick?. In any case, planning identical with DC2 .

Thank you LeBFG, that's really helpful!

Sleep bags every time. Safer from a SIDS pov, more convenient, also helps stop toddlers climbing out of the cot. I think the baby needs to exceed a certain weight to use them (can't remember what though), so before then blankets are required.

I didn't use sleeping bags until my son was about 6 months old, but I reckon I'll put this little bean in them a bit earlier.

They are great for keeping them cosy regardless of movements (although newborns don't move much) and good for picking up and putting down for night feeds etc.

I never ever used a top sheet, I just used cellular blankets and a woolly blanket (my son was a winter baby) but this will be a May baby, so don't think the woolly blanket will be required.

Definitely sleeping bags here,no worries about them pulling them up or kicking them off! Baby has to be a certain size before you can start using them I think? Mine was tiny so it was a little while,but he's still in them at 3! We found Grobags to be the best by far-the cheaper ones shrunk so it was a false economy. Babycurls .co.UK have good deals on grobags & the service has always been great.

I used a giant muslin square to swaddle dd until she was about three months and then moved onto a sleeping bag. Was great, just needed two bottom.moses basket sheets and two cotbed sheets plis the swaddles and grobag. Another tip is to put a muslin square under baby head when they go to sleep so if they spit up very likely you just whip the muslin out and put a fresh one on, no need to strip the bed.

We used sleeping bags with both DD and DS. I'm fairly sure the minimum weight is 8lb to use one. With DS, we used the Gro-Swaddle (or whatever it's called) for the first 6 weeks or so until he was big enough to go into Grobags. Both ours were in the Grobags ages, the biggest size we had was 18-36 months.

I think it's from 7lbs or as long as the neck hole is smaller than head so they can't shuffle in. DD was a fidget and would wriggle out of a snug sheet. She is still in them now.

Grobags bought from TK Max in last years design had two 2.5 tog weight were really cheap too. We've just bought 18-36 month ones ready for the new baby to have her smaller ones in April.

Stupid question alert - don't babies arms get cold using the sleeping bags? All the ones I've seen have been sleeveless, whilst I totally get them from a safety aspect, surely their primary purpose is for warmth?!

I think they have no sleeves so as to conform to British safety standards. The ones with arms don't confirm, whilst sleep suits which grobag now make in the various thicknesses can have arms.
Have used bags for all 3 of mine till well over age 2. Love them. None of them ever escaped the cots, all were warm enough and it's quite normal for hands to feel cold. You are supposed to feel the temperature of their skin at the top of back to judge if cold or hot. Better to be cooler than hotter for SIDS reasons.

I swaddled my DS until he was too big for his Moses basket and straight into a gro bag when he went into his cot. He can't go under the covers, can't kick them off etc, id recommend.

Another vote for sleeping bags. DS is very mobile in his sleep and sheets wouldn't stay over him for 5 minutes.

Gro bags from TK Maxx or John Lewis in the sales.

If worried about babies arms getting cold, u can put on a thicker babygrow/ sleep suit... I would much rather babies arms get cold than wriggle under blankets and suffocate

Growbags are best as when child moves around cot in the night, the growbag is attached so baby doesnt get cold....

Mothercare do good ones!

Sleeping bags are fab! But I read baby needs to weigh 10lbs before they can use them. I swaddled in a muslin also then covered loosely with a light blanket before he was 10lbs

Put a long sleeve vest on under the sleepsuit if you are worried about cold arms.

This might be a really silly question so sorry in advance. I have sleeping bags that say age newborn-6 months. Should I still wait until baby weighs 8lb+ or are they ok from birth as the age suggests?

You may find it's a 'wait and see' thing!! My daughter had balnkets (although I'm not sure sleeping bags were an option then, she's 19). My son, however (4.5 years) wouldn't settle with blankets because he kicked them off and woke himself up, so he had sleeping bags.

I am now expecting DC3 and will be buying a selection of both, just in case!!

The sleeping bag we bought said 2.3k dd was heavier than this when born. We didnt use it to start off with but quickly changed we still use them at nearly 2. We did have a 1.5 tog one only so was less worried about overheating, dd was also warm enough in this.

Bags all the way! Our DS manages to move from one end of the cot to the other during the night, so without them I think our nights would be far less peaceful! As another poster has suggested, we put a long-sleeved vest on under his pyjamas to keep him warm - but it's only necessary in winter. Just make sure you have a 2.5 tog for winter. Most of ours are 1.5 tog: great for summer, but too flimsy for now.

Def sleeping bags all the way! Sheets and blankets get kicked off, baby gets cold and wakes up, less sleep for you!
Gro bag recommend not to use til baby more than 8lb8oz or 4kg, see here for faqs.
If budget not an issue then merino bags are fantastic. I used merino kids gogo bags which wash and dry well and have survived 2 kids already. The theory is that being wool, they don't let your baby overheat. They recommend not using til the baby is 7lb. My DS got a dreadful sweat rash in gro bags so I switched to these and rash gone in 3 days, his skin could breathe. Most babies are fine in grobags though and the merino bags are v expensive.
Never known anyone who's used sleeping bags and regretted it!

I wouldnt use grow bags with a new born but ive always used them after a few month when they get more active and cover dont tend to stay on.

I adore the sleeping bags. Always used grobags and lately they've been in TK Maxx quite often at a good price. DS was a very wriggly sleeper and I'm sure he'd never have stayed asleep in sheets as he'd have kicked them off. Used them on both kids since birth until they move out of cot. Both slept through the night at 10 weeks and I put a lot of that down to the bags.

I use a gro bag for DS. On cold night I put socks on his hands up to his armpits! His gro bag had poppers under the armpits for newborns to stop them sliding down so I waited until the suggested weight and then put him in it. I washed it yesterday morning and then forgot it was in the machine. No gro bag last night and one very wiggly, wakeful baby. Won't make that mistake again!

I swaddled both of mine for about 4 months then went onto sleeping bags, they are bloody fantastic.