Growbags?

[sunndydays]

Has/is anyone going to use one? Are they better than blankets and if so one with or without arms? tia

Have used them and will use them for dc3.I didn't know you could get them with arms. I've only ever been happy with the actual grobags with a zip down the front as the dc would undo the poppers on the shoulders when they sat up at about 7months. We have a massive collection and the only ones that didn't get a lot of use were the 0.5 tog but they were great in hot weather. kiddicare.com sometimes sell off the last seasons stock cheap (like you can buy 0.5tog cheap in january) .They are expensive though and you do need spares for sicky nights.

I've been given a couple and am going to give them a try. I think the main advantage is that they can't kick them off or accidentally wriggle underneath them

My friend who has an almost 2 yr old says an added benefit at that age is that it stops them climbing out of their cot.

I got without arms as I figure I can always dress him in a long sleeve top (and also I live in the southern hemisphere so overheating more an issue than getting too cold).

They come in different tog ratings as well.

Grobags/ sleeping bags are brilliant. We have a very restless sleeper, and it not only keeps him confined, putting it on him in the first place is a kind of signal that it's time to go to bed, after which he is much more willing.

You can pick the baby up and, if you get the sort with "vents" for the straps (Grobag, JoJoMamanBebe and no doubt others have this), you can transfer baby from bed to car seat/ pram to bed and other combinations.

I can't recommend them enough, although I am not sure what it will be like, making the transition to "proper" bedding.

Hope this helps! Even if you don't get on with them, that's only one "size" wasted, not several years' worth of blankets. Good luck.

P.S. We have always had the sort without sleeves, as they are less hassle to put on, and we were scared of overheating in the early stages.

We had no trouble going from grobags to ordinary bedding but they used the grobags until they were 3.

Awww thank you all for your replies, I will definitely get some, what tog do you recommend? (dd july)

You'll need 1 tog for your summer ones and 2.5 for winter - that's the only ones available anyway

I didn't put them in the grobags until 8 or 10 weeks so it might be september before you're using them. maybe you won't need a 0.5tog. You could buy a 1 tog and a 2.5 or maybe just wait until you need them.

I never used anything else - I've a cupboard full of untouched bedding / blankets. Don't use them until they are a few weeks old - depending on weight. They also stop you worrying about kicking blankets off or getting caught up / faces covered.

You can get 0.5 tog bags for high summer, or high summer abroad. Otherwise, have a look at these little sleeping gowns from John Lewis, Green Baby and probably other places. They are lighter than a sleeping bag when it's really hot, or can be worn within the sleeping bag (and they are very cute. My DS was delicious in his!).

i used grobags with DD and I loved them. I couldn't use them at first with her because it recommended that baby was 7lb 7oz and DD was a littley at 5lb 13oz. I think you can get them for prem babies now tho as well but not sure.

I love them too, DS is 23 months and still in his. DD is 11 weeks and using his cast offs, although she has had a couple of incidents where she has got her arms inside despite being above the weight limit.

Check out TK Max for both official GroBags ones and SLUMBERSACS both of which I have.

I bought sheets and blankets for DC1 (DD) who kicked them off and was cold (born in October) so bought grobags instead - much better! I use swaddling blankets until 6-8 weeks then grobags.

No arms - the baby would be too hot if there were arms!

I have bought growbags on recommendation and have also a heap of blankets, sheets and wraps...so am confused as to what i use when. Let me get this straight...brand new baby I swaddle it? Do I swaddle it AND pop it in a growbag? Swaddle and put under sheets and blankets? Then when he is bigger can I use the growbag AND a blanket if it is cold - i mean, his arms will stick out, surely they need to be wrapped too? And what about the duvet? It is winter when my baby arrives at the start of July. In a cold house.
To explain, I am overseas and needed to impulse buy A LOT at 12 weeks and put it in a container for freight to arrive 3 months later - so have too much of some stuff and nothing of other stuff.

Hi atharawes

in answer to you question my view is this:

to swaddle, use a thin cotton (eg brushed cotton) sheet. Dress baby appropriately for room tempereature under it, eg a vest and babygro.

If swaddled no other blankets or bags should be used. When tightly swaddled baby would get too hot. Swaddle blanket must not be very thick, and not for eg fleece. Should be natural fibre cotton so breathable.

If using a grobag, if in winter baby should wear as many layers inside the bag as needed. No blanket on top of bag. So, eg long sleeve vest, long sleeve towelling babygro, an extra cotton Cardigan type jacket if really needed.

In essence, swaddle or bag is last layer so the clothes are what you need to adjust.

Ive been wondering all this too, my baby is due in July (Britain, so warm fingers crossed) and I want to use Growbags but didnt want to use them from newborn.

sunshiney your post has really helped so thank you

I swaddled my DS at first and when he was big enough, he was in a Grobag until he went into his bed, at 2.8 years. I did have a bit of a bad mummy moment when I realised that aged 2, his Grobag was 6-18 months. I did think he slept with his legs very splayed... eeek!

Atharawes, I think when very cold I also put a blanket over the Grobag, halfway up.

Any thoughts on how many one needs?

Unfortunately you need 2 of every type that you're using. That's a lot of money and about £500 worth of grobags in our loft.

I keep looking back at this thread to see if anyone hates grobags, but none so far. The only drawback is the cost IMO.

I love these organic cotton ones from Makes a Change which are really sweet, but they have some on offer as well for a cheaper organic cotton version.

You don't swaddle AND use a sleeping bag. Swaddling's good for daytime really. Sleeping bags are fab for stopping them kicking off the sheets at night so they don't wake you up coz they're cold. They're also, as mentioned, good for stopping them climbing out of the cot - but - for a child who is big enough to do that and pretty determined it's sometimes better to let them rather than risk them hurting themselves by getting tied up in the bag.

But that's not for now. For little babies they're one of my essentials!

Someone bought me one but I couldn't get on with it. We got given loads of blankets by relatives and just used them in the end. My son is fine with the blankets.

I definitely prefer the fleecey sleep suits you can get to growbags, I like the way their arms are covered and also DS would get a bit tangled in his growbag.

I really liked grobags. They are expensive new, so we had one new one for each size and tog, and then used ones bought from ebay or from the NCT sale as spares. If the room temperature is high when your baby goes to bed then the temperature plummets later in the night, I found that it was useful to pop a blanket over the top.

Grobags are great - used them on both DS.
I always give them as new baby presents too, as they are expensive, but worth it IMO. Maybe if someone asks you what you would like for the baby, this is what you can suggest?

There's a chart on the Grobag advising how many togs for what temperature your room is - although my boys have always seemed to prefer being a bit warmer than the 18 degrees they say. But 2.5 tog is used most of the time here. 1 togs are sadly underused!

Have used them for all 4 of my dcs, ds3 is still in one now at 30 months. We never bothered with the 1.0 tog.

They can be expensive but Kiddicare often has good reductions.

sorry to hyjack - but when you say blankets - what kind do you mean? i'm so confused - baby will be sleeping in moses basket in our room and i am so worried im going to do something wrong where the blankets i use are concerned. do you mean fleecy ones, cellular ones - there are so many!!