Question about Grobags.

[Celou]

Hi girls, can anyone answer this:
Are grobags useful and can they replace bedding? I'm having a summer baby, is a grobag going to be to warm?
I just like the idea of it stopping the baby from wriggling under the blankets...

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Grobags are brilliant - my dd (nearly 2) still loves hers. But in summer we just put her down in her jimjams. With a new baby, I probably would just use a thin sleepsuit and maybe a muslin when it's hot, or one of those nice cotton blankets when it's cooler.

We didn't use the grobag for my dd until she was 2-3 months old, she was a July baby.

Grobag say that you mustn't use bedding apart from a sheet underneath, as they are quite warm enough on their own. My dd's bedroom is very war, but we have a 2.5 Tog one for winter and a 0.5 Tog one for summer.

Are they considered to be safer than blankets/sheets?

I would opt for a gro bag every time.
They come in diferent togs. At mo my DD is in a light tog bag with just a vest and nappy. Slightly cooler, pj's and light tog. Chilly vest and higher tog bag, cold and full pjs etc and heavy tog.

I would say they have to be safer in the fact they can't be pulled over head and thrown off on a cold night.

I used a Grobag and agree that I would now consider it an essential item (for us) if we had another baby. No need to any othe bedding at all other than a fitted bottom sheet.

I can't get the Grobag site or the Bump to 3 sites to work right now, but they have details of the safety issue of using them. But a quick summary is that yes, they probably are if used as instructed.

We put DS2 into his grobag as soon as he got to 10lbs (about 2 weeks). He is an August baby. They're definitely not too hot in them. DS1 is in his 0.5 tog one most nights at the moment. If you buy them from Bumpto3 they will give you 10& discount if you buy too - always very useful incase of accidents overnight - and a room thermometer which explains what cklothes they should wear. I don't work for them or get commission - honest! Just really like their product!

Grobag safety (taken from Bump to 3 catalogue, as website won?t work for me):

Many babies kick off top bedding and become chilly in the middle of the night, while Grobag baby sleeping bags keep babies warm and cosy, whatever position they end up in by the morning. This means a safer sleeping environment for your baby and more sleep for you.

Grobag works closely with the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, a leading baby charity, to help make your baby?s sleeping position as safe as possible. We also donate a substantial proportion of income each year to safe sleeping research.

However no, no product can ever be a substitute for checking on your baby regularly.

Are baby sleeping bags safe?
Yes. Well fitting, low-tog baby sleeping bags, when used correctly, are potentially one of the safest forms of bedding for your baby. While the baby has complete freedom of movement within the bag, the fitted neck and armholes ensure that there is no dangers of either slipping in or out, provided the baby is placed in the correct size of Grobag for his age/weight.

Do other European Countries use baby sleeping bags?
In Holland, France, Germany and Austria, they have been using them for over 20 years and clinical studies in Holland have suggested that baby sleeping bags are potentially the safest form of bedding for babies.

Guide

Warm (21-24C)
2.5 tog bag = short sleeved bodysuit or t-shirt
1.0 tog bag = short or long sleeved body suit
0.5 tog bag = short or long sleeved body suit

Just right (17-21C)
2.5 tog bag = short sleeved bodysuit and PJ top
1.0 tog bag = short or long sleeved body suit and PJ top or sleepsuit

Cool (13-17C)
2.5 tog bag = short sleeved bodysuit and PJ top or sleepsuit or full PJs

Are they only for when the baby is over 10lb then?
My dd was a summer baby and used to just sleep in a short sleeved body suit - that's it. She was far too hot in anything more. Even now at 4 she kicks all her bedding off most nights and sleeps just in light pyjamas, and she's always a little sweaty heap when we go in to check on her.
So I do worry a bit about something all enveloping in this heat.

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Thanks girls for your tips. Really useful.
Still a bit confused about the "tog" bit.

0.5 tog is the lightest. We are using one in this heat, with dd (17 months) in a nappy only and in short-sleeved pjs on cooler nights. 1 tog is a bit thicker and was fine all winter - we adjusted what she wore as the weather warmed up. However, when we shopped, pre-birth, for her nursery equipment in John Lewis, the staff advised us not to use a grobag for the first few months, I assume because you can fine-tune temperature more easily with pram sheets and blankets. We first put her in a grobag when we moved her into her cot at 4 months.

DS loves his - had 2.5 during the winter (our house is an icebox..) and then a very good friend made me a lightweight one he is currently using (its really thin gingham). They are great, came back off holiday a couple of weeks ago on a very late flight and some parents actually had their kids all changed and in their grobags ready to go to bed......

Oldiemum - it sounds like the JL staff doing their "Giving advice that you don't hear anywhere else" thing again

There's a cheap grobag on sale on tchibo.com - its big though....

the grobag guide is bit bollox though in high season
my dd cooks in anything more than a nappy in over 22deg and thats with a fan on, but for a smaller baby with less fat and ability to warm themselves grobags are without question the best investment you can make (after a lambskin in my humble opinion)
I prefer them to bedding in a lot of ways. I have on 0-6 girls one offical grobag at 2tog but I am keeping it for the next baby, but would be happy to lend it to see if you liked it...

Our dd (20 months) uses a grobag in winter and it really is the best way of making sure she is warm enough. I also love that she looks a bit like Maggie from the Simpson's in it! Agree with a lot of the other comments though that they may be too hot in summer.

I came across some advice in book by Jane Collins, (chief exec of GOSH and writes column in Times) where she doesn't recommend them at all because of baby possibly overheating because they can't push them off if they are too hot.

I have used grobags for dd - summer baby - you can get a really light weight one - she just had her babygro ( short sleeved) and her babygro.

She is now two and we have found them so good - both winter and summer. Have them ready for no2 who is also a summer baby.